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Six songbirds on one branch · 80% cotton / 20% polyester fleece · thirteen garment-dyed colors · Comfort Colors 1566 · printed graphic, nothing stitched on
Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt · Thirteen Colors · Designed in Colorado
Six colorful birds on one branch — chickadee, goldfinch, cedar waxwing, northern cardinal, Baltimore oriole and eastern bluebird — painted in a realistic illustration style with no text.
Garment-dyed 9.5 oz heavyweight brushed fleece, soft from the first wear.
The six birds, up close and on the sweatshirt.
Six birds you can name, left to right: a black-capped chickadee, an American goldfinch in full summer yellow, a cedar waxwing with the black mask and the wax-red tips on the wing, a northern cardinal at the center with his crest up, a Baltimore oriole in flame orange, and an eastern bluebird at the end of the branch. They sit on one bare branch with a few leaves at the tips, each one facing its own way, none of them touching. The birds are drawn as the species, not as decoration — the waxwing has its yellow tail band, the oriole its black hood, the bluebird its rust breast. No background, no feeder, no border: the shirt color is the sky behind them. No text, no slogan.
The Design
Wide front-centered chest print — not a back print
Subject: six North American songbirds perched along a single branch — chickadee, goldfinch, cedar waxwing, northern cardinal, Baltimore oriole, eastern bluebird
Style: realistic bird illustration, each species in its true colors and markings, with a little paper softness in the branch
No text. There is no lettering, slogan, place name or wordmark anywhere in this design
Technique: a printed graphic — the ink sits in the fleece, straight onto the garment color with no background panel, and nothing is stitched or sewn on
Shown in Pepper. The print runs wide and centered on the chest, straight onto the garment color — no panel, no frame, not a back print.
You would not see all six on one branch on one morning, and that is the point. The chickadee, the cardinal and the goldfinch stay the whole year across most of the country; the bluebird stays in the south and comes back north in March. The oriole is a summer bird, here from May to August, and the waxwing goes wherever the berries are, in flocks, on no schedule anyone has worked out. Put them on one branch and you have a feeder's whole year at once — the ones who never leave, the one who comes home, the one who visits, and the one who turns up when it feels like it. The waxwing's red wing tips are real: small waxy droplets at the ends of the secondary feathers, which is where the bird got its name. The goldfinch is in his breeding yellow, which he only wears from April to September; in winter the same bird goes olive-brown and people think he has gone. He has not. He is at the feeder in a different coat.
The Story Behind It
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She kept the list on the inside of the pantry door, in pencil, the way her mother had: the date, the bird, and sometimes a note. Chickadee, every day. Cardinal pair, Jan 4, in the snow. Goldfinch going yellow, Apr 11. Her grandson, who was seven, found the list and asked which one was her favorite, and she said that was not how it worked — you did not get to pick, they picked you, and whoever came that morning was the favorite that morning.
He took this as a challenge. He wanted them all at once, the whole list on the branch outside the window on one morning, and he could not be talked out of it. So she let him sit at the window with the pencil and the list for a Saturday in June, and he got the chickadee and the cardinal and the goldfinch and, around ten, an oriole, which she had not seen in two years. No bluebird. No waxwing. He was furious with the waxwing.
That Christmas she gave him a drawing of the branch with all six on it, which she had asked a friend to paint, and told him this was the only way he was ever going to get them at once. He hung it over his bed. He is nineteen now and still has it, and he still keeps a list.
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Wear it for the list on the pantry door, and for the one morning they all come.
A gift for the one who keeps a list, for the person who can name every bird at the feeder and corrects you when you cannot, for a grandmother who taught someone the names, or for anyone who simply wants colorful birds on a branch and nothing written on the shirt. It has no snow and no holly, so it is right in May and right in December, and because the six are drawn as real species rather than cartoons, it is the one a serious birder will actually wear. Pair it with the Winter Cardinals Sweatshirt for the one who only wants the pair.
