Wash cold, inside out, and keep heat away from the print. That is most of it. The rest of this post explains why, and what to do about the hoodie and the towel.
The six rules
- Turn it inside out. The print rubs against the drum and other clothes. Inside out, the fabric takes the friction instead of the ink.
- Cold water, gentle cycle. Heat is what breaks a print down. Cold water keeps the ink bonded to the cotton and keeps the garment-dyed Comfort Colors shirt from shedding color.
- No bleach, no fabric softener. Bleach lifts color out of the print. Softener leaves a film that dulls it.
- Tumble dry low, or hang dry. Low heat is fine. High heat will crack a print over time. Pull it out while slightly damp if you can.
- Never iron the print. If the shirt needs ironing, do it inside out on low, and skip the printed area.
- Do not dry clean. The solvents are made for wool and silk, not for ink on cotton.
Why the first wash matters
Our badges are applied with direct-to-garment or direct-to-film ink and cured with heat during production. The cure sets the ink, but the first cold wash finishes the job by washing out pretreatment residue. You might notice the print looks slightly stiff out of the box and softer after the first wash. That is normal.
The hoodie
The hoodie is a 50/50 cotton-polyester fleece. Same rules apply, and you can tumble dry on medium instead of low. Wash it with the hood untied so the drawcord does not knot.
The beach towel
The print side is polyester and the back is cotton loop. Wash cold with similar colors, tumble dry low or hang. Do not bleach. The full care card is on the towel's product page.
If the print cracks or fades anyway
A print that cracks, peels or fades within the return window is our problem, not yours. Email a photo and we replace it free.
Care instructions are printed on every product page, including the Your Little Magic tee.