The hood
First decision: two panels or three. A two-panel hood has a centre back seam and sits closer to the head. A three-panel hood adds a gusset strip down the centre, which gives it volume and makes it stand up when it's down — the reason a heavy streetwear hood looks like it does.
Spec the hood height (from the neck seam to the top of the hood), the hood width at the opening, and the depth front to back. Then the front edge: self-lined and folded back, bound, or faced. A self-lined front edge in a 400 g/m² fleece is eight layers at the corner, so say what happens there or the factory will make a decision about bulk on your behalf.
Lined or unlined matters too. A jersey-lined hood in a fleece body is a different garment and a different cost, and it needs a second fabric row in the bill of materials.
The drawcord and eyelets
Four numbers and two references, and this is the callout most often reduced to "drawcord": cord diameter, cord finished length, eyelet inside diameter, and the distance from the centre front to each eyelet. Then the cord's composition and tip type (metal, plastic, knotted, heat-sealed) and the eyelet's material and finish.
Eyelets go through the front edge of the hood, and whether they sit in the self-lined fold or through a reinforcement patch changes how long they survive. Say which.
The pouch pocket
Width, height, the distance from the hem to the pocket's bottom edge, and the pocket opening's finish. Then the bar tacks: a pouch pocket without bar tacks at the top corners of the opening tears out, and it's the single cheapest reinforcement on the garment.
State whether the pocket is a single piece caught in the side seams (cheaper, stable) or a patch sewn onto the front (more visible topstitching, more likely to ripple in a heavy fabric).
Ribs at the cuffs and hem
Same logic as a t-shirt neck: the rib is cut shorter than the opening and stretched on, and the ratio is the spec. Cuffs usually run 65 to 75 % of the sleeve opening because they have to grip a wrist, and the hem rib runs 85 to 95 % of the body sweep. Both depend on that rib's recovery. Recovery is the property that matters, and a rib with poor recovery gives you cuffs that hang open after a month.
Spec rib width finished, rib composition and weight, and whether elastane is in it. A 5 % elastane rib recovers far better than a 100 % cotton one and costs more.
The measurements
| Point of measure | How to measure | Tol. |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | 2.5 cm below armhole, flat, doubled | ±1.5 |
| Body length | High point of shoulder to bottom of hem rib | ±1.5 |
| Shoulder to shoulder | Seam to seam, or state drop-shoulder point | ±1 |
| Sleeve length | Shoulder seam to bottom of cuff | ±1 |
| Cuff width and height | Relaxed, flat | ±0.5 |
| Hem rib height | Finished | ±0.5 |
| Hood height | Neck seam to top of hood | ±1 |
| Hood width | At the front opening, flat | ±1 |
| Pocket width and height | Finished, outside edges | ±0.5 |
| Eyelet to centre front | Centre of eyelet to CF fold | ±0.3 |
The fabric row
Weight decides whether the hood stands up. Between 280 and 400 g/m² is the working range: below 280 the hood collapses onto the shoulders, above 400 the seams get bulky and the cuffs stop sitting flat. For reference, a widely used blank hoodie sits at 350 g/m².
Then the structure, and it's a real choice: french terry leaves the loops uncut, so it's springier and lighter-feeling at the same weight. Fleece cuts and brushes them, which traps air and makes the same number feel warmer and hang heavier. Two garments, one weight.
Note on our own hoodie support: the parametric hoodie pattern exists in Clothix, and its assembly — hood lining, pocket mounting, cuff attachment — is still under review before we'd put a hoodie tech pack in front of a factory as production-ready. The t-shirt is further along.
Hoodie construction in detail · fleece versus terry · what a tech pack contains · the t-shirt version