In summer and winter, the sweatshirt is THE comfortable, stylish and easy-to-wear garment that is there for us all year round.

But what about its place in the world of B2B textiles? The sweatshirt is an effective communications tool for appealing to potential clients, raising brand visibility or standardising team work clothes.

In short, the personalisable sweatshirt is one of the blank textile supports that leaves the most room for creativity! Which is why we’re bringing it (back) into the spotlight in this article.

After sharing our tips for choosing a sweatshirt, we’ll take you behind the scenes of how a sweatshirt is made…

Composition, thickness, cut, treatments and finishes, the KARIBAN BRANDS team will take us into their studios to show us the other side of one of the most iconic pieces in our wardrobes.

Stage #1 Composition

It will come as no surprise that a sweatshirt can be made from a variety of different materials and, even better, from a combination of materials. This is also what makes a sweatshirt lightweight, more suitable for sports or designed to keep those who work outside warm.

This factor is extremely important at KARIBAN BRANDS, who offer modular material combinations to meet all their customers’ key needs.

Recycled cotton + Recycled polyester

Stage #2 manufacture and weight

It’s time for the second stage: manufacture.

To sum up, sweatshirts can be made from two or three yarns. Two-yarn styles are usually basic sweatshirts, which can be attractive in terms of cost and make ideal goodies to be given out at sports events, for example. It is worth noting that, even with basic styles, a higher percentage of cotton compared with polyester will create a comfortable garment.

For a more “premium” look, three-yarn manufacturing is ideal: a 100% cotton outer and polycotton inner, most importantly… connected by a polyester yarn. This is what will stop the fabric from pilling and make it more durable while remaining soft and comfortable to wear. In a nutshell, it’s unbeatable when it comes to dressing employees at a trade fair or for a ready-to-wear brand.

The next thing is the knit, which can also affect the look and comfort of a sweatshirt: French Terry, for a lightweight sweatshirt, brushed fleece for a soft appearance, and Interlock for top of the range styles.

Incidentally, you may have seen the term “grammage” or “weight” on TopTex data sheets: this refers to the thickness of the fabric, in a way. To calculate it, the teams at KARIBAN BRANDS use a sample cutter and weigh the piece of fabric removed using the tool. A high grammage (around 360 g/m²) is characteristic of a thick sweatshirt with a lasting fit, while a grammage of 260 g/m² will give the garment more fluidity.

Thickness and resistance – 350 g/m²

Stage #3 Cut

Another crucial stage in the process of manufacturing a sweatshirt is the choice and assembly of the cut.

There are two options:

• tubular assembly, which is made in 3D, without seams. This is one of the most economical cuts, which gives the garment a fashionable “oversized” look
• cut-and-sew assembly, in which the various parts are assembled and stitched together. This is more complex but gives the garment a neater structure

When it comes to finalising the “base” of a sweatshirt, only one small (but by no means unimportant) detail remains: the shape! The sleeves are usually raglan (sewn in a single piece up to the neckline) or set-in (more classic, like a tube sewn around the shoulder).

When it comes to the overall look, a few picture examples speak volumes:

The hoodie: its sportswear feel will be perfect with an impactful slogan, which is sure to be a hit with younger generations.

The iconic crew neck basic, timeless and unisex, which can be an effective marketing tool when given as a gift to raise the profile of the brand’s name in the streets and help it become more famous.

Stage #4 Treatments and finishes

Your sweatshirt is almost finished, but there are still some important details… These are the treatments and finishes that will bring the sometimes imperceptible little “extras” that can make all the difference.

For example, a technique known as Low Shrinkage Fleece can guarantee the best possible fit. This process pre-shrinks the fabric to make sure it retains its shape as it is washed.

Enzyme treatments are used to strengthen the perfectly smooth aspect that we love about sweatshirts. Natural bacteria remove excess material to leave an impeccable surface. And for even more remarkable softness, a mechanical peach-skin feel process abrades the outer material. Your sweatshirt could not be any softer!

We’re almost there… at KARIBAN BRANDS, the teams perfect each garment, for aesthetic reasons but also to make sure the products last as long as possible.

For example, the rib, an elasticated band that finishes the sleeves at the wrists, can provide a vintage look as well as helping the sweatshirt keep its shape. The taped neck works in a similar way. Its role is to prevent the neck from getting irritated or the neckline from stretching. The hood also deserves attention. It can be lined for added comfort or assembled from three panels, following the shape of the head without creating a point.

Even the drawstrings are finely tuned: they finish in either a knot or a small piece of metal and are threaded through metal, plastic or stitched eyelets.