Hoodie tech pack: the parts a t-shirt spec doesn't cover
A hoodie tech pack is a t-shirt tech pack plus three things that have their own measurements and their own ways of going wrong: the hood, the ribbing and the pocket.
Numbers here come from our free boxy cropped hoodie — 400 GSM brushed-back fleece, 8 cm drop shoulder, double-layer hood, 7 cm rib hem.
In this guide
Fleece weight is the first decision
The hood has its own measurements
Ribbing: two numbers people forget
The kangaroo pocket
Grading a hoodie
Start from the free hoodie
Fleece weight is the first decision
Hoodie fabric is much heavier than tee fabric. A thin hoodie is around 280 GSM. A normal one is 320–350. A heavyweight streetwear hoodie is 400 GSM and up.
Our free hoodie is 400 GSM brushed-back fleece, 80% cotton / 20% polyester, with an acceptable range of 380–450. The alternative listed on the spec is 100% cotton loopback French terry at 420 GSM — loopback has visible loops inside instead of a brushed nap, and it pills less.
Brushed back is the soft fuzzy inside most people expect. Say which one you want. The two feel completely different and cost differently.
The hood has its own measurements
A hood is not one number. Specify at least these:
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Hood height, neck seam to crown — 36 cm on the free hoodie
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Hood width, flat — 26 cm
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Layers: single or double. Double-layer holds its shape and is what most streetwear hoodies use
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Centre seam: a single centre seam, cover-stitched, or a three-panel hood
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Facing: self-fabric with a 2.5 cm double-needle edge
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Drawcord: yes or no, and if yes, the cord width, the eyelet type and the tip
Ribbing: two numbers people forget
Rib is a different fabric from the body, so it gets its own line: 2x2 rib, 95% cotton / 5% elastane, 330 GSM, matched to the body colour.
Then the two measurements. Hem rib height is 7 cm and cuff rib height is 8 cm — and both have a tolerance of ±0.3 cm because a rib that is 1 cm out is instantly visible.
The detail that decides whether a hoodie looks right: the rib band is cut at 88% of the hem length, so the body blouses slightly over it. Leave that out and the factory cuts the band the same length as the hem, and the hoodie hangs flat and cheap.
The kangaroo pocket
A pocket needs a shape and a position, not just a name. On the free hoodie: top width 24 cm, bottom width 38 cm, height 19 cm, with angled 13 cm openings and bound edges.
Placement is the other half: the bottom edge sits on the hem-rib seam and it is centred on centre front. Without that line, pocket height is a guess, and a pocket 2 cm too high is the single most common thing wrong with a first hoodie sample.
Grading a hoodie
Body measurements grade like a tee: chest and hem 3 cm per size, body length 1.5 cm, across shoulder 2 cm, sleeve length 1 cm.
The hood barely grades at all — 0.5 cm per size on both height and width — because heads do not scale with chests. The rib heights do not grade at all: 7 cm is 7 cm on every size.
This is the clearest example of why one percentage across the whole chart does not work.
Start from the free hoodie
The free cropped hoodie template already has all of this: front and back flats, eleven points of measure graded XS–XXL with tolerances, the fleece and rib fabric blocks, the hood and pocket construction, and the trims list. Change the colour, the weight and the sizes, then export the PDF.