How hoodies are made
The hoodie began as a work garment for people stacking boxes in freezing New York warehouses.
- stations
- 6
- things upstream
- 22
- raw sources
- 9
- steps from the ground
- 8
The short version
A hoodie is cut from a heavy knitted fabric, usually cotton or a cotton and polyester blend, with soft loops on the inside. Machines cut the front, back, sleeve and hood panels in stacks, and sewing crews join them. The hood gets a drawcord, the front gets a kangaroo pocket, and ribbed cuffs and a waistband close the openings.
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Blend the yarn
Cotton fibers, often mixed with polyester, are drawn out and twisted into yarn. Adding polyester makes the finished garment dry faster and hold its shape after washing.
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Knit the loop-back fabric
Knitting machines loop the yarn into a stretchy fabric that is smooth on the outside. The inside is left with soft loops of yarn that trap warm air. The fabric comes off the machine as a wide tube or flat roll.
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Dye and brush the cloth
The whole roll is dyed in a bath, then dried. Many hoodies are also brushed on the inside, which raises the loops into a fuzzy lining.
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Cut stacks of panels
Cloth is spread in many layers on a table so every ply lies the same way. An automatic CNC cutter, or a manual knife on small orders, goes through the stack and produces the body, sleeves, pockets, hood panels and rib pieces in one pass.
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Sew the body and hood
The panels move along a sewing line where each operator does one job, such as setting the sleeves, joining the hood panels or building the pouch pocket. Overlock, flatlock and coverstitch machines make the seams.
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Add ribbing and drawcord
Stretchy ribbed bands are sewn on at the cuffs and waist so the hoodie hugs the wrist and hip. A drawcord is threaded through a tunnel around the hood opening, and a final check looks for loose threads and uneven seams.
Goes in
Worth repeating
- The first hooded sweatshirts were made by Champion in the 1930s, in Rochester, for laborers in freezing upstate New York warehouses.
- A hoodie is usually sewn on a line, where one operator may do nothing but sleeves and another nothing but pockets.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and hoodie starts as these 9 raw sources.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How hoodies are made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/hoodie