Studio D'Artisan -
Hanging knitting / LOOP WHEEL
T-shirts and sweatshirts from the 60's and earlier that are now called "vintage".
They were all produced by a machine called a "loop knitting machine". Wakayama Prefecture is the only one in the world that still has a loop knitting machine in operation. Studio D'Artisan will pass on techniques that have been buried in the times to the next generation.
Wakayama's "loop knitting machine" is attracting attention from around the world.
An old-fashioned knitting machine that knits fabric in a tubular shape called a “loop knitting machine” that is the only one in the world operating in Wakayama Prefecture. Until the 1960s, cut-and-sew using this loop knitting machine was the mainstream worldwide, but the production efficiency of "approximately 1 meter per hour" was gradually pushed by the wave of "mass production" and "mass consumption". It was considered obsolete technology. However, as you can see from the fact that T-shirts and sweatshirts from the 1960s and earlier still maintain their high quality as vintage, the cut and sew knitted with the "loop knitting machine" has the "latest high-speed sinker." ” has a unique texture and an overwhelming toughness that can transcend the times. In recent years, its value has been reassessed, and like "selvedge denim", "loop knitting/TSURI-AMI" is recognized as the world's highest quality fabric.
The fabric woven with the "Hanging Machine" uses the weight of the thread and the fabric itself by using the machine and the thread suspended from the ceiling, without applying excessive tension to the fabric. It is characterized by a unique texture with just the right amount of unevenness, as if it were woven together.
After the tremendous work of carefully storing old machines that no longer work, removing parts that can be used from three machines, and somehow assembling them into one machine, there are only 300 "loop knitting machines" currently in operation. degree. Considering the production efficiency of "about 1 meter per hour", the upper limit that can be produced in a year is fixed.
D'Artisan sews this rare fabric with the famous American-made sewing machine "Union Special", and by making it closer to the details of the old days, we are reviving the products of the time, which can only be seen as second-hand clothes.
The craftsmen who produce D'Artisan's suspension knitting fabrics not only produce the fabric, but also repair and maintain the "loop knitting machine" by themselves. There is a passion to believe in the technology and value of the "loop knitting machine" and to pass it on to the next generation.
D'Artisan's "Hoop knitting series" is the best cut and sew that Japan should be proud of to the world, born from the encounter between Kishu's craftsmanship and D'Artisan's craftsmanship.
