What Really Makes High Quality Sweatshirts Manufacturers Different

A sweatshirt may seem amazing when you first take it out of the packaging but doesn‘t mean a great deal about the quality. The fabric may be heavy, the finish of the fabric may be very clean and the stitching perfect but all of the differences are apparent once all the wear, wash and wear has been done by the customer. To compare brands of the high quality sweatshirts manufacturers need to look way beyond product images and GSM figures.

A Heavy Sweatshirt Does Not Automatically Mean Better Quality

One of the first questions buyers ask about a sweatshirt is ‘What GSM is it?’. A higher GSM adds heft and weight to a garment and results in a heavier drape. High GSM sweatshirts are therefore highly in demand in streetwear as well as in premium casuals. However, weight alone can not imply comfort, shape retention or washability.

Not just fabric construction! For example French terry has a different surface and internal structure to brushed fleece: while this fabric would not be a good choice for brushed fleece garment, other qualities such as being in the Cotton and Cotton blends group may influence the outcome. Quality of yarns, fabric handle, fabric weight, finishing, and the balance between soft with structure impact on the finished surface, product shape and dimension.

Consider two sweatshirts labeled 400 GSM. One might feel hard and flat coated as opposed to thick and rough. One might retain its shape while washing and the other may drastically shrink. The specification may appear to be exactly the same but the finished garments can feel way apart.

That is why a good manufacturer thinks about the finished piece before picking a fabric. An equally comfortable, normal, day-today hoodie should use a different fabric than an over-size, heavyweight piece of staple street-wear. The aim should not be to merely ‘weight up’ the fabric. The aim should be to make the fabric work for the clothing.

Fit Can Make an Expensive Sweatshirt Look Cheap

Fabric gets all the attention, but fit was usually what you saw directly after you pulled the sweatshirt on.

An oversized sweatshirt is not oversized because you add width to the chest. You also need to consider shoulder width, body length, volume of the sleeves, shape of the armhole, cuff size and proportions of the hem. If only one of these increases and the other stays the same you will end up changing the shape the designer had in mind.

The aforementioned problem exists for both regular and relaxed fits. Whether a sweatshirt uses the most costly fabric or not, it can come across as poorly or unevenly constructed just by wrong placed shoulders or sleeves that seem too tight for the body.

Pattern development is very important here. The manufacturer has to develop the idea of the design into the pattern that governs these proportions, and develop the pattern to graded sizes without alteration of the fit element it retains.

For a brand that means the sample warrants great care. A few numbers on a size chart can never reveal the nuances of a fit. Someone has to physically wear the sample and evaluate the fit of the garment on the body.

Small Details Become Easy to Notice

Compared with other outdoor wear items, sweatshirts are fairly simply made. Therefore, few mistakes will be observed.

Here‘s a good example. In a rib collar, it is important that there is enough stretch recovery so the collar returns to its original shape after tensioning. The rib will become baggy and gaping at the neck if it bottoms out too quickly.

Cuffs and hems have the same requirements. They must be made with matching fabric to the garments Body, and conform to the shape they are meant to hold. Stitching is also crucial for the shoulder seams, side seams, cuffs, or anywhere else that can be handled regularly.

They are not always so easy to notice in a factory picture. They are much more easily observed when the garment is worn over and over again.

Good construction therefore indicates more than straight stitching. It suggests selecting appropriate thread, maintaining even stitch tension, designing seams according to the fabric, and maintaining measurements uniformly.

Washing Reveals Problems a New Sample Can Hide

It‘s great to wear a new sweatshirt on the first day of wear.

The larger question is afterwards in the fifth, or tenth washing.

Cotton fabrics may shrink. Rib may lose its recovery. Fleece may change in its surface appearance. Colors may change slightly. Bad choice of fabric or finishing may also increase pilling or change the hand in a more harsh way.

That is why washing performance has become an important feature in the development of a sweatshirt.

