Surprisingly useful reason behind iconic sweatshirt detail revealed

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

TikToker Alex Ma told viewers the origin of the V-stitch dates back about 100 years.

It started in 1926 when football player Benjamin Russell Jr. realised the woollen sweater commonly worn at the time wasn't suitable for playing sport.

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

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

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

Realising 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.

"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.