Silhouettes · Hoodie Encyclopedia
The Zip-Up Hoodie Guide
A zip-up hoodie is a pullover with two more parts: a centre-front placket and a zipper. Those two additions cost 6% of FOB, add 3 days to lead time, and unlock the entire athleisure and layering category. Full-zip, half-zip and quarter-zip each solve a different customer need.
Full-zip vs half-zip
| Variant | Zipper length | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Full-zip | Hem to hood tip, 70–80cm | Everyday layering; opens completely |
| Half-zip | Hem to mid-chest, 30–40cm | Athletic; keeps rear hem intact |
| Quarter-zip | Neck to mid-chest, 20–25cm | Sportswear; runner / gym |
| 1/8-zip (pullover with slit) | 10–15cm neck | Golf, tech pullover |
YKK grades
Zipper size scales with fabric weight. Under-speccing the zipper (a #3 on 500 GSM fleece) causes teeth separation under stress; over-speccing (a #5 on 280 GSM tech fleece) reads bulky.
- YKK #3 — 280–350 GSM; delicate athleisure and tech fleece.
- YKK #4.5 — 350–420 GSM; the streetwear standard.
- YKK #5 — 420–500+ GSM; heavyweight fleece and outerwear-adjacent hoodies.
- Slider style — auto-lock for outdoor / sportswear; non-lock for fashion.
Placket construction
The zipper sits between two placket strips, each 3–3.5cm wide with a fusible interlining to keep it flat. Placket ends are bar-tacked at the hem and at the hood attach point. A chin-guard (a small flap of fabric at the top zipper) prevents the slider from scratching the neck when fully zipped.
Hood at the zipper
The hood on a full-zip meets the placket at the top of the zipper. Two constructions work: hood-over-zip (hood runs continuously past the zipper end, cleaner look) or zip-through-hood (zipper terminates inside the hood, allowing the hood to zip closed around the face). The second reads sportier and technical.
Common pitfalls
- Wrong zipper coil vs coil direction — reversible zippers exist but standard hoodies use right-hand pull; confirm on tech pack.
- Missing bottom stop — a zipper without a fabric bottom stop will thread off at hem level.
- No interlining in placket — placket rolls and looks wavy after 5 washes.
- Chin guard skipped — slider scrapes the neck at the top and customer complaints follow.
Adding zip-ups to your range?
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