Why Your Fleece Prints Don’t Last

The word “premium” gets thrown around a lot in fleece. Scroll through any catalog and suddenly everything’s the softest, the smoothest, the best thing your shop has ever seen. But decorators know better. Some of those “premium” blanks pill before the ink even cures. Others lose their shape the second they hit a dryer. And a few — the lucky few — actually hold up the way they should.

The problem is, when a job falls apart, nobody points at the fabric. Clients point at you. The printer. The embroiderer. The shop. Which feels unfair, doesn’t it? Because you can nail every single detail… but the fleece will still betray you if it wasn’t made right to begin with.

That’s the part most people don’t want to talk about: not all fleece deserves your work. Some fleece is made by cutting corners. Some fleece is made to last. And once you’ve been on both sides of that divide, you don’t forget which one you can trust.

Cheap fleece doesn’t deserve your work

Here’s where the headaches begin. Two-end fleece loves to act soft on the surface, but the second you run it, the problems start showing up. Ink doesn’t sit clean. Pilling starts before your client even gets the garment home. Embroidery starts wandering, shifting, and bunching. Suddenly your work looks like it came off a discount rack.

That’s the thing about cutting corners in fabric: it always shows. Maybe not at first glance or on press, but it shows in the wash, and it shows in your reputation when the client blames you instead of the blank. 

Three-end is different. That third yarn makes all the difference. It gives decorators a surface they can actually rely on. Smooth enough for ink, stable enough for embroidery, durable enough to hold shape wash after wash. It doesn’t fight your work. It elevates it. 

Three-end is built for decorators

Two-end fleece is exactly what it sounds like: two yarns twisted together to make the fabric. One builds the inside loops, the other handles the outside. It’s cheaper to produce, but it leaves you with a surface that’s rougher, less stable, and more likely to pill. Good enough if you’re chasing low price points, but not good enough if you care about how the decoration looks and lasts.

Three-end adds a third yarn, and that’s where the difference shows. Instead of relying on the same yarn to do two jobs, the face yarn does one thing only: creates a smooth and  consistent surface. Prints lay flat and bold, and embroidery holds without shifting. The inside stays soft, the outside stays pristine, and the whole garment ages better in the wash.

That third yarn is invisible to most people, but decorators notice it immediately. It’s the reason your pieces look right and your client doesn’t call you two weeks later with complaints.

Decorators learn fast which side they’re on

The first time cheap fleece betrays you, it really stings. You lose time, you lose blanks, and worst of all, you lose trust. Maybe you can fix it with a reprint to smooth it over with a client, but the frustration still lingers.

Once you’ve been through it, you start looking at fleece differently. You don’t want to gamble on whether the fabric will hold up. You want certainty. You want to hand over an order knowing it’s going to look as good after 20 washes as it did on press.

That’s why decorators who make the switch to three-end don’t go back. It's peace of mind, and that’s worth more than shaving a few cents off a blank.

Streetwear has already set the standard

Just look at what’s driving the market right now. The heavyweight hoodies with boxy fits, smooth faces, and that unmistakable premium feel… Those are always made on three-end. Streetwear figured out long ago that it’s the only construction that holds up, both in quality and perception.

Consumers don’t know the term “three-end fleece,” but they know how it feels the second they pull it on. Substantial. Durable. Worth the price. That feeling becomes the baseline and anything less instantly feels off.

So when decorators choose three-end, they’re not just protecting themselves from reprints and complaints. They’re delivering exactly what the culture already recognizes as quality.

Longevity is everything

This industry runs on trust. Between you and your clients. Between a brand and its customers. And nothing builds trust faster than garments that look just as good years from now. 

Choose fleece that shows your work at its best and keeps it there. And if you’re in the market for some blanks that won’t let you down, might we suggest some Lane Seven?