What Is French Terry, and How Is It Different From Fleece?
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French terry is a knit fabric with flat loops on the inside face and a smooth surface on the outside. Fleece starts from a similar loopback knit, then the loops are cut and brushed into a soft pile. That one finishing step is the whole difference. It is why French terry feels cool and slightly textured against the skin, dries quickly, and works across seasons, while fleece feels warm and napped and belongs to cold weather.
What French terry is
The name describes the structure, not the country. A loopback knit carries an extra yarn on the reverse face, which forms small uncut loops. The outside stays flat and even. The inside reads as rows of soft loops you can see and feel.
Those loops do two useful things. They hold air, which gives some insulation without much bulk. They also leave surface area exposed, so moisture moves out of the fabric rather than sitting in it. The result is a cloth that is substantial in the hand but not hot.
French terry is the standard sweatshirt fabric in spring and autumn weights. It takes a print cleanly, it holds a hem, and it keeps its shape at higher weights.
What fleece is
Fleece begins as the same kind of loopback construction. The loops are then sheared open and brushed, a process usually called napping. What was a row of loops becomes a raised pile.
Brushing traps considerably more air, so fleece insulates better at the same weight. It also changes the hand completely. The inside becomes plush rather than textured.
There is a cost. A brushed pile is a disturbed surface. Over time and through washing it compacts, and some fleeces pill where the fabric rubs. A loop that was never cut has less to lose.
Side by side
| French terry | Fleece | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside face | Uncut loops, textured | Cut and brushed pile, plush |
| Outside face | Flat and smooth | Flat and smooth |
| Warmth at equal GSM | Lower | Higher |
| Breathability | Higher | Lower |
| Drying time | Shorter | Longer |
| Surface over time | Holds its texture | Can compact or pill |
| Season | Spring, autumn, indoor winter | Winter |
One point worth holding on to. Weight and construction are separate specifications. A 360 GSM French terry and a 360 GSM fleece weigh the same and wear nothing alike. If a brand publishes a GSM figure without naming the construction, the number is only half the information. We cover what the figure itself means in What GSM Means in Clothing.
How each one wears
Temperature. Fleece is warmer at any shared weight, because the pile holds more air. French terry stays usable when the weather turns mild, which is where a heavy fleece becomes unwearable indoors.
Drying. French terry gives up water faster. An open loop has less structure to hold moisture than a brushed pile. Fibre content compounds this in either direction, since cotton holds more water than polyester.
Structure. Both hold a shape once the weight is high enough. Above roughly 300 GSM, a French terry will keep a boxy line and a square shoulder on its own. Brushing does not add structure. It adds loft.
Next to the skin. This is preference, not performance. Some people want the plush inside of a fleece. Others find the dry, slightly rough face of a French terry more comfortable for long wear.
Which to choose
- One sweatshirt for most of the year. French terry.
- Warmth as the priority. Fleece, at 350 GSM or above.
- Layering under a jacket. French terry. A brushed pile adds bulk that a slim jacket will not take.
- Travel. French terry. It packs flatter and dries overnight.
- Cold weather, worn as the outer layer. Fleece.
- A garment you expect to wear hard for years. French terry holds its surface longer.
French terry and fleece in our range
We state construction, fibre percentages and GSM on every product page, so the two are easy to tell apart before you buy.
French terry
The Acid Wash Oversize Sweatshirt is 360 GSM in 100% cotton French terry, garment-dyed and acid washed so no two pieces come out identical. Oversized, with the logo at the rear. Pure cotton terry at this weight is dense in the hand and still wearable in spring and autumn.
The French Terry Boxy Tank takes the same construction somewhere it is rarely used. It is 340 GSM, or 10.0 oz, in 87% cotton and 13% polyester, cut boxy and sleeveless with a crew neck and a raw frayed hem. Loopback weight in a sleeveless cut holds the square line without the warmth. Black, Gray and White, S to 2XL.
Fleece
The Frayed Enzyme Wash Fleece Hoodie is 350 GSM cotton-blend fleece at 57% polyester and 43% cotton, enzyme washed for a broken-in hand and finished with raw frayed edges. Oversized, drop shoulder, cropped.
The Vintage Wash Boxy Fleece Hoodie is 390 GSM, or 11.5 oz/yd², at 53% polyester, 42% cotton and 5% other fibre. Boxy and oversized with a drop shoulder and a cropped hem, in nine washed colourways.
The Mock-Neck Quarter-Zip Sweatshirt is 420 GSM cotton-blend fleece at 56.4% cotton and 43.6% polyester, cropped and loose with a mock-neck stand collar.
Set the 360 GSM terry sweatshirt against the 390 GSM fleece hoodie and the comparison is clear. Thirty grams apart on paper, and two different garments in use. The terry piece carries into spring. The fleece piece belongs to January.
How these fabrics are selected is set out on Materials, and how they are washed and finished on Craftsmanship.
What to ask before buying
Three questions settle it.
- Which construction. French terry, fleece, or jersey. If the answer is only sweatshirt fabric, you have not been told.
- What weight. In GSM, or in ounces per square yard.
- What fibre. As percentages, not as cotton-rich or similar.
With those three you can predict how a garment will wear before it arrives. Without them you are reading adjectives. For how weight behaves specifically in hoodies, see What Makes a Hoodie Heavyweight, and for the step between 400 and 500 GSM, 400 GSM vs 500 GSM Hoodies.