FABRIC & TRIMS

Where do we source our fabrics

We made the decision to buy our fabric locally from what is known as ‘deadstock’. This is fabric that has either been made for a larger designer or production house, or the mill has made extra while the machines are running. The leftover fabric is available for a smaller design house like us to buy. This means we are using existing fabrics rather than increasing our carbon footprint by making more. Our small batch design runs, with Brian our cutter overseeing the pattern markers, result in negligible fabric waste. What we do have left over gets made into scarves, bags, purses and other accessories, or we donate it to Ōwairaka Community Club.

Our main fabric suppliers Fabric Merchants, Wall Textiles and Frost Textiles are all based in and around Morningside, we love keeping it local!

Where do we source our trims

Locally, we buy our trims from Hawes & Freer, Trendy Trims and Arthur Rowe all located within a short drive, walk or pedal-bike ride.

The main fabrics we use

COTTON

Cotton is a soft fibre growing from the seeds of the cotton plant, with fibres 2-5 centimetres long that are spun into yarn.

Cotton is the most commonly used natural fibre in textile production, due to the different positive properties and application possibilities.

Cotton breathes, absorbs moisture, can withstand heat and is easy to maintain.

ORGANIC COTTON

GOTS certified cotton is one of the most reliable quality marks for environmentally friendly materials.  GOTS sets many environmental requirements and has guidelines for working conditions.

VISCOSE / RAYON

Viscose is a semi-natural fibre, chemically processed from wood fibre known as cellulose. Viscose is very suitable for printing with different colours and prints.

Viscose absorbs moisture, breathes, is lightweight, falls smoothly and is colourfast.

CERTIFIED VISCOSE

ECOVERO™ certified viscose is more sustainable, being made from trees local to the manufacturing facility, in a state of the art process that generates 50% less emissions, uses 50% less energy, re-uses chemicals and uses 50% less water than traditional viscose. The wood is FSC certified, which means that the equivalent number of trees used are replanted.

TENCEL

Tencel is a type of rayon, like viscose and modal. These cellulose fibres are all made in a similar way, by dissolving wood pulp and using a special drying process called spinning. Before drying, the wood chips are mixed with a solvent to produce a wet mixture. This mixture is then pushed through small holes to form threads, chemically treated, then the lengths of fibre are spun into yarn and woven into cloth.

Tencel is skin-friendly, has a silk-like sheen and is completely biodegradable. It has very good moisture and heat regulation, falls smoothly and hardly wrinkles.

LENZING™ certified tencel is derived from certified renewable wood sources using an eco-responsible production process by meeting high environmental standards contributing to a cleaner environment.

WOOL

Wool is a completely natural fibre. It consists of the hairs of animals, like sheep and oats.  These hairs are very soft and thin. We mainly use the wool of sheep in clothing.  The reason that wool works well against the cold is because there is a lot of air held between the curled fibres, making it a thermal insulator.

Wool breathes and insulates, is dirt and water repellant, wrinkle free, self-cleaning and very strong.

Pilling – it is impossible to prevent wool from piling. This doesn’t mean the garment is of poor quality. When a piece of clothing forms more pills than another this has to do with the length of the hairs of the wool.

SILK

Silk is a natural protein fibre, some forms of which can be woven into textiles.  The protein fibre of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm.

Silks’ absorbency makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather and while active. It’s low conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather.