Pilling is the little bobbles that turn up on a hoodie after a few months. Under the arms, down the sides, round the neck. You can't stop it completely on a cotton and polyester blend. You can slow it down, and you can get rid of the bobbles safely when they show up.
Our unisex hoodies and sweatshirts are a 350 g/m2 blend of 42% cotton, 53% polyester and 5% other fibres. That's exactly the kind of fabric this guide is about, so here's the honest version.
Why a blend fleece pills
A pill is a small ball of tangled fibres stuck to the surface of the fabric. That's the definition CottonWorks, the textile resource from Cotton Incorporated, uses.
It starts with rubbing. Friction pulls loose fibre ends out of the yarn and they form a fuzz. Keep rubbing and that fuzz rolls up into balls. A 2021 study of polyester cotton fleece in the journal Heliyon puts it simply: mechanical abrasion is what makes the fuzz in the first place.
What holds the ball on is the polyester. Its fibres are strong, so they work partly out of the yarn and anchor the fluff to the surface, where weaker cotton fibres would let it break away. The Heliyon authors call pilling a common surface defect in polyester cotton fleece. Why use a blend at all, then? The full fibre trade-off, with the lab pilling scores, is in cotton vs polyester blend hoodies. This page is about what to do with the hoodie you've got.
The inside bobbles more than the outside
The soft inside of a fleece is brushed. The Heliyon paper describes the fabric passing over spinning brushes that split the yarn loops into a fuzzy sheet, so there's lots of loose fibre to start with. In a CottonWorks pilling test on a two-end cotton and polyester fleece, the outer face rated 3.0 (medium pilling) and the fleece back rated 1.0, the worst score on the scale. If the inside of your hoodie looks fuzzier than the outside, that's normal. Nobody sees it, so leave it be.
Where it starts
CottonWorks lists the spots where pills form during wear: under the arms and around the collar. Cleanipedia adds the sides of a jumper, where the sleeves rub against the body. On a hoodie, anywhere a bag strap sits gets the same friction.
But the bigger cause is the machine. CottonWorks says most pills form in the wash, from the wet and dry rubbing that tumbling causes. That's where the changes below come in.
How to wash a hoodie so it pills less
Our product pages give the care instructions: machine wash at 30°C on a gentle cycle, no bleach, tumble dry low, no dry cleaning, and iron on low away from the print. Stay inside that, then add these.
Wash it less often. Every cycle is another round of tumbling. If it's only been worn over a tee for a couple of hours, it may not need a wash yet. Hang it up to air rather than leaving it balled up in a kit bag.
Turn it inside out. Cleanipedia, Unilever's laundry advice site, recommends it to stop bobbling. It moves the rubbing to the inside, which already fuzzes and can't be seen. It keeps the print off the drum too.
Short, gentle cycle. Cleanipedia suggests a short, delicate cycle for jumpers. Less time in the drum means less friction.
Don't pack the drum. Cleanipedia's advice is that clothes in an overloaded machine can't move freely, so there's more chance of damage to the surface.
Keep it away from towels and jeans. Cleanipedia warns against washing terry cloth with polyester, because the lint clings to broken fibres, and says harsher fabrics like jeans cause abrasion.
Use a gentle liquid detergent. Cleanipedia notes that powder can rub against clothes as it dissolves.
Drying without making it worse
Tumbling dry fabric rubs it as well, so air drying is the gentler choice. Lay it flat or over a drying rack, still inside out. Our care instructions allow a low tumble dry if you need it fast. If you use one, keep it on low and take it out as soon as it's dry.
How to remove pills safely
Don't pull them off. Each pill is held on by anchor fibres still rooted in the yarn, so pulling tugs on the fabric itself. If there are only a few, Cleanipedia suggests snipping them with scissors for a cleaner removal.
Use a fabric shaver. It's the quickest fix for a full hoodie. Philips' instructions are to lay the garment on a flat surface, straighten it and glide the shaver smoothly over it. They also say to avoid zips, buttons, loose threads and embroidery. On a hoodie, keep it off the drawcords too, and go round the print rather than over it. Let the shaver glide rather than pressing it into the fabric.
For small patches, use a comb or tape. A pilling comb has no sharp blade, which Cleanipedia points out makes it less stressful on a favourite top. For a small bobbled patch, Cleanipedia suggests sticky tape: press it on and lift it away.
Leave the inside alone. It's brushed to be fuzzy on purpose, and nobody sees it.
Keeping dark colours from fading
On a black or navy hoodie, pilling and fading are linked. CottonWorks lists colour change, localised frosting and fuzz among the surface changes that can come with pilling. So on a dark hoodie, slowing the pilling is part of keeping the colour deep.
To stop the dye itself fading, Cleanipedia's guide to washing black clothes says:
- Wash cool. Higher temperatures can make dye run or fade, and about 30°C suits most darks. That matches our care instructions.
- Inside out, short cycle. The water and detergent work mainly on the outer surface, so turning it protects the colour.
- Use a mild detergent made for darks, and no bleach.
- Go easy on the dryer. Heat and friction rough up the fibres and fade the colour.
- Dry out of direct sunlight.
Cleanipedia also says to wash darks together and away from lights, since dark clothes washed with light ones can leach dye. So a Black hoodie goes in with the navies, not with a White or Oat Gray one.
That's worth knowing if you're picking a colour. The Mk1 Box Hoodie comes in Black, Navy Blue, Brown and Eden Green as well as lighter shades. If you've got printed tees in the same wash, our guide to washing a heavyweight printed tee covers shrinking and whites.
The short version
Wash it less. Turn it inside out. Use a short 30°C cycle and don't pack the drum. Air dry it. Glide a shaver over the outside when bobbles show up. None of it stops pilling outright on a blend, but every step cuts the rubbing that causes it.
The same routine works for our sweatshirts, since they're made from the same 350 g/m2 blend. If you're stuck between the two, padel hoodie vs sweatshirt sets them side by side. For layering on cold nights, see the winter padel guide.
Browse the range in hoodies and sweatshirts. A £75 hoodie ships free in the UK on its own, and our clothing is made to order, so allow 7 to 10 working days for a UK address.
Hoodie pilling FAQ
Does pilling mean my hoodie is faulty? Not on its own. The Heliyon study calls pilling a common surface defect in exactly this kind of fabric, cotton and polyester fleece. The washing and drying habits above help slow it down. If something looks wrong when your order arrives, email hello@padelism.co.uk.
Why is the inside of my hoodie bobbling more than the outside? The inside is brushed to make it soft, which raises loose fibres. In CottonWorks' tests on a cotton and polyester fleece, the brushed back pilled far worse than the outer face. It's expected on brushed fleece, and since nobody sees it, it's best left alone.
How do I use a fabric shaver on a hoodie? Follow the maker's instructions. Philips says to lay the garment flat, straighten it and glide the shaver smoothly over it, avoiding zips, buttons, loose threads and embroidery. On a hoodie, keep it off the drawcords and the print as well, and leave the brushed inside alone.
Do sweatshirts pill too? Yes, the same way. Our sweatshirts are the same 42% cotton, 53% polyester blend at 350 g/m2 with the same care label, so everything on this page applies to them.
