How to Care for Different Fabrics
Cotton, polyester, blends, fleece, wool, and nylon each react differently to heat, water, and agitation, and matching the fabric is the difference between apparel that lasts and apparel that shrinks, fades, or pills. Cotton is forgiving but can shrink 3 to 5 percent in hot water, polyester and nylon soften and melt near 480F under a hot iron, fleece loses its loft above low heat, and wool felts the moment agitation and heat combine. Pick your fabric above for the exact wash temperature, dryer setting, and iron level. Whatever the fiber, custom printed and embroidered apparel lasts longest washed cold and inside out, dried low, and ironed around the design, never across it. For the exact symbols on your tag, use our care label reader.
FAQ
Each fabric reacts to heat, water, and agitation differently. Cotton can shrink 3 to 5 percent in hot water, polyester and nylon melt near 480F under a hot iron, fleece loses loft above low heat, and wool felts when heat meets agitation. Pick your fabric above for the exact wash, dry, and iron settings.
Wash polyester cold or warm on a gentle cycle, tumble dry low, and iron low under 300F if at all, since it melts near 480F. Skip fabric softener, which coats the fibers and traps odor.
Wash cotton warm or cold and dry on low or line dry. Heat shrinks cotton by 3 to 5 percent, most of it in the first wash, so keep both the wash and the dry cool.
Tumble dry fleece on low or air dry to keep its loft. High heat flattens the pile and can melt polyester fleece, so keep the dryer cool.
Wash a 50/50 or 65/35 cotton poly blend cold on a normal cycle and tumble dry low. Blends are the most forgiving common fabric and stay soft and true to size with cool care.
Whatever the fabric, wash cold and inside out, dry low, and iron around the design, never across it. This protects screen prints, DTG, and embroidery on cotton, polyester, and blends alike.
Last updated July 1, 2026