Details
Wide front print, centered on the chest — not a back print
Relaxed unisex fit, side-seamed body, roomy through the chest
A pullover crewneck — no hood, no zip and no front pocket
1x1 ribbed collar, cuffs and waistband; rolled forward shoulder
Twill-taped back neck with woven label and back neck patch
Thirteen colors — Blue Spruce, Pepper, Denim, Blue Jean, Chambray, Butter, White, Grey, Light Green, Chalky Mint, Orchid, Crimson and Terracotta — sizes S to 3XL (Terracotta in 2XL and 3XL)
Ready-made design — choose a color and size, nothing to upload or customize
Made to order in the USA, printed and shipped in 2–5 business days · free US shipping, no minimum
Fabric
Printed on a Comfort Colors 1566 garment-dyed crewneck sweatshirt blank
80% ring-spun US cotton, 20% polyester, 9.5 oz heavyweight — substantial, and warm enough to be the layer rather than something under one
Three-end fleece with a 100% cotton face and a brushed fleece interior, warmer than a lighter French terry
Dyed after the garment is sewn, using salt-free pigment dyes; OEKO-TEX certified
Holds its shape through the wash, with almost no shrinkage at home
The graphic will not crack or peel. It is printed flat into the face of the fleece — no heavy vinyl patch, no rubbery texture, nothing to pull loose
Choosing a Color
The design carries red, yellow, orange, blue, black, tan and white all at once, with a brown branch — and no painted background, so the shirt color is the sky behind the birds. It works on nearly everything; these are the ones to start with.
Blue Jean. A mid washed denim — a clear morning sky, and the one on the hero photo. Every one of the six colors reads against it, the cardinal and the oriole most of all.
Pepper. A soft washed black, closer to charcoal. The most dramatic ground — the birds look lit from the side.
Butter. A pale, warm yellow. The cream-sweatshirt choice: the branch and the birds sit on it like an illustration on good paper.
White. Clean and bright; the field-guide look, closest to the drawing on the page.
Blue Spruce and Denim. Deep evergreen and deep washed blue — the two dark, cold grounds where the cardinal does the most work. Blue Spruce is the birder's classic; Denim the colder of the two.
Chambray and Chalky Mint. Soft pale blue and soft pale green — the quiet spring grounds, where the bluebird nearly disappears and the cardinal does all the work.
Grey, Light Green, Orchid, Crimson, Terracotta. Washed grey and sage keep it calm; Orchid is a soft lilac; Crimson and Terracotta run warm with the cardinal and the oriole and let the blue and yellow birds carry the contrast.
Garment-dyed colors look softer and more muted in person than on a screen, and each piece varies slightly. That lived-in tone is part of the charm.
Sizing
Fit at a glance: relaxed fit, roomy through the chest · length hits at the hip · full-length sleeve with ribbed cuff · 9.5 oz heavyweight fleece · runs true to size
A relaxed unisex cut that most people wear true to size. Size down one for a closer fit; size up for an oversized, layer-under-a-coat fit.
Adult sizes only, S to 3XL. Between sizes? We will make it right, free.
Care
Machine wash cold, inside out. Tumble dry low. Avoid bleach, high heat, and ironing directly over the artwork.
Pairs Well With
One bird at a time, and the rest of the feeder.
Winter Cardinals SweatshirtGoldfinch & Dahlias SweatshirtChickadee SweatshirtAll Bird DesignsComfort Colors SweatshirtsWhoever came that morning was the favorite that morning.
The Known Pack Promise
Beautiful things from the natural world, on a sweatshirt you'll reach for all season long.
Butterflies, birds, wildflowers, and the quiet stories behind them. Detailed designs in the spirit of vintage botanical plates, each with a true fact from nature on its page.
Printed on garment-dyed Comfort Colors fleece, 80% ring-spun cotton, broken in from the first wear and softer with every wash. Relaxed, roomy, and made to be your cold-morning favorite.
Why we choose it →Money is set aside from every order to help protect the trails and wild places our designs are drawn from, so the meadows keep blooming for the next generation.
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