The Gildan 18500 is Gildan's Heavy Blend hooded sweatshirt: a 50/50 cotton and polyester pullover hoodie with a double-lined hood and a front pouch pocket. For Etsy sellers it is a dependable cold-weather blank, as long as you plan the print around the pocket and describe the fabric exactly as the spec sheet does.
This guide is for print-on-demand sellers adding hoodies to a shop that already sells tees or sweatshirts. A hoodie listing has more to get right than a tee: a blend that changes with the colour, a pocket that limits the front print, a higher price that buyers compare closely, and photos that have to show the hood. The specs below come from Gildan-branded spec sheets, and the rest is listing practice with Etsy's rules linked.
What the 18500 is made of
For fabric claims, the spec sheet is the source of truth. Gildan's US sheet is hosted by the distributor Blankstyle and the Europe sheet by PenCarrie:
| Spec | Gildan 18500 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric, solid colours | 50/50 cotton/polyester | Gildan US spec sheet |
| Fabric, heathers | 60/40 polyester/cotton | Gildan US spec sheet |
| Weight, US sheet | 8-ounce | Gildan US spec sheet |
| Weight, Europe sheet | 280 g/m² (white 270 g/m²) | Gildan Europe spec sheet |
| Hood | Double-lined, dyed-to-match drawcord | Gildan US spec sheet |
| Cuffs and waistband | 1x1 rib knit with spandex | Gildan US spec sheet |
| Front pouch pocket | Gildan US spec sheet |
Two things follow for your listing. First, heathers are a different blend from solid colours, so one "50/50" claim across every colour is not quite right. Write "50/50 cotton/polyester (heathers 60/40 polyester/cotton)" instead. Second, the Europe sheets list the Gildan 18000 crewneck at the same 280 g/m² (Gildan 18000 Europe spec sheet), so the hoodie and the crewneck share a fabric weight. What separates them is the hood, the pocket and the price. Our Gildan 18000 sweatshirt guide covers the crewneck.
Fit and sizing
The 18500 is a unisex style, so the size chart does the work of explaining fit. Take the measurements from the spec sheet or your print partner's size chart rather than from memory, and put them in a listing photo and the description. Two notes help buyers decide:
A buyer used to fitted women's sizes may want to size down, and one who wants an oversized look may size up. Say which way to go rather than leaving them to guess.
The rib knit cuffs and waistband contain spandex, so the hem and sleeves sit close to the body. Mention it, since some buyers expect a straight, loose hem.
Our guide to unisex vs women's sizing has wording you can adapt for the description.
Colours and printing on a blend
Choose colours the way you would for shirts: a few dark neutrals, one or two light neutrals and a couple of seasonal shades, rather than every swatch the blank comes in. Check which colours your print partner actually stocks for the 18500 before you build the variation list. A colour you list but cannot get made turns into a cancelled order.
The print method matters on a half-polyester garment. Printify notes that DTG "needs 100% cotton or high-cotton garments" (Printify DTF vs DTG), which makes it a weaker match for a 50/50 hoodie. DTF "can print on cotton, polyester, nylon, and blends alike" (Printify DTF vs DTG), and its white ink layer lets transfers work on any fabric colour, dark hoodies included (Printify print methods). Sublimation "requires polyester or another synthetic material" (Printify print methods), so it does not suit this blank. More on the method in what is DTF printing.
Two practical consequences. Dark colours need a design that reads on dark fabric, which usually means a light version of the artwork. And the care line in your description should match the method: Printful notes that a DTF print "might develop small cracks if the garment is washed in hot water" (Printful print guidelines), so washing inside out in cool water is a sensible instruction.
Print placement around the pocket
The front pouch pocket is what makes hoodie placement different from a crewneck. Its top seam runs across the front of the body, and printing over a seam or a pocket opening gives an uneven surface, so a front design has to live between the neckline and the top of the pocket.
Keep the bottom edge of a full-front design above the pocket's top seam. Use your provider's 18500 template for the exact printable area, because print areas vary by provider and product.
Wide, short layouts (a word, a short arc of text, a horizontal badge) fit this space better than tall artwork. A tall design either shrinks to fit or runs into the pocket.
A left-chest design avoids the pocket entirely, and pairs well with a large back print, where nothing is in the way.
Expect the print to look smaller on big sizes. Printify, for example, says designs "are not scaled up for sizes larger than L" (Printify print areas), so the same artwork covers less of a 3XL than of a medium.
Listing the 18500 on Etsy
A hoodie listing uses the same fields as any apparel listing, with a few choices of its own:
Title: lead with what it is and who it is for, for example "Teacher Hoodie, Funny Teacher Hooded Sweatshirt". Say "hoodie" rather than "sweatshirt" or "tee", since a buyer searching for a hoodie expects a hood.
Variations: size and colour are the usual pair. Etsy now allows up to 3 variation types, and price can vary by variation, which helps when larger sizes cost you more (Etsy variations).
Materials: use the spec sheet wording, heather blend included. Since March 2026 materials exist only as an attribute (Etsy updates).
Photos: Etsy allows up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing (Etsy listing guide). Show the front, the back if it is printed, a close-up of the print, the hood and a size chart.
Shipping: a hoodie weighs more than a tee. If you sell from the US, Etsy says "US listings with domestic shipping prices lower than $6 will be prioritized in search" (Etsy search visibility), so decide whether part of the shipping belongs in the price.
If you are unsure whether a design should go on a hoodie, a crewneck or both, our comparison of sweatshirts or hoodies helps you decide.
The 18500 in Alomations
The Gildan 18500 is in the Alomations catalog, from $13.90 when we read the catalog on October 17, 2026, with shipping quoted separately. Catalog apparel is printed with DTF, and production for US orders is in the US. You build a template once with the 18500, your sizes, colours, prices and profiles, and every listing run reuses it.
For photos, smart mockups render your design onto hoodie photos with real fabric folds, shading and light, and they are free to use. Objects in front of the design, such as a hand, stay in front. A front mockup can carry its own chest-logo spot, and a zoom control frames a hoodie shot from far back so the product fills more of the image. Light and dark versions of your design go to the right garment colours automatically. For which shots to include, read hoodie mockups: front, back and hood shots.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Gildan 18500 100% cotton?
No. The US spec sheet lists solid colours as 50/50 cotton/polyester and heathers as 60/40 polyester/cotton. Use that wording in your listing.
How heavy is the 18500?
Gildan's US sheet calls it 8-ounce, and the Europe sheet gives 280 g/m², or 270 g/m² for white. The Europe sheets list the 18000 crewneck at the same weight.
Can I print on the pocket?
Plan the front design to sit above the pocket's top seam, because printing across the seam or the pocket gives an uneven surface. For a larger print, use the back, where there is no pocket.
Should the 18500 and the 18000 share one listing?
Usually not. A hoodie and a crewneck are different products with different prices and search terms, and separate listings let each title name the item exactly.
To list your first 18500 with mockups from the catalog, start on the free plan.