Sweatshirt Fleece

Sweatshirt fleece starts as a knit, usually a fleece-back construction, then gets one face napped, or brushed, to raise short fibers into a soft, insulating layer while the outer face stays smooth enough to print or embroider. Most commercial sweatshirt fleece runs 80/20 or 50/50 cotton/poly blends at 8-9 oz, like the Gildan 18500's 8 oz 50/50 fleece or Independent Trading Co.'s 80/20 ring-spun option.

This is the fabric under nearly every big front-and-back print in the shop, and it takes plastisol ink well because the outer knit face is flatter and denser than the brushed interior, so ink sits on top instead of soaking into a nap. We size art for these blanks assuming a smooth, wide canvas; a design that needs tight registration on a tee can spread out and breathe more across sweatshirt fleece's larger flat-front real estate.

Pick a cotton-heavy fleece, 80/20 or higher cotton, for a softer hand and better plastisol adhesion. Poly-heavy 50/50 or tri-blend fleece resists pilling and shrinkage better for garments headed into heavy wash rotation, like team hoodies or school spirit wear.

Buyers often lump all "fleece" into one fabric. Sweatshirt fleece, polar fleece, and microfleece are three different constructions — sweatshirt fleece is a cotton/poly knit meant to be decorated on its smooth face, while polar fleece is 100% polyester and rarely takes a screen print well at all.