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Bird graphic print · 80% cotton / 20% polyester fleece · six garment-dyed colors · Comfort Colors 1566 · printed graphic, nothing stitched on
Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt · Six Colors · Designed in Colorado
A pair of northern cardinals — the bright male and the buff-and-red female — on a snowy crabapple branch, painted in watercolor with no text.
Garment-dyed 9.5 oz heavyweight brushed fleece, soft from the first wear.
A pair of northern cardinals on a crabapple branch in the snow, the way they sit together in January — the male higher and to the right, full red with the black mask and the crest up; the female lower and to the left, warm buff with red in her crest, wings and tail and the same bright orange bill, a little fluffed against the cold. Both face the same way; he has turned his head a touch toward her. Snow lies along the top of the branch, a few small dark-red crabapples still hang from it, and a handful of flakes are coming down. No feeder, no fence, no holly, no painted background — the shirt color is the snow sky. Watercolor on soft paper grain. No text, no slogan.
The Design
Large front-centered chest print — not a back print
Subject: a male and female northern cardinal pair on a snow-covered crabapple branch, in light falling snow
Style: realistic watercolor bird illustration with soft paper grain — the female is drawn as a cardinal, crest, mask and orange bill, not a generic brown bird
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 large and centered on the chest, straight onto the garment color — no panel, no frame, not a back print.
Cardinals do not migrate, and most pairs do not part. A male and female that bred together in June are usually still together in January, feeding a few feet apart at the edge of the same thicket, and in late winter — long before anything else is thinking about spring — he will start passing her seeds bill to bill, which is the courtship most people have seen from a kitchen window without knowing what it was. The female sings, which is rare among songbirds; she sometimes sings from the nest, and the pair trade phrases back and forth in the dark before dawn. The male's red comes from the carotenoids in what he eats — a cardinal on a poor diet goes dull — and the female's quieter buff is not a lesser version of it but camouflage for the one who sits on the eggs. The crabapple is why they are on this branch: the fruit hangs through the winter, and a hard frost breaks its starch down to sugar, so the tree is at its sweetest in exactly the weeks the birds need it most.
The Story Behind It
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The feeder hung outside the kitchen window for forty-one years, and for most of them her husband did the filling. He had names for the regulars. The cardinals were simply "the pair," and he reported on them like neighbors: the pair were in early, the pair were quarreling with the jays, he's feeding her again, must be March.
The first winter she did the filling herself, she found she had started reporting too — to the kitchen, to nobody. The pair were in early. The pair were on the crabapple. She knew they were not the same two birds he had named; cardinals live a few years, not forty. It did not seem to matter. There was always a pair, and they were always together, and they were always there in the worst of it.
In March she watched him pass her a seed, bill to bill, on the snowy branch outside the glass, and said out loud, to the empty kitchen, "must be March." Then she went and filled the feeder.
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Wear it for the pair at the feeder, and for whoever kept it filled.
A gift for the one who keeps the feeder full through February, for a couple who have been together a long time, for the person who lost someone and still watches for the red at the window, or anyone who believes a cardinal at the feeder means something. It has no holly, no wreath and no Christmas on it — a pair on a crabapple branch — so it goes on in November and is still right in March, and there is no lettering, so it works for the person who loves the birds but would never wear the words. Pair it with the Winter Chickadees Sweatshirt, the other pair that stays.
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
Six colors — Blue Spruce, Pepper, Denim, Blue Jean, Light Green and Watermelon — 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 cardinal red, buff, black and the dark red of crabapples, with snow on the branch — and no painted background, so the shirt color is the snow sky.
Blue Spruce. Deep evergreen — red on green, the pairing everyone pictures when they picture a cardinal in winter. The one on the hero photo and the one to start with.
Pepper. A soft washed black, closer to charcoal. The male burns on it, the snow reads bright, and the female's buff glows — the most dramatic of the six.
Denim. Deep washed blue — a clear, cold morning. Red against deep blue is the other classic cardinal pairing.
Blue Jean. A mid washed denim, a shade lighter and softer than Denim; the female sits especially well on it.
Light Green. A soft washed sage. The quietest ground here; the red does all the work and the snow nearly vanishes.
Watermelon. A bright pink-red, the cheerful one. The male runs with the shirt and the female, the snow and the branch 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
The other birds that stay, and everything else for winter.
Winter Chickadees SweatshirtA Flash of Red — Cardinal SweatshirtGreat Horned Owl SweatshirtAll Bird DesignsWinter CollectionHe's feeding her again. Must be March.
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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