How to Wash an Embroidered Hoodie or Sweatshirt, Step by Step

First, read the care label

Every hoodie or sweatshirt has a small care label sewn inside, usually in the side seam or at the neck, and it is the most reliable instruction you will get for that exact garment. The tips below are general good practice for embroidered pieces, but if the label says something stricter, such as a lower temperature or no machine washing at all, follow the label.

It also helps to know what your hoodie is made of. A cotton and polyester blend, which is what most sweatshirts are, is fairly easy going. Pure cotton can shrink a little if it gets too hot, and a piece with a fluffy brushed inside can pill if it is washed roughly. The embroidery itself is made of thread sewn into the fabric, with a stabiliser on the back to keep it flat, so what you are really protecting is that thread and the fabric around it.

Before it goes in the machine

Two minutes of preparation do more for the embroidery than any special detergent. Most damage happens because the stitches rub against other clothes, zips and the drum, so the goal is to give them as little to catch on as possible.

• Turn the hoodie inside out, so the embroidery faces inwards and the back of the design takes the friction.
• Close any zips and empty the pockets, including the tissue that always hides in a hoodie pocket.
• Put it in a mesh laundry bag if you have one, especially if the design is on the front or the sleeves.
• Wash it with similar colours and similar fabrics: no jeans with metal buttons, no towels that shed fluff.
• The first time, check that a dark hoodie does not bleed by pressing a damp white cloth against an inside seam.

Machine washing, step by step

A gentle or delicate cycle at 30 °C, or cold, is in general the safest choice for an embroidered hoodie. Higher temperatures do not make it cleaner in any way you would notice, but they do make cotton more likely to shrink, and a fabric that shrinks around a design that does not can pucker.

Use a mild liquid detergent rather than powder, which can leave white marks in dense stitching, and use a little less than you would for a normal load. Avoid bleach and strong stain removers on or near the embroidery: they can fade coloured thread unevenly. Fabric softener is best left out too, because it coats the fibres and can make the brushed inside of a sweatshirt pill faster.

Choose a low spin speed if your machine lets you. A hoodie full of water is heavy, and a very fast spin presses it hard against the drum. The result is not a disaster, but over many washes a gentler spin keeps the embroidery and the shape of the hoodie looking newer for longer.

Washing by hand

If the label asks for it, or if the hoodie is a piece you treasure, washing by hand is the gentlest option. Fill a basin with cool water, dissolve a small amount of mild detergent, and let the hoodie soak inside out for about ten minutes. Then move it gently through the water and press it, without scrubbing the embroidered area.

Rinse it in clean cool water until there is no more foam. To get rid of the water, do not wring or twist it: press it against the side of the basin, then roll it up in a dry towel and press the roll with your hands. That removes most of the water without stretching the fabric around the stitches.

Drying, ironing and stains

The tumble dryer is the biggest enemy of an embroidered hoodie. Heat can shrink the fabric and stiffen the stabiliser behind the design, and the tumbling adds even more friction. Instead, shake the hoodie gently while it is still damp, pull the embroidered area flat with your fingers so the fabric around it lies smooth, and let it dry flat on a drying rack or a towel, away from direct sun and radiators. Drying it over a rack rather than on a hanger keeps the shoulders from stretching.

Most of the time an embroidered sweatshirt does not need ironing. If it does, turn it inside out, put a thin cotton cloth or a towel between the iron and the back of the design, and use a medium temperature without pressing hard. Never iron directly on the stitches, and keep steam short.

For a small stain, act quickly and treat only that spot: dab it with cold water and a drop of mild detergent, working from the outside of the stain inwards, and avoid rubbing the thread. Deodorant marks under the arms usually come out with a cool wash before they have time to set.

Mistakes that shorten the life of embroidery

Most of the hoodies that come out of the wash looking tired have been through one of these. None of them ruins a piece in one go, but together they add up.

• Washing it after every single wear: a hoodie worn over a t-shirt can usually go a few wears between washes. Airing it out overnight is often enough.
• Hot washes to get it really clean, which mostly just shrink it.
• Washing it right side out with heavy denim or anything with velcro, which can snag the stitches.
• Pulling at a loose thread. If one appears, trim it carefully with small scissors instead.
• Storing it on a thin hanger for months. Fold it, with the embroidery facing inwards if you stack other clothes on top.

Our embroidered sweatshirts, and why we make them oversized

At Mima&Lulù⁷ we are two ARMY in Rome with an embroidery machine, and we design and embroider every piece ourselves in Italy. We make oversized sweatshirts rather than hoodies, in 50% cotton and 50% polyester, so all the tips above apply to them too, starting with inside out and no dryer. Our designs are fanmade, inspired by BTS and not affiliated with BTS, HYBE or BigHit Music.

Each piece is ready in about 7 days after payment is confirmed, plus courier time, and we ship worldwide. Shipping is free in Italy over €89 and in the European Union over €119 of products; outside the EU there is no free shipping.

• Wildflower, from €47.90, inspired by RM's Indigo era, with embroidery on both sleeves: the kind of design where a mesh bag really earns its place.
• KTH - Kim Taehyung, from €44.90, from our Bias Collection, with V's initials and both cuffs embroidered.
• D-DAY by Agust D, from €36.90 as an oversized sweatshirt or t-shirt, with embroidery on the front and the back.