A couple of years back when hoodies were only used in winter, but now the industry has changed, and so is the consumer demands. Customers are looking for hoodies for summer too. And this leads custom clothing brands to think about the best types of material for a hoodie. So, hoodies are known to be stylish, comfortable, and easy to wear. Being a staple of everyone’s wardrobe, fans are going wild about dope and creative hoodie designs, leading to increasing demands of hoodies regardless of season. For people of all ages, winter hoodies, sweatshirts[nk1] , or hooded hoodies are becoming quite popular. Being a high fashion product that can be used anywhere with any clothing product is a pretty massive achievement for Hoodies. Now hoodies and sweatshirts have become everyday apparel. Several fabrics are well-suited in the clothing industry to craft a perfect hoodie for different weather, events, and styling looks. You might be searching for the ideal hoodie that goes with all styles, events and looks good at the same time. So here is the wholesome blog that you are looking for. In this blog, “Types of Hoodies& Different Types of Fabrics for Hoodies,” we are going to tell you everything about it.
Best Types of Material for A Hoodie
Getting confused between the tons of fabric options for your hoodie line is expected. All clothing brands go through this stage once in a while. One thing you must remember is that, yes, fabric matters, but if something matters more than fabric, it’s the purpose of the hoodies. So, you also must understand that first, to spot the suitable fabric for your cozy hoodie or aesthetic sweatshirt, you must know the purpose of the hoodie or sweatshirt.

- The fleece
No wonder why fleece makes its way to the top when it’s about the best lightweight hoodie or aesthetic sweatshirt. The fleece hoodie is widely popular right now in the fashion industry. The fleece is an environmental fabric that manufactures a smooth, easy-to-wear, comfortable hoodie. There are a number of cozy hoodie types made up of cotton, fleece, or blends of both.
Even after tons of washes, fleece fabric doesn’t shrink or stretch after washing the fabric. The fleece fabric is a synthetic fabric that was introduced a couple of years back and made quite a name in the market because of its lovely qualities.
Keeping a good balance between the heat and cold in its fabric provides a good warmth feel, making the fleece hoodie or sweatshirt the best to wear in winter.
Pros
- High insulating
- Soft and plush texture
- Low-maintenance
- Easy to afford
Cons
- Not water-resistant
- Not windproof
- Prone to pilling

- Polyester
Polyester fabric lies in the family of stretch fabrics, which means polyester fabric is the stretchable fabric that is best known because of its durability and breathable properties. Polyester fabric is synthetic, a water-resistant fabric often used with a combination of one natural fabric to attain the color retention, fading, water absorption, and quick drying features in polyester hoodies or polyester sweatshirts.
One drawback of the polyester fabric is that the wearer might feel itchy or clammy after wearing a polyester hoodie for longer. The Polyester fabric defeats all the fabric about hoodies or sweatshirts for rainy sessions or beaches. The polyester fabric is widely used to manufacture swimwear clothing lines.
A 100 % polyester hoodie would make the fabric much more clumsy and irritating that’s why polyester fabric is used with nylon, cotton, or fleece fabric to get the natural properties in a hoodie. All in all, the polyester blends for manufacturing hoodies or sweatshirt is one of the best options. One thing that you must remember about polyester fabric is the figure-hugging fabric.
Pros
- Moisture-wicking
- Lightweight material
- Colorfastness
- Expensive
Cons
- Lack of breathability
- Not as soft as natural fibers
- Sensitive to high heat

- Wool
Wool, the traditionally used fabric in sweaters manufacturing, is also a top runner for wool hoodies or sweatshirts. Talking about the current trends in the industry, a broad customer wants a fleece hoodie, but wool is an excellent option to manufacture wool hoodies, as with polyester, you get several benefits.
The wool fabric is a soft fabric with a strong and durable structure while being lightweight, manufacturing a lightweight hoodie. It won’t be unjust to say that wool fabric is a born-featured fabric that comes with high quality properties such as water resistance and fire resistance, making it best for general wear.
With so many pros, we must mention that wool fabric is uncomfortable to wear, and that’s the only cons that drag down its value. Only organic wool coming from the alpacas or sheep are comfortable to wear. To tackle this issue, the wool fabric is used with other blends of the fabric to add durability, stretchability, and comfortability factors to the fabric.
Pros
- Excellent insulator
- Breathable
- Keep you warm in cold weather
- Provide luxurious feel
Cons
- Sensitive to moths
- Prone to shrinking
- Expensive

