The material ledger

Nine cloths. For each one: the mill I bought it from, what it weighs, what was done to it and how far it travelled. Nothing here is a claim I cannot show paperwork for.

The ledger

All nine cloths

Bought undyed wherever the fibre allows it and deadstock where it does not. Two are dyed, one of them here.

Wet-spun linen

01

Wet-spun linen

Vanhoutte, Kortrijk

Fibre
100% European flax
Weight
240 gsm
Dye
None
Traceable to
One mill, one field

Spun wet so the yarn stays smooth, which is why it softens instead of pilling.

  • Wash cold
  • Line dry
  • Warm iron
Hemp-linen twill

02

Hemp-linen twill

Riopele, Famalicão

Fibre
55% hemp, 45% flax
Weight
270 gsm
Dye
None
Traceable to
Two farms, Alentejo

Almost no water, no pesticide, and it thickens rather than thins with wear.

  • Wash cold
  • Line dry
  • Hot iron
Organic cotton canvas

03

Organic cotton canvas

Somelos, Guimarães

Fibre
100% organic cotton
Weight
340 gsm
Dye
None, unbleached
Traceable to
GOTS chain, Türkiye

Stands up on its own for a month and then goes soft in a way synthetics never do.

  • Wash warm
  • Tumble low
  • Hot iron
Indigo-dipped cotton

04

Indigo-dipped cotton

Dyed in the back room

Fibre
100% organic cotton
Weight
180 gsm
Dye
Natural indigo, six dips
Traceable to
One vat, since 2021

Six dips with an hour of air between each. It loses a shade in year one, then holds.

  • Wash cold
  • alone at first
  • Dry in shade
Undyed merino rib

05

Undyed merino rib

Knitted in Barcelos

Fibre
100% merino, mulesing-free
Weight
290 gsm
Dye
None
Traceable to
One named clip

We buy the whole clip, so the shade moves slightly from year to year. That is the wool, not a fault.

  • Hand wash cool
  • Dry flat
  • No tumble
Recycled cashmere

06

Recycled cashmere

Prato, Italy

Fibre
95% recycled cashmere, 5% wool
Weight
480 gsm
Dye
Fibre-sorted, undyed
Traceable to
Post-consumer knitwear

Sorted by colour rather than dyed, so the grey is the average of a thousand old sweaters.

  • Dry clean
  • Depill by hand
  • No tumble
Deadstock wool suiting

07

Deadstock wool suiting

Biella, Italy

Fibre
88% wool, 12% silk
Weight
310 gsm
Dye
Mill dye, already run
Traceable to
Cancelled order, 2019

Eleven rolls that sat in a warehouse for six years. When they are gone the pattern stops.

  • Dry clean rarely
  • Brush
  • Steam
Deadstock silk-wool crepe

08

Deadstock silk-wool crepe

Como, Italy

Fibre
70% silk, 30% wool
Weight
160 gsm
Dye
Mill dye, already run
Traceable to
Closed mill, 2022

Nine rolls bought at auction when the mill shut. Fifty-two dresses exist and no more will.

  • Dry clean
  • Cool iron under cloth

How it is made

Mill to label, four steps

There is nothing proprietary in this. If it were widely copied I would consider it a good outcome.

Stand in the mill

I do not buy cloth I have not seen made. It rules out most of the market and it is the only rule that has never bent.

Buy the roll, not the metre

Whole rolls, or a cancelled mill order in full. It costs more up front, which is why the editions are capped and why they end.

Dye only what needs it

Eight cloths are the colour the fibre already was. The ninth goes into one indigo vat in the back room, six dips, nothing leaving the building.

Cut, make and write it down

Nested in one lay so the offcuts become facings, sewn by four people on this floor, and the fibre, mill, weight and edition number go on the label.

A garment nobody can explain is a garment nobody can repair, resell or recycle. The paperwork is not the boring part of this. It is the product.
Nila Sequeira

Questions

Asked often, answered plainly

The ones buyers and customers write in about most.

What does traceable actually mean here?
That I can name the mill, the spinner and, for the flax and the wool, the farm. For the two deadstock cloths I can name the mill and the year the order was cancelled, but not the farm — the mill never recorded it. I say so on the label rather than rounding it up.
Why buy deadstock at all if you cannot trace it fully?
Because the cloth already exists. Its water, its dye and its emissions were spent in 2019 and the alternative was a skip. I would rather use it and be honest about the gap in the record than commission something new and call it sustainable.
Is anything certified?
The cotton is GOTS certified through the whole chain, and the merino is certified mulesing-free. The linen, hemp and deadstock are not certified, because the certification costs more than those mills turn over. I have visited all of them instead.
Do you repair things?
Yes, for as long as the piece exists. Repairs are free in the first two years and charged at cost after that. Send it to the studio address and it comes back in about three weeks.
What happens to the offcuts?
Larger pieces become pocket bags and facings. Smaller ones go into the card index, which is now nine years of swatches and the only archive I have. What is left goes to a shredder in Guimarães that makes insulation.
Can I buy the cloth itself?
Not by the metre — the rolls are bought against a production plan and selling into that would cut an edition short. If you are a maker and want an offcut for a sample, write and ask.