Self-reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) composite laminates were manufactured from fabric using a hot press. Fabric was either allowed to shrink or exposed to stretching during different phases of the manufacturing process. Composite macrostructure, crimp, was investigated and results showed that shrinkage affects fibre crimp more than stretching does. Mechanical tests showed that shrinkage do not significantly affect mechanical properties while stretching fabric by 10% during heating results in 50% increase in tensile stiffness. The lack of correlation between crimp and mechanical properties indicates that mechanical properties for self-reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites are dominated by their microstructure, molecular orientation, which may be affected by the manufacturing process.