Sizing Guide: How Our Sweatshirts Fit (With Measurements)

Buying a sweatshirt online means trusting a size label you can't try on. That's nerve-wracking at the best of times, and it's worse when the sweatshirt carries a custom pet portrait stitched just for you — because a personalised item is one you'll want to keep, not send back. So before you add anything to the basket, let's take the guesswork out of it. This is the honest, measurement-first sizing guide we'd give a friend: what the numbers actually mean, how to measure a jumper you already own, how our fit runs, and how to choose confidently when you're buying a surprise gift.

At Burecho we embroider each pet portrait to order in our family workshop in Dorset, so the base garment matters to us as much as the stitching. A brilliant piece of embroidery on a sweatshirt that swamps you — or strains across the chest — is a disappointment we'd much rather help you avoid.

Why fit trips people up

Sizing feels simple until you realise "medium" means something different in almost every shop you've ever bought from. High-street sizing has drifted over the years, sportswear runs one way, fashion brands run another, and unisex sizing adds a further wrinkle. The result is that your usual size in one label tells you surprisingly little about another.

The fix is to stop thinking in S/M/L and start thinking in centimetres. A garment's real fit lives in two numbers above all others: the chest width (measured flat, armpit to armpit) and the body length (top of the shoulder to the hem). Get those two right for your body and how you like to wear things, and the size letter on the label becomes irrelevant.

How to measure — the reliable method

The single best predictor of whether a sweatshirt will fit you is a sweatshirt that already does. Don't measure your body; measure a jumper you love the fit of. Here's how.

1. Lay it flat on a table or the floor, front up, and smooth out the wrinkles. Do up any zip and straighten the sleeves.
2. Chest: measure straight across from one armpit seam to the other. This is the flat measurement — the full circumference is roughly double it. Compare our chest figure to this number.
3. Length: measure from the highest point of the shoulder (next to the neckline) straight down to the bottom hem.
4. Sleeve: measure from the shoulder seam along the outside of the arm to the cuff. Handy if you have long or short arms.

Use a soft tape measure if you have one; a length of string against a ruler works just as well. Write the three numbers down. Now you have a target, and choosing a size is simple arithmetic rather than a gamble.

Reading the size chart properly

When you look at any size chart — ours or anyone's — check whether the chest figure is given flat (across one side) or as a full circumference (all the way round). Mixing the two up is the classic cause of ordering a size too big or too small. If a chart lists, say, a 56 cm chest for a medium, that's almost always the flat measurement, meaning about 112 cm around.

Once you know that, match it to the jumper you measured, and factor in the ease you like — "ease" is simply the gap between your body and the garment. A couple of centimetres of ease is a trim, close fit; ten or more is deliberately roomy and relaxed.

How our sweatshirts run

Our pet embroidered crewnecks are cut in a classic unisex fit — not skin-tight, not oversized, with a comfortable amount of room through the body and a length that sits at the hip. In practice, most people find their normal size works, with a couple of honest caveats:

• If you're between sizes, or you like a cosy, layered, slightly relaxed look, size up. Sweatshirts are cold-weather, over-a-tee garments, so a little extra room usually feels right rather than baggy.
• If you prefer a neater, closer fit, or you're at the lower end of a size band, stick to your usual size or consider sizing down one.
• Unisex sizing tends to run a touch generous on smaller frames. If you usually wear women's fashion sizing and want a fitted look, going down a size is often the sweet spot.

The embroidery itself doesn't change the fit — it's stitched onto the front panel and adds no bulk you'd notice when wearing it. If you're curious about that side of things, our explainer on how custom pet embroidery works walks through the whole process from photo to finished garment.

Choosing a size when it's a gift

Buying a surprise is where sizing gets genuinely tricky, because you can't ask the person without giving the game away. A few quiet tactics:

• Borrow a jumper they own. The measure-a-garment method works brilliantly for gifts — you don't need their body measurements, just five minutes with a hoodie from their wardrobe.
• Ask their partner, housemate or a sibling. People close to the recipient usually know their size, or can sneak a look at a label.
• When in doubt, size up, not down. A slightly roomy sweatshirt reads as cosy and intentional; a tight one reads as a mistake. Sweatshirts are forgiving worn loose.
• Match it to how they dress. Someone who lives in oversized loungewear will want more room than someone who wears everything fitted.

If you're weighing up the whole gift rather than just the size, our complete buyer's guide to custom dog embroidered sweatshirts and our list of Mother's Day gifts for dog mums are both good places to start.

Hoodie or sweatshirt — a quick word on fit

If you're deciding between a crewneck sweatshirt and a hoodie, remember they wear differently: a hood adds a little weight and warmth at the neck, and hoodies are often worn a touch looser for layering. We compare the two in detail in custom embroidered hoodie vs sweatshirt, which is worth a look if you can't decide.

Keeping the fit (and the stitching) for years

Fit isn't only about the size you order — it's also about how you care for the garment afterwards. Wash cool, avoid a hot tumble dry, and you'll keep both the shape and the embroidery looking sharp. A hot wash and a tumble dryer are what shrink cotton and stress stitched threads, so a gentle routine genuinely pays off. Our guide to washing and caring for embroidered sweatshirts covers exactly what to do, and why embroidery outlasts print is explained in embroidery vs print vs vinyl.

Still unsure? Just ask

Because everything is made to order, we'd genuinely rather answer a sizing question before we start stitching than have you receive something that doesn't fit. If you're stuck between two sizes, send us the flat chest and length measurements from a jumper that fits well and we'll point you to the closest match. You can browse the full range on our sweatshirts page, or see the wider clothing collection including our embroidered beanies and tees.