Knits, fleece & pile

Sweat fabric

Also known as: Sweatshirt fleece, Fleece-back jersey

Classic circular knit brushed on the inside, the workhorse of sweatshirts and hoodies.

~1 min read By Christian Habert Fact-checked by Clubmartin Textile EditorialAI-assisted Last reviewed: Sources (2)

Description

Sweat fabric is the classic sweatshirt textile: a circular knit whose inside is brushed with card wires and thus made fluffy and soft. The outer face stays smooth and shows the typical single jersey or French terry structure. The base is usually ring-spun cotton or an 80/20 cotton-polyester blend; polyester improves dimensional stability and reduces shrinkage.

Weights range from 240 g/m² (light spring sweat) through 280-320 g/m² (standard hoodies such as Gildan 18500 or Fruit of the Loom Classic Hoodie) to 380-450 g/m² (heavyweight winter sweats). Brushing is done in gentle multiple passes to achieve an even, durable pile. The fabric is then sanforised to keep shrinkage below 5%.

Sweat fabric insulates well, has a soft hand and is the base for sweatshirts, hoodies, tracksuit bottoms and cardigans. Care: 30-40 °C, turn inside out, low tumble, no fabric softener (mats the pile). For 100% cotton, expect 3-5% residual shrinkage.

Properties

Material baseCotton / CO-PES 80/20
Fabric weight (typ.)240-450 g/m²
Inner faceBrushed, fluffy
ApplicationSweatshirts, hoodies, joggers

Related product categories

Sources & references

2
  1. Wikipedia: Sweatshirt Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshirt
  2. Wikipedia: French terry Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_terry

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