A favorite hoodie is more than an article of clothing. It’s a portable cocoon of comfort and warmth. It’s an old friend that helps you feel relaxed and cozy.
Hoodies aren’t fragile. However, if your hoodie contains embroidery, following a few simple washing and drying tips can help it live a long, full life.
Today, we’re talking laundry. We’ll review the best practices for keeping your favorite embroidered hoodie looking fresh for many years. Use these tips for any embroidered hoodie or crewneck sweatshirt.
Let’s learn:
- About whether embroidered garments are delicate
- How to machine wash embroidered hoodies
- How to dry embroidered hoodies
- How to iron embroidered hoodies
Are Embroidered Garments Delicate?
Embroidery is a craft in which a needle and thread are used to add decorative designs on fabric. Embroidery may be done by hand or by machine.
Garments with embroidered text or patches, like the sweatshirts shown below, appear more high-end and artistic than similar garments that were made using standard printing methods.
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16153 Genova Chenille Pigment-Dyed Embroidered Hoodie |
Pride Flag Embroidered Sweatshirt |
Bowling Green State University Embroidered Sweatshirt |
”It's a beautiful, comfortable, fits-just-right sweatshirt. The color is very pretty and the embroidery on it is done really well. I love it and will definitely be buying more.”
— Kristin, ★★★★★ Verified fancysweetstx Sweatshirt Buyer
Embroidered hoodies might seem fancy … so does this mean that they’re fragile?
Well, embroidered or not, hoodies are made for daily wear, not a night at the opera.
However, a few things can go wrong with embroidery. These include:
- Tearing
- Loose threads
- Color bleeding
- Disconnection from the garment if the garment shrinks
Want to keep that embroidery looking sharp? Avoid heavy friction and intense heat, and don’t let your hoodie shrink.
Follow the washing, drying, and ironing tips outlined below and your embroidered hoodie will be just fine.
1 - Tips for Machine Washing Embroidered Hoodies
Don’t be scared to put your embroidered hoodie in the washing machine. Everybody wants to avoid a laundry disaster, but the fact is, they don’t happen as often as they used to.
A load of wash involves these three components:
- The garments
- The washing machine
- The laundry detergent
In recent decades, the industries producing each of these three components have made strides that prevent laundry problems.
Garments are more often made using shrink-proof blends, washing machines are less likely to over-soak or overheat their loads, and modern detergents are able to provide effective cleaning in laundry-safe cold water.
Compared to the old days, there’s a lot less shrinking and color bleeding going on.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with being extra careful.
Here are the best machine-washing tips for your embroidered hoodie. Use these methods to avoid heavy friction, overheating, thread damage, and garment shrinkage.
Don’t Wash Too Frequently
Don’t wash your sweatshirts more than necessary. Machine washing doesn’t (often) quickly destroy garments, but it does wear them out gradually over time.
If your hoodie doesn’t smell bad or show visible signs of grime, then what’s the rush?
”Love this sweatshirt; has a nice heavy duty feel but is soft on the inside. Great quality for the price, has held up very nicely to a few washes so far!”
— Angela W., ★★★★★ Verified fancysweetstx Sweatshirt Buyer
Wash With Cold Water
Cold water washing is a tough sell, but it’s the way to go.
We’re taught from a young age that hot water is better for cleaning. Generally speaking, that’s obviously true. However, when it comes to laundry, hotter isn’t better.
Today’s detergents are designed to clean clothes in cold water. They contain enzymes that were specially developed to work in chilly water.
Using hot water, on the other hand, increases the chance of something going wrong. Hot or warm water can cause shrinkage or color bleeding, damaging the stitching of your hoodie’s embroidery.
It’s worth noting that most of the energy use associated with laundry comes from heating the water. Therefore, along with lowering the risk of garment damage, washing with cold water is significantly cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than washing with hot water.
Sort Your Light and Dark Laundry
Sorting laundry by colors isn’t as important as it used to be. Modern synthetic fibers like polyester hold onto their colors better than cotton. Plus, if you’re savvy enough to wash with cold water, this also reduces the likelihood of color bleeding.
While major color bleeding is a rarity in modern laundry, you might want to be extra sensitive with your embroidered garments—especially when it comes to light-colored embroidery.
Even a small amount of color bleeding onto embroidery can do major harm to its appearance. Picture big, white, embroidered lettering with ugly pink splotches.
If you want to lower the chance of color damage, separate your darks and whites. If your hoodie’s embroidery is white (even if the rest of the sweatshirt isn’t), wash it with your whites.
Don’t Overstuff the Washing Machine
When a washing machine is overloaded, more friction occurs during the wash cycle. When a load is too heavy, the surfaces of all the garments repeatedly grind against one another. This action can tear apart embroidery stitching.
To avoid overloading, load your machine to a maximum of three-fourths full.
Use a Laundry Bag
To protect embroidered clothing, use a laundry bag, also known as a washer bag or a garment bag.
A laundry bag is a sack that can be safely run through a wash cycle. Laundry bags are made from mesh, or a similar material, which allows water and soap to penetrate the garment but prevents heavy contact with other items.
When you wash your embroidered hoodie in a laundry bag, the embroidered area is subjected to less harmful friction, reducing the chance of damage.
2 - Tips for Drying Embroidered Hoodies
Drying machines are convenient, but, whenever possible, hang drying should be your first choice.
Like cold water washing, hang drying is another win-win-win. Enjoy these advantages when you hang dry:
- Save money on energy costs
- Environmentally friendly
- Reduce garment damage and shrinkage
Putting your embroidered hoodie in the dryer exposes the sensitive embroidery to unnecessary moisture, friction, and heat. To preserve your hoodie, and any other clothing that you want to be careful with, choose hang-drying as often as possible.
3 - Tips for Ironing Embroidered Hoodies
Sweatshirts made from a cotton/poly blend (like most fancysweetstx hoodies) have a very low wrinkle factor.
You probably don’t typically feel the need to iron your hoodies. However, if they’re made from 100% cotton, or if you just really like wearing freshly-ironed clothes, you might break out the iron.
If you do iron your embroidered hoodie, take great care not to do damage. Don’t directly iron the embroidery. Only iron the non-embroidered side of the garment.
For extra protection, place another article of clothing between the embroidery and the ironing board to act as a shield against heat and friction while you iron.
Where to Find Midwest-Themed Embroidered Hoodies
At fancysweetstx, our expert apparel team works with both embroidery and screen printing. When a design calls for embroidery, we love bringing creative logos and colors to life, creating unique garments that capture the spirit of the beautiful American Midwest.
”This is soft, cozy, and comfortable. Washes perfectly. I love it.”
— Kay Z., ★★★★★ Verified fancysweetstx Sweatshirt Buyer
Check out our collection of hoodies that celebrate the Midwest, Ohio, Michigan, the City of 16153 Genova, and the Great Lakes Region. Find a fabulous hoodie that you’ll treasure for years, and have no fear on laundry day.
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