How to Wash a Sweatshirt: Preventing Pilling, Fading and Shrinkage

Wash sweatshirts inside out in cold water on a gentle cycle, use a small amount of mild detergent, skip fabric softener, and air dry flat or on a wide hanger. Cold water and no tumble dryer prevent almost all shrinkage and pilling. Care guidance appears on every Thomas Scott sweatshirt page.

Most sweatshirts don't wear out they get damaged. Pilling at the cuffs, a stretched neckline, a body two sizes smaller than it was: all three are usually caused by heat and friction rather than by age. The fixes are simple and cost nothing. Thomas Scott builds its winter range around fabrics that reward this care, and the full store lists composition so you know what you're washing.

How Should You Wash a Sweatshirt?

Turn it inside out, wash cold at up to 30°C on a gentle cycle with a small amount of mild liquid detergent, and use a low spin speed. Inside out protects the outer face from friction, which is what causes pilling. Cold water prevents shrinkage and colour loss. That's the entire method.

How Do You Stop a Sweatshirt From Pilling?

Pilling is friction damage short fibres working loose and tangling into balls. Wash inside out, use a gentle cycle, avoid washing with rough fabrics like denim and towels, and never tumble dry. Ring-spun and combed cotton pill considerably less than open-end spun cotton, so fabric quality matters from the start.

How to Remove Pills From a Sweatshirt

Use a fabric shaver or a fine-toothed comb, working in one direction with the garment laid flat. Don't pull pills off by hand that drags more fibre loose and makes the next round worse. A disposable razor works carefully, but risks cutting the fabric.

Does a Sweatshirt Shrink in the Wash?

Cotton sweatshirts can shrink noticeably, sometimes three to five percent on the first wash, if washed hot or tumble dried. Cold water and air drying keep shrinkage minimal. A cotton-polyester blend shrinks less than pure cotton. Never buy a size larger expecting shrinkage you'll be left with a poor fit either way.

How Should You Dry a Sweatshirt?

Air dry, laid flat or on a wide hanger, away from direct sun. Never tumble dry heat plus tumbling is what shrinks fabric and roughens the surface. Never hang a wet sweatshirt on a thin hanger or hook, because the weight of the water stretches the shoulders and neckline permanently.

Why Is My Sweatshirt Neckline Stretched?

Almost always because it was hung wet, or hung by the neck rather than supported. Wet fabric is heavy and cotton has limited recovery. Dry sweatshirts flat, or folded over a wide hanger so the weight sits on the body rather than the neck.

How Do You Stop a Sweatshirt From Fading?

Wash inside out in cold water, dry away from direct sunlight, and separate darks for the first few washes. Most fading is sun damage rather than detergent damage drying dark cotton in Indian sun fades it faster than repeated washing does. Avoid bleach and optical brighteners entirely.

How Often Should You Wash a Sweatshirt?

Every three to four wears in normal winter conditions, or after any wear where you sweated. Sweatshirts sit over other layers, so they get less direct contact with skin than a t-shirt does. Over-washing causes more damage than under-washing. Airing overnight on a hanger genuinely freshens a sweatshirt between wears.

How to Store Sweatshirts

Fold rather than hang for the season. Long-term hanging distorts the shoulder line and neckline, particularly on heavier fabrics. Store clean, since body oils oxidise into yellow marks over months and attract insects. Use breathable cotton storage rather than sealed plastic, and add a silica gel sachet in humid cities.

Common Sweatshirt Care Mistakes

Fabric softener. It coats fibres, reduces breathability, and traps odour so the sweatshirt smells faster after each wash.

Tumble drying to save time. The single biggest cause of shrunken, rough, pilled sweatshirts.

Hanging wet. Permanently stretches the shoulders and neck.

Washing with denim or towels. Rough surfaces accelerate pilling dramatically.

Ironing directly on the outer face. Flattens the knit and can leave a shine. Iron inside out on low if you must.

Expert Tip

Wash a new sweatshirt cold and alone before its first wear. You'll release any residual finishing, find out how the dye behaves before it transfers onto something you care about, and confirm whether the fabric shrinks at all. Two weeks of ownership tells you more about quality than any product description.

FAQs

How do you wash a sweatshirt without ruining it?

Turn it inside out, wash cold at up to 30°C on a gentle cycle with a small amount of mild liquid detergent, use a low spin, and air dry flat or on a wide hanger. Skip fabric softener and never tumble dry. Those steps prevent nearly all shrinkage, pilling and colour loss.

Why does my sweatshirt pill so quickly?

Pilling is friction damage, so it's usually caused by washing with rough fabrics like denim or towels, using a heavy cycle, or tumble drying. Fabric quality matters too open-end spun cotton pills far faster than combed or ring-spun cotton. Washing inside out on a gentle cycle reduces it considerably.

Do sweatshirts shrink in the dryer?

Yes, often noticeably. Heat combined with tumbling shrinks cotton by three to five percent and roughens the fabric surface. Cotton-polyester blends shrink less but still suffer surface damage. Air drying flat or on a wide hanger avoids the problem entirely and costs nothing.

How often should you wash a sweatshirt?

Every three or four wears in normal winter conditions, and after any wear involving sweat. Sweatshirts usually sit over another layer, so they have less skin contact than t-shirts. Airing one overnight on a hanger freshens it well between wears. Over-washing causes more wear than under-washing.

How do you fix a stretched sweatshirt neckline?

A slightly stretched cotton neckline can sometimes be improved by washing cold and drying flat, which lets the fibres relax back. Significant stretching is usually permanent, because cotton has limited recovery. Prevention is the real answer: never hang a sweatshirt wet, and never hang it by the neck.