Planning Your Winter Fleece and Beanie Range: A Seasonal Guide
By The Velocity Wear Team
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A winter apparel range that sells out needs to be ordered in July or August — heavyweight hoodies, beanies, joggers and co-ords all require production lead time before Q4 demand peaks, and brands who leave it until September routinely miss the season.
Core Products for a Winter Range
- Heavyweight hoodies: 400–500 GSM is the winter standard — substantial, warm and the hero product in most winter ranges. Fleece-lined interior is expected at this weight.
- Beanies: acrylic or wool-acrylic blend, available in ribbed or cuffed styles. Embroidery is the decoration standard — screen print does not transfer well to knitted fabric.
- Joggers: 300–400 GSM fleece-back, ideally in a co-ordinating colourway with your hero hoodie.
- Co-ord sets: a matching hoodie and jogger in the same colourweight and colour — one of the strongest category trends of the past three years.
- Quarter-zip and half-zip pullovers: a versatile mid-layer that sits between a sweatshirt and a full jacket.
Fabric Specifications for Winter Apparel
Weight and composition matter more in winter than any other season.
- 400 GSM fleece: the entry-level weight for genuine winter warmth — this is the minimum for a hoodie you want customers to reach for in cold weather.
- 500 GSM fleece: premium weight, closer to outerwear territory, associated with high-end streetwear and workwear brands.
- Cotton-polyester blend (80/20): the most common composition — soft hand, good shape retention, prints and embroiders cleanly.
- 100% organic cotton fleece: higher cost but a strong sustainability narrative for brands with an eco-positioning.
- Brushed fleece interior: look for a tight face with a well-brushed inner — the pile should be even and dense, not thin or patchy.
Winter Colour Strategy
Winter palettes lean into depth: forest green, burgundy, navy, chocolate brown, slate grey and black dominate. Off-white and stone are strong neutrals. A two-tone range — one dark hero colour, one mid-tone secondary — with a shared neutral gives you flexibility without complexity. Avoid too many colourways on a first winter range; three to four is easier to manage and keeps focus in your marketing.
Decoration for Winter Products
- Embroidery: the premium choice for hoodies and beanies — chest badge, sleeve hit and back yoke embroidery all work well on fleece.
- Screen printing: excellent on the chest and back of hoodies for graphic-led brands; works on sweatshirt fabric but not on ribbed knitwear like beanies.
- DTF: versatile and detailed, good for full-colour artwork on fleece without the screen setup cost — ideal for smaller runs.
- Puff embroidery: a raised embroidery technique that reads particularly well on heavyweight hoodies and streetwear-adjacent brands.
“"The winter ranges that feel premium are built on fabric weight and decoration quality — a 500 GSM hoodie with chest embroidery sells at a different price point to a 280 GSM sweatshirt with a DTF print, and your customer knows it."”
Q4 Production Timeline
- 1June–July: finalise product selection, weight and colourways.
- 2July–August: submit artwork, place orders — ahead of Q3 factory surge.
- 3August–September: samples received and approved.
- 4September–October: production and delivery ahead of October launch.
- 5October: launch into Q4 with full stock — ready for Hallowe'en to Christmas peak demand.
Build Your Winter Range with Velocity Wear
Velocity Wear supplies heavyweight hoodies, co-ords, joggers and beanies from a 50-piece MOQ with embroidery, screen printing and DTF available. Bulk discounts up to 35% make scaling a full co-ord range affordable. Use the free Design Studio and instant price calculator to plan your winter range — tracked delivery to the UK, USA, Europe and worldwide ensures your stock arrives on time.