Do not assess a sample solely by how it looks right after being made. Through normal laundering and drying behaviors certain changes may occur that superficial visual examination will never pick up on.

Shrinkage also influences pattern development. If the fabric shrinks in the wash, the factory has to factor in this behavior while developing the garment, or a just-perfect-fitting sweatshirt prior to washing may not fit after.

For brands selling premium sweatshirts this is even more important. Customers will be fine with slight natural shrinkage of the garment after washing but do expect it to keep its shape, feel and look.

Decoration Has to Work With the Sweatshirt

When a brand affixes graphics or branding to a sweatshirt the definition of a sweatshirt goes beyond fabric and sewing.

Screen printing, embroidery, patches, puff effects and any other decoration will also react with your fabric. A heavy fleece surface will appear quite different to a smooth fabric. Heavy embroidery can change the feel of a light fabric. Graphics of this size may behave differently after washing:

The placement of it is important too. If the logo is placed a little too high or low it can make the entire front of the panel look unbalanced.

Therefore, decoration should be integrated into the product discussion as early as possible, instead of the step-by-step planning. When making a decision, the manufacturer has to take the fabric surface, the garment construction, the artwork, the placement and the finishing into consideration.

With a private-label brand, the same is true for labels and packaging. Neck labels, woven labels, hangtags, patches and other details all add to the product.

Bulk Production Tests Consistency

A laboratory could generate one outstanding sample.

The real problem is if the factory has to turn out 500 or 1,000 sweatshirts like that sample.

Mass production provides a further challenge. The fabric must stay consistent across the whole of the order. All measurements must remain within the pre-agreed tolerance limits. Rib tension, stitching, colour,location of decorations and finishing all require constant supervision.

What if the brand greenlights a heavy weight black crewneck. The initial batch is spot on. Six months pass, the brand places a second order and notices the fabric feels a little less substantial, the body length has altered or the rib is revised.

While the factory might still refer to both products as the same style, the customer will be able to tell the difference.

This is the point at which production records, approved samples, patterns, material specifications, and quality control are critical. They provide a point of reference for the production team as opposed to relying on memory.

Reliability is therefore a factor in high quality. A manufacturer has got to be able to duplicate the approved product, and not just produce a pleasing trial sample.

The Next Order Can Tell You Even More

A good first order is satisfactory, but the second order often gives a question many more to a maker.

In the fashion sector, it is seldom that a clothing company wants to “sell” an item only once. For instance, it can be established that a successful/selling sweatshirt will be kept within the collection, will come back in various colorways and/or will be produced in increased quantities.

Up to that point, consistency is a commercial matter.

The aldo production will anticipate that all the styles will have an expected identical fit, fabric drape, measurements, and details in construction and branding. Minor inconsistencies may have little significance for a single style, but may stand out when consumers compare products from various batches.

With a reliable manufacturing process making repeat orders will be easier. Factory can look back to the Approved sample, original pattern, fabric requirement, size Chart, decoration details and previous process.

This sort of coherence gives a brand‘s extension of a successful sweatshirt a little bit more trust that it will work in various other sizes and seasonal lines.

What Really Separates High Quality Sweatshirts Manufacturers

All 3 specs. are very high quality.

It is the combination of a range of decisions. The fabric just has to fit the need of the product. The pattern has to give the correct fit. Rib, seam, cuff and hem has to endure wear over a period of time. Washing or dry cleaning must not alter the shape of the product. Decoration has to interact successfully with the fabric.

JiuvelWear, is a division of Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd. that offers customization capabilities in apparel manufacturing including fabric sourcing, pattern creation, sample making, bulk production, quality assurance, and private label production.

Hence the most relevant question for a company to ask when designing sweatshirts is no longer “can a producer produce a heavyweight sweatshirt”, but rather ” can the producer reproduce all the nuances which make the sweatshirt feel great, fit correctly, wear well and be repeated when the company specifies it again?”.

This is generally the point at which you realise the distinction between a run-of-the-mill sweatshirt and one that is really good.