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Our Pure 100% Virgin Wool
It all begins with shearing, which is carried out by skilled shearers whose focus is collecting quality fiber from the sheep and maintaining the animal’s wellbeing. We only use long fibers of superior length, which reflects the quality of its natural growing environment, Portugal.
When the wool comes off the sheep it’s referred to as greasy wool as it contains a natural wool grease called lanolin. Approximately 30% of the greasy wool weight is made up of lanolin and vegetable matter. This vegetable matter and lanolin is removed during the scouring process using a series of warm water baths.
After scouring, wool is carded and combed to align the fibers in one direction, ready for the next step in making the perfect wool garment.
Each fleece is individually hand classed and selected to particular specifications, which for Wardrobe Circus is of utmost importance in achieving a high-quality end product.
Our wool is then drawn out into long rope like forms called silver. The silver is drawn into finer and finer strands, and then twisted or spun into yarn. This is done at high speed and is a very precise process to ensure we produce yarn with a consistent texture, elasticity, and strength to withstand the weaving looms.
Wool can be dyed at any stage during the processing, half art, and half science, only the highest quality colorfast dyes are used in the dyeing process.
Our timeless patterns are created via punch cards that are used as a form of programming to control the pattern of the weave. Each hole or absence of the hole in the punch card correspond to a specific action or movement of the loom, allowing for complex designs in the fabric being produced.
After all these steps have been taken, we can finally start setting up the loom, which can take up to 3 days for the preparation of the pattern and the threading of the thousands of vertical warp threads. The weaving takes place on vintage power looms where the key feature is its wooden shuttle that weaves in the weft yarn with low tension, preventing the yarn from thinning down and allows the machine to weave fluffy textured fabric. Our. When the weft yarn meets the warp, a fabric is created, synthesis of the raw material and the raw creativity of the design and structure.
After the desired quantity of fabric has been created, each meter is meticulously controlled, and any small defects removed or repaired by hand. Skilled labor is an extremely important factor in achieving the highest quality textiles.
The fabric is ready to be put onto rolls and carried to the atelier where the pattern cutting and sewing begins.