- Sweatshirt knit
You might already have an idea about where this fabric is best used. Exactly this fabric is specially designed and used for manufacturing sweatshirts. There is a “Hoodies vs. Sweatshirt” battle in the market. Hoodies and sweatshirts are almost similar clothing products; the only.
The sweatshirt knit fabric is easy to cut and sew, so if you have a custom design or structure to be made, you can quickly provide a custom hoodie manufacturer[nk1] with your designs. They can easily craft you a soft sweatshirt with your custom design over it as the fabric is based on the knitting structure, so you might not find a much stretchability structure.
The loose fabric is also best for making well-fitted sweatshirts, making it a good option for your following clothing line. Overall, the fabric is easy to care for, breathable, warm, and offers a soft knitted appearance from the front.
Pros
- Softness
- Absorbency
- Versatility
- Stretch and flexibility
Cons
- Prone to pilling
- Environmental impact
- Limited Breathability

- Frenchy Terry
Also known as terry cloth is pretty famous for manufacturing soft hoodies. The French fabric is considered luxurious, although this quality makes this fabric quite expensive, but the fabric over a hoodie is worth the cost. You can call the French terry the finest member of the cotton family as it’s 100% cotton having loop covered surface while it has a soft pile on the other side that is usually the inside of the hoodies.
While the case is vice versa when manufacturing towels, pillow covers, etc., besides hoodie manufacturing, we have also used French terry fabric to manufacture top-class luxury loungewear or robe clothing.
The French terry has significantly less flexibility or stretchability features, so they are usually a blend of polyester or nylon fabric used to make the French terry hoodie stretchable and flexible. All in all, this fabric is versatile and can be used to manufacture different clothing lines. What makes this fabric the best is its high breathability and smooth surface that would create suitable quality hoodies.
Pros
- Less bulk
- Polished appearance
- Made from sustainable material
- Comfortable against the skin
Cons
- Potential for pilling
- Not as much warm as fleece
- Longer drying time

- Jersey knit
The jersey knit is similar to the sweatshirt knit. Still, jersey knit is specifically designed for manufacturing sports clothing lines because it has stretchability features, making it one of the best fabrics for jersey knit fabric. Being a sports fabric, it provides high breathability, flexibility for body movement. You can easily have a sports session or jog with this fabric.
This fabric is one of the best fabrics for manufacturing sweatshirts for teens. The fabric consists of cotton, nylon, or polyester to add more stretch to the hoodie, making it best for flexible movement in fitness[nk2] & sports apparel. This fabric has good stretchability, so it can quickly go out of shape and return to shape without shrinking. Having a good holding structure, it seems to be a good fabric for manufacturing fitted women’s cotton sweatshirts or hoodies.
While you will be wearing a hoodie made up of jersey knit fabric with a blend of polyester or nylon, you can feel the smoothness of the hoodie or sweatshirt. Its high breathable structure will keep your body throughout the day.
Pros
Cons

- Cotton
We can proudly say that cotton is one of the best and most widely used fabrics in the clothing industry. From organic sources, cotton fabric is a natural resource that is an optimal option for most fashion brands, whether for casual wear clothing, best hoodies, or sportswear fashion clothing lines.
Cotton fabric has all the reasons to be a top-of-the-line fabric to manufacture a top-class cotton hoodie or sweatshirt. One thing that we can assure you of is that when you wear a cotton hoodie, you can spend tons of hours wearing it and you won’t feel itched for a sec.
What makes cotton one of the best options for hoodies and sweatshirt manufacturing is its flexibility, durability, and comfort for any skin. Moreover, if you want to add stretchability to your hoodies, you can use a blend of polyester, nylon, or spandex to make a stretchable fabric.
Pros
- Soft
- High breathability
- Hypoallergenic to skin
- Easy to care for
Cons
- Shrinks in hot water
- Not as insulating as other materials
- Fades over time

