Legend of Loopwheel

“I wanted to challenge myself to make sweatshirts that occupy the same end of the luxury spectrum as fine cashmere sweaters; to be as intentional about how they feel on the inside as they look on the outside.”

Loopwheel, aka Zero-Loop Terry
Fabric origin: Wakayama, Japan
Garment cut in: Japan

The hundred-year-old process and technology used to create Loopwheel fabric is slow by design. Its cylindrical machines require one hour to produce a meter of fabric, that’s enough to make 6-7 sweatshirts in one single day. For LEEN®, the process—and the finished product (fluffy inside, dry-hand outside) which ages wonderfully over time—is well worth the wait.

Thanks to the gentle pace of the knitting mechanism, the yarn is never pulled or strained, resulting in fabric that’s airy, soft, and incredibly durable—qualities that can’t be achieved to such levels with high-speed knitting machines.

As of the 1970’s there are no more than 200 original Loopwheel machines operating out of two factories, one in Germany and one in Japan. LEEN® is currently the only brand making original Loopwheel garments specifically for women. Traditionally, Loopwheel garments don’t have seams. In the interest of accommodating curves, Eileen intentionally cut into the fabric to add seams for comfort, utility, and dimension.

LEEN® into Loopwheel