Why linen

We have been making merino wool knitwear for years and now linen knitwear has been the subject of our development work. Knitting from linen isn’t very simple, but we’ve developed methods to make it more successful. We got our first experience of linen knitting as early as the 90s. We made several collections of 100% linen for Marimekko. The products already attracted attention at that time and we received good feedback on their quality. Now we have been able to make the linen knit light.

Why linen is good for nature

We found a manufacturer of linen yarn in Italy whose yarns are eco-linen. Linen breeding is more environmentally friendly than growing cotton. It requires significantly less water and does not require as many pesticides. Our manufacturer has done it so well that they have several related certifications. They also hold several manufacturing patents that support high quality and environmental friendliness.

Coronavirus

We have some yarn in stock. We will need more of it soon and look forward to the situation caused by the coronavirus. Now the factories are In Italy catch up and look forward to the next wire delivery. We had time to order more yarns before the factories closed, but we didn't have time to deliver them.

Linen knitwear in our collection

We started developing linen knitwear for our own collections last year. The Giraffe, Lehti and Flax models were born this spring. There is something special about developing them.

The giraffe was allowed to hand over its beautiful pattern to the Giraffe model. It is implemented with a rather complex knitting technique. This complexity is reflected in the fact that a single program line of the programming language required to program a knitting machine turned out to be too short to write an instruction. One compromise had to be made to resolve it. Fortunately, it did not affect the outcome. This same problem arose already in the 90's when we were making collections for Marimekko and Annikki Karvinen, for example. The symbols needed to program the knitting machine ran out and I had to make special solutions to solve the problem. I asked the manufacturer of Stoll knitting machines at a trade show. They didn’t really understand why the signs wouldn’t be enough. This bond is actually the result of many years of development. I am pleased with the result because the knit is light and still has spectacle.

The magazine model was born from the idea of ​​my wife Riita. It implements the knitting technique developed over the years, where we have managed to combine the lightness of the knit and the neat look of the patterned knit. The good properties of linen come out well in this bond.

At Flax-Mali, we aim to highlight the properties of flax. The product is made of smooth knit and, for example, the Flex sweater can be kept together even with a jacket made of Giraffe patterns. The feel of linen against the skin is worth trying. Its breathability is second to none.

We wet finish all linen knitwear. Linen knitting is best done when properly finished to prevent shrinkage after washing.