- Rayon
Rayon is a royal fabric that belongs to the semi-synthetic family of fabrics. The Rayon fabric is so good that it has everything required to make a high-quality hoodie. With synthetic and natural fabrics features, the rayon is pretty good regarding breathability, lightweight, and durability. It has this fantastic quality to absorb moisture and water, making it best for making a sports hoodie.
The rayon fabric is considered a perfect match to blend with the wool fabric as it enhances the qualities of the fabric and makes a perfectly structured fabric that can hold custom designs for more extended designs. So, if you are looking for a fabric that can handle custom design by cutting, sewing, screen printing, and fabric dyeing, then the rayon and wool blend is the best.
Or if you pair spandex with rayon fabric, then you can have a stretchy, durable, flexible you can have ideal fabric for manufacturing sportswear hoodies. For sports fabric, you can blend rayon fabric with synthetic fabrics.
Pros
- Soft texture
- High absorbency
- More affordable
- Easily dyed
Cons
- Not suitable for high-intensity activities
- Sensitive to heat
- Generate static electricity

- Linen
If you want something more unique and lightweight woven fabrics than all above, let me present the well-known fabrics from the lightweight woven fabrics family, i.e., lined and silk. Best for summer casuals, linen is a comfortable, flexible, and luxurious fabric for hoodie manufacturing, especially for women.
The linen and silk fabric belong to the same family and share the same structure. However, the fabric is not ideal for hoodies because of the closed structure. Being a high-maintenance fabric, the linen fabric makes it a bit attain a smooth structure of the hoodie. The linen fabric is easy to catch wrinkles easily.
So, it’s a floppy material for making suitable quality hoodies. Even if you create a body-fit hoodie or sweatshirt, you will likely be bothered by its drape and loose fitting.
Pros
- Strong fabric
- Smooth appearances
- Cooling effect on the skin
- Less likely of skin irritations
Cons
- Potential for brittleness
- Lack of elasticity
- Environmental impact during processing
FAQs
Here are common types of fabric that you can use to manufacture a hoodie or sweatshirt:
• Cotton
• Polyester
• Fleece
• French Terry
• Blend of Cotton and Polyester
• Wool
• Hemp
• Bamboo
• Rayon
• Linen
For hot weather, here are some suitable materials for hoodies:
• Nylon
• Rayon
• Bamboo
• Cotton
• Mesh
• Linen
• Polyester blends
The material frequently utilized for thin hoodies is a blend of cotton and polyester.
Polyester hoodies can provide some warmth but are generally less warm than hoodies made from materials like cotton or wool.
Hoodies made from materials like cashmere, merino wool, or alpaca are generally considered some of the softest materials.
Cashmere is considered one of the top choices for luxury hoodies due to its softness, warmth, and durability.
Wrap up
In wind-up, numerous fabrics can be used to manufacture a hoodie, each with unique properties and characteristics. Most fabrics, including cotton, polyester, wool, and fleece, are utilized as high-quality fabrics for manufacturing hoodies. Additional materials like rayon, spandex, and nylon can also be used. When choosing a material for a hoodie, it’s vital to consider factors like comfort, durability, breathability, care, style, and cost. One material that’s not as common for hoodies but is still worth mentioning is linen. It’s incredibly soft and warm but also very expensive and requires special care. Linen is usually reserved for luxury items rather than everyday wear.
Another material that’s used for hoodies & jackets[nk1] is leather. Leather hoodies are possibly stylish and unique. However, they are rarely as pleasant or versatile in such a way that further materials. They are also expensive and require special care to maintain their appearances. As a hoodies manufacturer for the past 03 decades, we have manufactured easy and complicated custom hoodies with the finest modern fabrics. Are you Thinking of starting your own hoodie line or having an idea for a custom hoodie? Feel free to contact us; we’d love to discuss your project.