Half-zip

Move the zipper on a quarter-zip down another few inches, past the sternum toward mid-chest, and there's a half-zip — a longer front opening that lets the wearer vent more while still keeping the garment a true pullover, not a full jacket. Most blanks run that zipper to 10 or 12 inches, splitting the difference in warmth between a quarter-zip and a full-zip, and are built from the same midweight fleece or French terry either style uses.

Golf and athleisure brands lean on the half-zip specifically for layering — over a polo on a cool morning round, unzipped over a tee at the gym — which is why it shows up more in performance lines than in office uniform catalogs, where the quarter-zip still dominates. The longer zipper track also means the chest panel is narrower below the collar than a quarter-zip's, which matters the moment a logo goes on.

Because the zipper extends further down, embroiderers usually push left-chest placement slightly higher and smaller on a half-zip than they would on a quarter-zip, to keep clear of the zipper's travel when it's partly open. Confirm the zipper's fully-open width before centering any design near the sternum.

Buyers frequently use quarter-zip and half-zip interchangeably on an order, and the garments aren't the same — the extra zipper length changes both the fit and the safe embroidery area. Naming the wrong one on a spec sheet is a fast way to get a sample back with the placement wrong.