Wakayama Daibakusho | Wakayama Daibakusho Factory x SOTOH (Aichi) / Master's Brushed Finish

"It's different from the original plan, but I think it turned out well" (SOTOH/Okumura-san)
"It also has a knit-like feel, so we hope you'll wear it oversized" (Kinankamachishijin/Takemasa-san)

This playful item uses Kinic, Kinankamachishijin's original charcoal heather yarn made from Turkish organic cotton, as the outer yarn, and wool for the inner yarn. It's a 18-gauge dense-backed fleece that's knitted and then used inside-out (with the wool side facing out). It looks like a sweater with its fluffy brushed finish, but the side against your skin is the comfortable heather yarn, offering both the warmth of wool and the comfort of cotton.

Our partner, SOTOH, is a dyeing and finishing manufacturer in Bishu with over 100 years of history. They excel at "sensory technology" that shapes subtle colors and nuances using over 30 types of processing techniques, and have been working with Kinankamachishijin for about 20 years.

This project started with the use of the rare charcoal heather yarn, Kinic. Kinankamachishijin's Takemasa-san consulted with SOTOH's factory manager, Okumura-san, who specializes in wool processing, on how to achieve lightness, volume, and warmth using wool for the backing. During the trial stage, shrink-proofing was applied to the wool to make it hand-washable, but the shrink-proofing agent affected the cotton's color, turning the charcoal reddish. Seeing this, Takemasa-san had a change of perspective and decided to use the wool fleece side outwards for a fluffy texture, realizing it would create a knit unlike any other.

SOTOH excels at bringing designers' visions to life. In response to Takemasa-san's new request, they achieved bulkiness and lightness through a washer tumbler (a process that adds thickness and volume by tumbling in a large drum-like washing machine for an extended period) and a tenter (a process that straightens the fabric width by applying heat while stretching. While typical dyeing factories have tenter machines of about 30 meters, SOTOH has an 80-meter multi-stage tenter, allowing them to straighten the fabric at relatively low temperatures without damaging the fibers). To further enhance the volume, they brushed the wool side. Processing animal hair is SOTOH's specialty, and brushed fleece is their forte. They perfectly materialized the product Takemasa-san had in mind.

This piece was born from the masters' course correction, truly a case of Failure teaches success.