Sweatshirt fabric weight: 280 or 350 gsm, which one to choose?

For a team sweatshirt worn all year round, 280 gsm (g/m²) is the right fabric weight: soft, dense enough to last and to hold a logo well. That is the weight of 27 of the 48 sweatshirts in the tknp.io catalogue. For a heavy sweatshirt that keeps its shape, the one people keep for years or that you sell to your community, move up to 350 gsm.

The fabric weight is shown on every product page, in g/m². That number says a lot about how thick a custom sweatshirt is and how well it holds up, but not everything: the inside of the fleece, the fabric content and the fit matter just as much. Here is how to read it, use by use, with prices.

What is a sweatshirt's fabric weight?

A sweatshirt's fabric weight is the weight of one square metre of its fabric, in grams per square metre: g/m², or gsm. The higher the number, the denser and thicker the fleece. A 350 gsm sweatshirt is therefore cut from a fabric 25% heavier than a 280 gsm one.

The number does not give the weight of the finished sweatshirt: it measures the fabric, not the garment with its hood, ribbed trims and seams. It is there to compare how thick two fleeces are, whatever the size of the sweatshirt.

Some brands, mostly American ones, show the weight in ounces (oz): a sweatshirt sold as 8 oz is about 270 gsm, a 10 oz one about 340 gsm. The conversion rule, along with the benchmarks for t-shirts, is in our guide to the heavyweight t-shirt.

280, 300 or 350 gsm: sweatshirt fabric weights

In the tknp.io sweatshirt catalogue, fabric weights range from 260 to 350 gsm, and 280 gsm leads by far: 27 models out of 48, crew neck and hoodie alike. The table places each step, on the body and in use.

Market benchmarks point the same way: around 260 gsm, a sweatshirt gets more fluid; around 360 gsm, it becomes heavy and holds its shape. Between 240 and 270 gsm, it counts as a lightweight sweatshirt.

The right fabric weight for how your team wears it

Aim for 280 gsm for a sweatshirt worn all year, 300 gsm and up for one worn outdoors in winter, 350 gsm for one to keep or to sell, and 320 to 350 gsm for an oversized fit. The weight follows the way the team will wear the sweatshirt.

A sweatshirt worn all year: 280 gsm

For a sweatshirt worn at the office, at the club or on campus, from September to June, 280 gsm is the right call. It is thick enough to take washes and seasons, soft enough to wear every day, on its own or under a jacket. It is the weight of the class sweatshirt, the club sweatshirt and the company sweatshirt people pull on without thinking.

A sweatshirt worn outdoors in winter: 300 gsm and up

For volunteers by a pitch in November, a front-of-house team working outside or supporters in the stands, aim for 300 gsm and up, with a brushed inside that holds the warmth. At Stanley/Stella, the Roller and Drummer 2.0 (280 gsm) as well as the Changer 2.0 and Cruiser 2.0 (350 gsm) are made of brushed fleece: with the same inside, the 350 gsm ones keep you warmest.

A sweatshirt to keep for years, or to sell: 350 gsm

When the sweatshirt is the merch of an association, a venue or a brand, and you want to see it still worn in three years, go up to 350 gsm. The dense fleece gives the sweatshirt the structured drape of a brand garment and helps it keep its shape. It is also the weight to favour for a sweatshirt sold to your community through the tknp.io Store: whoever reserved it judges it the moment it arrives.

An oversized fit: 320 to 350 gsm

A loose fit needs a fleece that carries the volume: too thin, an oversized sweatshirt hangs instead of draping. The oversized sweatshirts in the catalogue have a fabric weight of 320 gsm for JHK's Kangaroo Oversize hoodie, and 350 gsm for Stanley/Stella's Radder 2.0 (crew neck) and Slammer 2.0 (hoodie).

How much does a heavier sweatshirt cost?

At Stanley/Stella, going from 280 to 350 gsm costs about EUR 3.50 to 5.50 more per sweatshirt, excluding VAT, for 50 embroidered sweatshirts. The brand lends itself to the comparison with two pairs of sweatshirts, the Roller and the Changer 2.0 as crew necks, the Drummer 2.0 and the Cruiser 2.0 as hoodies: 280 gsm in organic cotton and recycled polyester on one side, 350 gsm in 100% organic cotton on the other.

Prices excluding VAT per sweatshirt, for 50 sweatshirts with an 8 × 10 cm embroidery, taken from our product pages on 14 October 2026: they are indicative and may change. The gap pays for both the extra 70 grams per square metre and the move to 100% organic cotton.

Is a 350 gsm sweatshirt always more expensive?

No: from one brand to another, a 350 gsm sweatshirt can cost less than a 280 gsm one. For 50 embroidered sweatshirts, B&C's Influence hoodie (350 gsm) and Just Hoods' Vision Heavyweight Hoodie (340 gsm) come to about EUR 26 excluding VAT, less than Stanley/Stella's Drummer 2.0 in 280 gsm and 85% organic cotton. Seven sweatshirts are compared on every criterion in our selection of the best sweatshirts to customise.

What fabric weight does not tell you

Two sweatshirts of the same weight can differ in warmth and in feel. Three pieces of information sit next to the number, usually on the same product page.

• The inside of the fleece: a brushed inside keeps the warmth, French terry loops breathe better. At equal weight, the inside changes the comfort: our guide to sweatshirt fleece compares the two side by side.
• The fabric content: the Changer 2.0 and Cruiser 2.0 are 100% organic cotton, GOTS certified; the Roller and Drummer 2.0 combine 85% organic cotton with 15% recycled polyester; Just Hoods' College Hoodie blends 80% cotton and 20% polyester.
• The fit: at Stanley/Stella, the Changer 2.0 and Cruiser 2.0 (350 gsm) are slightly roomier (relaxed medium fit) than the Roller and Drummer 2.0 (280 gsm, medium fit).

What is left is the shape of the garment: our page on sweatshirt or hoodie for a team helps you decide, and the crewneck guide covers the crew neck sweatshirt.

Can you embroider a 280 gsm sweatshirt?

Yes: a 280 gsm sweatshirt takes embroidery with no difficulty, and all 48 sweatshirts in the tknp.io catalogue offer an 8 × 10 cm embroidery from 10 sweatshirts, alongside DTF transfer and screen printing. Fabric weight mostly guides the size of the embroidered design: a 350 gsm fleece holds the relief of dense embroidery better, and below 280 gsm the fabric distorts more quickly under the stitches, so a small design works best. The cost of embroidery in volume, from the threshold to lead times, is covered in our guide to embroidery on clothing.

Compare 280 and 350 gsm in your hands before ordering the batch

The difference between 280 and 350 gsm is easier to feel than to read. On tknp.io, blank sweatshirts are sold by the unit and the garment alone is available within 3 working days: order a Roller and a Changer 2.0, try one after the other, then launch the decorated batch, from 10 sweatshirts per model, sizes and colours mixed.