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Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt · Seven Colors · Designed in Colorado
A common loon riding low on still water at first light, mist on the lake behind it — the bird you hear before you see, painted in watercolor with no text.
Garment-dyed 9.5 oz heavyweight brushed fleece, soft from the first wear.
One adult loon in full breeding plumage, sitting the way loons actually sit — low, with the back barely above the waterline and the tail under it. The glossy black head with its green sheen, the red eye, the dagger bill, the striped necklace at the throat, and the checkerboard of white squares across the back, large at the shoulders and smaller toward the flanks, every one painted in. A thin band of morning mist lies on the water behind the bird and a soft reflection breaks into ripples beneath it, fading to nothing within a body-length. No shoreline, no pines, no moon, no painted background — the shirt color is the lake. Watercolor on soft paper grain. No text, no slogan.
The Design
Large front-centered chest print — not a back print
Subject: a common loon in breeding plumage on still water, with low mist and its reflection
Style: realistic watercolor bird illustration with soft paper grain — the necklace, the checkerboard and the red eye are right
No text. There is no lettering, slogan, lake 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 Blue Spruce. The print runs large and centered on the chest, straight onto the garment color — no panel, no frame, not a back print.
Nearly everything about a loon is built for the water and against the land. Its bones are solid where most birds' are hollow, which is why it rides so low and can dive two hundred feet after a fish. Its legs are set so far back on the body that it can barely walk — it has to run across the surface for anywhere from thirty yards to a quarter mile before it can lift off, so a loon will not land on a lake it cannot get out of. The red eye belongs to the breeding season and fades to brown for winter on the coast. And the call — the long wail across the water at dusk, the tremolo, the yodel — is the sound a whole part of the country means when it says "the lake." Minnesota made it the state bird. Anyone with a cabin north of the Twin Cities already knew.
The Story Behind It
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The cabin had one rule, and her grandfather enforced it: first morning of the trip, you are on the dock before the mist lifts. It did not matter that the drive had been nine hours or that she was fourteen and had opinions about five a.m. He would have the coffee made and two mugs on the rail, and they would sit with their feet over the water and wait.
You heard it first. One long note from somewhere out in the white, and then the answer from across the bay. Then the mist would thin and there it would be, forty feet off the end of the dock, sitting so low it looked like it was half-sunk, and it would look at them with that red eye and go under without a ripple. He said it was the same pair every year. She never found out if that was true.
The cabin is hers now. The rule still stands. Her own kids complain about the hour, and then they go quiet when the first note comes.
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Wear it for the dock at five a.m., and for whoever made the coffee.
A gift for the one with the cabin, the one who keeps the lake place running, the friend who can tell a wail from a tremolo, or anyone from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine or the Adirondacks who has spent a cold morning on a dock waiting for exactly this. It is a lake design without a slogan on it — no "Lake Life," no "Up North," no lettering at all — so it works for the person who loves the place but would never wear the words. Pair it with the Swan, Iris & Waterlily Sweatshirt, the other bird that owns its water.
Details
Large 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
Seven colors — Blue Jean, Denim, Blue Spruce, Grey, Pepper, Light Green and Orchid — every one in every size, S to 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
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 is black, white, a red eye and pale water — and no painted background, so the shirt color is the lake and the sky at once.
Denim. Deep washed blue — a northern lake before the sun is up. The white checkerboard snaps on it; the one to start with.
Blue Jean. A lighter washed denim — the loon sits on it like it does on open water in daylight, and it is the one on the hero photo.
Blue Spruce. Deep evergreen. The black head nearly disappears into it and the white does all the work — the most northwoods of the seven.
Grey. A soft heathered grey. Fog on the lake; the mist in the print and the shirt become one thing.
Pepper. A soft washed black, closer to charcoal. The loon at dusk — the white squares and the water glow.
Light Green. A soft washed sage. Quiet and cabin-like; the bird reads cleanly against it.
Orchid. A pale washed lilac — the lake at first light. Unexpected, and the loon looks sharpest on it.
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
The other birds of the evening shift, and everything else for the cold months.
Barn Owl at Dusk SweatshirtSwan, Iris & Waterlily SweatshirtAll Bird DesignsWinter CollectionOne long note from out in the white. Then the answer.
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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