The reason for the signature detail on sweatshirts has been revealed by a fan of fashion history.

TikToker Alex Ma explained in a recent video that the origin of the V-stitch dates back about 100 years.

It started in 1926 when football player Benjamin Russel Jr. realised the woollen sweater wasn’t suitable for playing sport.

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There is a good reason for the V stitched into sweatshirts. (TikTik/alextwma)

So, he started searching for a new design for the sweaty sport.

The 100 per cent woollen sweaters that were used by football players were extremely durable but would collect copious amounts of sweat, causing an uncomfortable heaviness, itchiness and an overall chaffy situation.

Russel mentioned his idea for a better alternative to his father Russel Sr, who began Russell Manufacturing Co in 1910, which was originally a mill that made women and children’s undergarments.

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Realising that cotton was a lightweight but also durable material, new versions of the crew neck were produced under the rebirth of the Russell Athletic mills in 1930.

To further deal with the issue of sweat drenched garments during physical exercise, the V-notch was added as a kind of technology that would minimise the spread of sweat.

The V-notch originally started out as a thicker triangular cut of cotton that is stitched onto the mid neckline of the crewneck, sometimes both front and back.

This placement of extra material helped to soak up more sweat in this area, while also preserving the structure of the neckline.

Fashion history fan Alex Ma revealed where the V detail originated. (TikTok/alextwma)

“Usually it is the same fabric as the rest of the sweatshirt, just with extra fabric stitched on top,” Ma explained. It doesn’t provide any extra stretch; it’s purely aesthetic. Even worse, some sweatshirts just have V-shaped stitching with no additional fabric at all.”

We now see this common cross stitch everywhere in athleisure and loungewear crew necks and t-shirts, with most of us having owned this fashion piece at some point.

This isn’t Ma’s first social media post about fashion facts, but his video explaining the little stitched triangle on your everyday crewneck has reached over 6 million views.

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