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The Story of the Quin Merino Wool T-shirt

August 21, 2024

The latest addition to my collection is the Quin merino wool t-shirt; a fine-knit crew neck with sleeves that sit just below the elbow. This elevated t-shirt is a seasonless staple that is a key piece to a capsule wardrobe that can be styled all year round, crafted from natural, breathable and temperature-regulating, regenerative merino wool. 

merino wool, naturally dyed.

The Quin t-shirt is knitted from natural dyed yarns, in a choice of four colours. A few months ago, I took my first trip without my babies to visit a yarn mill in Italy that only makes natural dyed yarns. The location of the factory is spectacular – I drove into the mountains in the north of Italy in early spring, although the snow was still heavy.

The owner of the mill is a chemist, and is looking at fashion in a refreshingly new way. She sees through the abundant greenwashing and follows her strong values to create a product that is truly naturally dyed. There are no chemicals or petrol uses, and it took her over twenty years to develop her colours. Her mill uses 200 different plants, 60% of which are from Italy and they try to harvest locally when possible. They use fallen wood from local forests and are even starting their own herb garden in the hopes of becoming vertical. You may think of natural dyes as being muted and soft tones, but this mill offers something different: vibrant hues created through alchemy, using mother nature’s gifts.

Set in a concrete building, that gives a raw industrial feel, presents the natural plants and herbs that are used to create these intricate hues. It looked like the setting of Venice Arts Biennale with each natural ingredient laid out to be checked for quality and any miscellaneous objects, such as these farming tools.

Fashion is the world’s second biggest polluter. Most of the yarns I work with are eco-friendly dyed but even then there is still a trace of chemicals found within them. This is obviously much better for the environment than chemically-dyed yarns, but there is still so much room for improvement. If a natural woollen yarn is dyed using chemicals, it is no longer biodegradable and will inevitably end up in landfill. That is why the yarn used for my new Quin t-shirt is so exciting. 

It is not an easy process, such as simply dyeing a colour using a natural herb, however. It is much more complex. Every batch of wood, leaf, flower and herb is different. Changes such as with our climate (whether there is a wet summer or a drought) or with political reasons means that certain plants can’t always be imported. Within industry standards, each batch of yarn has to look the same – but mother nature doesn’t work like that. 

The four dyes used for our Quin t-shirts are chestnut wood, madder, indigo and logwood. Chestnut wood is rich in natural tannins, and gives a warm sandy-brown colour to natural fibres. It is also appropriate to use as a tannin pre-treatment for cellulose fibres, and will give a warm brown base for overdyeing. Madder is an ancient dyeing ingredient, with its use for this purpose dating back to at least 2000 BC. Madder roots hold dyes of alizarin, pseudoephedrine and rubiadin – which produce a variety of shades of red. The tones of the reds are dependent on factors including the soil where the roots were grown, the mineral content of the water and the temperature of the dyepot. The jackets of the Napoleonic army were dyed with this fascinating root. Indigo (the indigofera plant) has been used to produce beautiful blue dyes since ancient times. Its leaves are beautiful and decorative and, once fermented, they give fascinating shades of blue. It is one of the most well known dyeing plants, and has an aura of mystery and legend that is found in cultures all around the world. And finally, logwood produces violet, grey and black dyes. It has been used more than any other dyeing wood since the 18th Century, with its ability to dye due to a crystalline substance named hematoxylin. 

Benefits of natural dyeing

  1. Reducing chemicals and toxic substances by only using herbs and natural elements.
  2. Reducing waste and emissions by recycling production rejects in farming or biomass.
  3. Counteracting climate change by reducing CO2 emissions and replacing the use of synthetic dyes derived from petroleum.
  4. Reducing pollution because colours obtained by natural dyeing processes are biodegradable.

The silhouette of the Quin T-shirt

An elegant design with an effortless and fresh feel to it, Quin has a modern silhouette with a relaxed fit. The sleeves are a slightly longer length that you would expect from a t-shirt, sitting at the elbow for a refined style. This fully-fashioned, fine-knit t-shirt is made in Britain, hand-crafted for the highest quality finish. It is lightweight and soft against the skin, and being made from merino wool allows it to fit effortlessly into a seasonless wardrobe. 

Merino wool naturally regulates your body temperature, with the breathable qualities of the fabric keeping you cool when it is warm and nice and toasty when temperatures are cold. This means you can wear the Quin T-shirt all year round – it looks stylish layered beneath chunky knits, cardigans and vests during the colder months, while you can wear it on its own with shorts or skirts over spring and summer.

Yarn Certifications

There is more to the sustainability of the Quin T-Shirt than just the dyeing process. When working on designs for new garments, I always ensure that I begin by sourcing yarn which is ethically and sustainably sourced. The merino wool used for this garment is regenerative and has accredited the following certifications:

GOTS certified:

Global Organic Textile Standard is the world’s leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria, backed up by third-party certification of the entire textile chain.

RWS certified:

Responsible Wool Standard is an industry tool designed to ensure that wool comes from farms with progressive approaches to managing their lands and from sheep that have been treated responsibly. 

NATIVA™ regenerative merino wool:

NATIVA™ is the leading brand for responsibly sourced, 100% traceable natural fibres.

ICEA certified:

The wool is produced with organic blends certified by the ICEA (Italian Institute of Ethical and Environmental Certification) according to GOTS standards.

Discover the Quin Merino Wool T-Shirt

Proudly British Made

Proudly British Made

Local wool, local hand craftmanship

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Delivery & Returns

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Uncompromised Quality

Beautiful garments that will be treasured for years