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Bird graphic print · 80% cotton / 20% polyester fleece · nine garment-dyed colors · Comfort Colors 1566 · printed graphic, nothing stitched on
Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt · Nine Colors · Designed in Colorado
Two black-capped chickadees on red-twig dogwood in a light snow — the little bird that stays all winter, fluffed up against the cold, painted in watercolor with no text.
Garment-dyed 9.5 oz heavyweight brushed fleece, soft from the first wear.
Two black-capped chickadees on the bright coral-red stems of a red-twig dogwood, the way you find them on a January morning — one perched upright on the upper stem, the other lower and rounder, both puffed out against the cold with the black cap and bib, the white cheek, the buff flank and the pale feather edges on the grey wing all painted in. Snow sits in the forks of the stems, a few clusters of white berries hang from the twigs, and a handful of flakes are still coming down. No feeder, no fence, no ground, 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: two black-capped chickadees on snowy red-twig dogwood stems with white berries, in light falling snow
Style: realistic watercolor bird illustration with soft paper grain — the cap, the bib and the buff flanks are right, and the stems are the true winter red of the plant
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 White. The print runs large and centered on the chest, straight onto the garment color — no panel, no frame, not a back print.
A black-capped chickadee weighs less than half an ounce — about the same as two nickels — and it spends the whole winter outdoors in places where the nights go to twenty below. It manages that three ways. It fluffs its feathers until it is nearly a sphere, which is why winter chickadees look twice the size of summer ones. It lets its body temperature drop by as much as fifteen degrees on the coldest nights, a controlled hypothermia that saves the fuel it would otherwise burn staying warm. And every autumn it hides thousands of seeds, one at a time, in bark and under lichen, and the part of its brain that remembers where things are actually grows larger to hold the map. The call is the name — chick-a-dee-dee-dee — and the more dees on the end, the more dangerous the thing it has just seen. The red-twig dogwood it is sitting on is the other winter survivor in the picture: the stems are green all summer and turn that coral red only after the first hard frost, brightest in the dead of the year, so the two of them are at their best in exactly the same weeks.
The Story Behind It
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Her grandmother could whistle them in. Two notes, the high one first — fee-bee — standing at the back step in her housecoat with a palm full of sunflower seed, and inside a minute there would be one on her thumb. She said it was patience. The grandchildren suspected it was the seed.
The first winter after she was gone, the house was quiet in a way nobody had planned for. In January her granddaughter, home to sort things out, found the coffee can of seed by the back door, half full. She took a handful out to the step mostly because it seemed wrong to throw it away, and stood there feeling foolish in the cold, and whistled the two notes badly.
Nothing came. She tried again, and the red dogwood by the fence shook a little, and two of them came out of it at once. One landed on the rail. The other, after a long look, landed on her hand. It weighed nothing. It took one seed and went. She stood on the step for a while afterward, and then she put the can back where it had always been.
✦ ✦ ✦
Wear it for the ones who stay all winter, and for whoever taught you the two notes.
A gift for the one who keeps the feeder full through February, the grandmother who can whistle them in, the backyard birder, the teacher, or anyone who thinks a chickadee on the rail is the best thing that will happen before breakfast. It has no wreath, no hearts and no Christmas on it — 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 Great Blue Heron Sweatshirt, the other one that never leaves.
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
Nine colors — Blue Spruce, Blue Jean, Pepper, Crimson, Chambray, Light Green, Orchid and White in every size S to 3XL, plus 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
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 coral red, black, white and buff, with a little snow — and no painted background, so the shirt color is the snow sky.
Blue Spruce. Deep evergreen — the dogwood by the fence on a December evening. The red stems burn on it and the white cheeks pop; the one on the hero photo and the one to start with.
Blue Jean. A mid washed denim. A clear, cold morning; red against blue is the classic winter pairing and the chickadees sit easily on it.
Pepper. A soft washed black, closer to charcoal. The stems glow like embers and the snow reads bright — the most dramatic of the nine.
Crimson. A deep washed red, nearly the color of the stems themselves, so the birds and the snow do the work. The most holiday-leaning option without a single holiday motif.
Chambray. A pale winter-sky blue. The lightest blue reading, with the red at full strength against it.
Light Green. A soft washed sage. Red on green, quietly — the birds look like they belong in a hedge.
Orchid. A pale washed lilac — the sky just before a snowfall. Unexpected, and the red is sharpest on it.
White. Snow on snow — the red stems and the black caps carry the whole design, and it is the cleanest of the nine.
Terracotta. A warm washed clay, in 2XL and 3XL only. Red stems on a red-brown ground, with the snow and the white cheeks keeping it crisp.
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 through the cold, and everything else for winter.
Great Blue Heron SweatshirtGreat Horned Owl SweatshirtAll Bird DesignsWinter CollectionTwo notes, the high one first. Then wait.
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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