When you go to the supermarket, you often see vegetables with the caption "I grew it" and a photo of the producer.
I think you can buy with confidence knowing who made it, where it was made, and how.
The same is true for clothing, where transparency throughout the supply chain is becoming increasingly important, including questions such as "what raw materials are being used?", "are the products harmful to the environment?", and "are the people making them using forced labor?".
So, this time I would like to introduce you to how ANNUAL knitwear is actually made.
Following on from the ingredients section, this time we will introduce how our products are made.
ANNUAL mainly sells knitwear, but the manufacturing processes for knits and woven fabrics are actually very different.
With woven garments, a pattern is applied to the fabric, which is then cut and sewn, whereas with knitwear, the sleeves, body, accessories, etc. are knitted separately and then sewn together stitch by stitch using a machine called a linking machine.
By the way, although it is referred to as knitting in general, it can be broadly divided into three types: circular knitting, warp knitting, and flat knitting.
As you can see from the photo, products that are commonly referred to as knitted items, such as sweaters and cardigans, are knitted using "weft knitting", where the knitting needles are arranged in a horizontal row.
First, I would like to write about product planning.
In the case of flat knitting, if you cannot imagine the finished product from the planning stage, it may not be possible to design the data for the knitting machine or you may not be able to actually knit the product.
So while thinking about the design, we also have to consider the gauge, knitting structure, yarn, specifications, etc.
Once the design and specifications have been decided, the knitting process begins based on those specifications.
Flat knitting machines mainly come in gauges from 3 to 18.
Gauge is expressed by the number of needles in one inch (2.54 cm), so 3 gauge means there are 3 needles in one inch (2.54 cm).
Larger needles, like 3 gauge, mean that each stitch is larger, in other words, it is a low gauge knit.
This is the actual finished cardigan, which was knitted on a 5 gauge knitting machine.
The project began with the desire to create something thick and simple that would allow you to feel the quality of the material, something that would go with any outfit, and yet had a bit of a stylish design.
The base fabric is a plain fabric called Tenjiku, which is simple and easy for anyone to wear.
If you look closely, you will see that one of the design features is ribbing under the sleeves, from the armpits to the shoulders.
This ribbing is not only a design point, but was also incorporated with the idea in mind that adding elastic ribbing to areas with a large range of motion such as the armpits and armholes would make the garment more comfortable to wear.
However, creating something a little different from the norm still presents some challenges.
Knitwear is not cut, but each part is shaped and knitted together, so for this product, we had to create a slope at the shoulders while maintaining the continuity of the knit from the jersey to the rib, and the product was completed after much trial and error. (In this case, we used a technique called a flechage on the shoulders.)
Once each part is successfully knitted, the next step is called "linking," in which the parts are sewn together.
The characteristic of linking is that it is a sewing technique unique to knitwear that makes the seams of the product less noticeable and maintains elasticity.
After that, the product moves on to a washing process called "shrinking." The quality of this shrinking process determines whether or not the texture of the material can be brought out.
At ANNUAL, which uses New Zealand wool, after washing, we do not tumble dry the garments, but instead allow them to dry naturally and press (iron) them to prevent shrinkage and felting.
After this, the ANNUAL knitwear is exported, arrives in Japan, and finally reaches you.
So far I have talked about how knitwear is made, from turning raw wool into yarn to finishing products, but in fact, at ANNUAL, our work does not end with just selling products.
Since wool is a recyclable material, ANNUAL takes responsibility as a producer by collecting and recycling unwanted products after sales.
We have adopted an upcycling system called "CLOTHLOOP," in which collected products are separated by color, finely crushed, and returned to a cotton-like state called "recovery."
The wool can then be spun into new yarn to create recycled wool.
ANNUAL is a brand that has only just been launched, so recycling from ANNUAL clothes has not yet progressed, but we hope to be able to create products from the recycled wool that we collect in the future.
So that you can choose products after knowing what is behind the "cute" and "cool" aspects.
ANNUAL will continue to pursue manufacturing that focuses on transparency.