Seven fabrics, each with a habit. Knowing the habit before you buy is most of the difference between a piece that lasts six years and one that goes back in week two.
| Fabric | Weight | Day one | Warmth | Shrinks | Pills | Wash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loopback, unbrushed | 400–480 gsm | Firm, dry | Medium | 3% | No | 30 °C |
| Loopback, brushed | 380–500 gsm | Soft, warm | High | 3% | First 3–4 washes | 30 °C inside out |
| Heavy jersey | 220–240 gsm | Smooth, holds shape | Low | 2% | Rarely | 30–40 °C |
| Waffle | 260 gsm | Textured, airy | Medium–high | 4% | No; snags | 30 °C, dry flat |
| Flannel | 180–320 gsm | Soft, slightly fuzzy | Medium–high | 2% | Lint at first | 30 °C |
| Brushed twill | 160 gsm | Crisp-soft | Low | 1% | No; creases | 40 °C |
| Wool & merino blends | By gauge | Warm, slightly dry | High | Felts if hot | Sheds at first | 30 °C wool cycle |
Shrinkage is what we measured after the first 30 °C wash. Where it is above 2% the piece has been cut longer to compensate, so buy your usual size.
Sweatshirt cloth with the inside left as small loops of yarn. Unbrushed, it is the longest-lived fabric we sell: firm out of the box, never pills, softens steadily for about a year and then stays there. The Loopback Crew, Relaxed Hoodie and Straight-Leg Jogger are unbrushed.
| Do | Avoid | |
|---|---|---|
| Wash | 30 °C, a loose load | A packed drum - it creases hard |
| Dry | Tumble low, or a line | Tumble hot - it over-shrinks past the 3% we cut for |
| Ribbing | Reshape cuffs and hem while damp | Hanging it by the hem |
The same cloth run over wire brushes until the loops become a soft nap. Warm and soft from the first evening. For the first three or four washes some of the lifted fibres roll into small pills or come away as lint; then it stops. The Sunday Crew, Everyday Hoodie, Sunday Jogger, Oversized and Dusty Rose pieces are brushed.
The tees. At 220 to 240 gsm they hold their shape, are not sheer in white and take a few hundred washes. Knitting happens in a spiral, and heat lets the cloth relax back towards it, which is why jersey twists at the side seam if it is tumble dried hot. Dry it low or on a line and the seams stay where they were sewn. Carded jersey (the Heavyweight and Oversized tees) dulls very slightly in the first ten washes; combed jersey (the Classic Tee) does not.
A honeycomb knit that traps air, so a 260 gsm top is as warm as a 400 gsm jersey. It shrinks about 4% on the first wash and then holds; every piece is cut long for it. It also snags on rough surfaces because the honeycomb is a lot of little loops. Dry it flat or low: hung wet, the honeycomb stretches under its own weight and the top grows a size.
The shirts. Flannel is cotton woven and then brushed on one or both faces; the double-brushed shirts are warmer and shed more lint at first. The checks are yarn-dyed, so they go all the way through the cloth, and the red yarns can bleed a little in the first wash: wash those shirts alone once, then with darks. Flannel creases less than poplin but more than jersey; hang it damp and most creases drop out. The brushed twill of the Grandad-Collar Shirt creases more and can take a 40 °C wash.
Sky Check (190 gsm) and Buffalo Check (180 gsm) for indoors and most of the year. Heritage Check (210 gsm) for colder rooms. The Overshirt (320 gsm) is a light jacket and is too warm for a heated office.
The roll-necks, the beanies and the socks. Warm for their weight, slightly dry to the touch, and the one group here that can be ruined in a single wash: anything above 30 °C, or a tumble dryer, felts the fibre into something smaller and denser that cannot be undone.
The Sunday Crew, Garment-Dyed Tee, Dusty Rose set and several of the hoodies are dyed after sewing. The seams take the dye a shade darker, no two are identical, and the colour softens over the first dozen washes and in direct sun. If you want a shade that stays exactly as it arrived, choose a yarn-dyed piece: the flannels, the grey marl, the tees in black and white.
A seam, cuff, hem, rib, drawcord or button that fails within 2 years under normal wear is repaired or replaced, with postage both ways on us. Pilling, felting from a hot wash, shrinkage inside the stated figure and snags are the fabric behaving as described, not a fault — but if you are unsure which it is, photograph it and ask. We would rather look than argue.