The More You Wear It, the Better It Feels: The Magic of Merino Wool and Jersey Fabric

Merino wool is wool taken from Merino sheep, a breed mainly raised in Australia and New Zealand.
It is considered one of the finest and most luxurious types of sheep’s wool, known for its excellent warmth retention, high odor resistance, good breathability, and soft feel against the skin.
Jersey fabric refers to a knitted fabric made using a circular knitting machine. It is known for being comfortable to wear, smooth and flexible, soft against the skin, and highly stretchable.
Among the many types of wool fabrics available, we carefully examined, touched, and tested each one repeatedly until we arrived at a fabric that met the conditions below.

＜Features of Merino Wool＞
・Excellent warmth retention
・High odor resistance
・Good breathability
・Soft feel against the skin
・Helps reduce stuffiness

＜Features of Jersey Fabric＞
・Comfortable to wear
・Soft and flexible fabric
・Smooth feel against the skin
・High stretchability

＜Conditions We Wanted in the Ideal Fabric and Material＞
• A SUPER 100’s wool material with the refined look and natural sheen unique to wool
• A material that can be washed with regular household detergent
• Soft, yet with an appropriate level of durability
• A fabric that is not too sheer
• A material that does not look like underwear
• Excellent stretchability
• A fabric available in a wide range of colors and stable stock, suitable for easy made-to-order customization

A Carefully Selected Material That Is Delicate Yet Durable, Soft Against the Skin, and Washable

If a T-shirt intended for everyday wear is made too delicate, it will lack durability and quickly lose its shape.
On the other hand, if the fibers are too thick, the unpleasant prickly feeling often associated with wool can appear.
That is why we focused on finding a material that combines delicacy and durability, feels soft against the skin, and can be washed normally.
Many fabrics we tested were either too thin or too thick, and it was difficult to find a material with just the right balance — one that could also be worn on its own as outerwear.
The fabric standard we finally arrived at was 2/72 SUPER 100’s wool.

2/72 refers to a cut-and-sew fabric knitted with two strands of 72-count yarn twisted together, while SUPER 100’s indicates the fineness of the raw wool fiber itself.
This combination resulted in a supreme fabric that offers a delicate texture with just the right amount of strength, durability that does not easily lose shape, reduced prickliness often associated with wool, and excellent stretchability suitable even for active movement.
In addition, by turning the garment inside out and placing it in a laundry net, it can be washed together with other laundry. Even though wool usually requires careful handling, this fabric can be washed normally at home.
If you hang it to dry immediately after washing, it is unlikely to shrink.

SUPER Grades and Yarn Count: What Determines the Quality of Wool

The SUPER grade refers not to the thickness of the yarn, but to the fineness of the raw wool fiber. The higher the number, the finer the raw material used.
It is a unit used to indicate the fineness of raw wool used in wool fabrics and knitwear. Super 80’s refers to wool with a fiber diameter of 19.75 microns.
For every 0.5 micron decrease in the diameter of the raw wool fiber, the SUPER number increases by 10.
Yarn count, on the other hand, indicates how many meters of yarn can be made from 1 gram of raw material.
1g = 10m = 10-count yarn
1g = 20m = 20-count yarn
The smaller the number, the thicker the yarn; the larger the number, the finer the yarn.
The quality of a fabric depends on what raw material is used, what kind of yarn is made, how much yarn is used, and how the fabric is knitted or woven.

The quality of wool is determined by the combination of the SUPER grade and the yarn count.

In general, wool sweaters use yarns around 8-count to 20-count.
Wool suits commonly use yarns around 40-count to 50-count.

C-one wool T-shirts are made with two-ply 72-count SUPER 100’s wool. Although the thickness is comparable to 36-count yarn, using 72-count yarn allows us to create a carefully developed fabric with greater softness and flexibility than a single 36-count yarn.

A Short-Sleeve Wool T-Shirt You Can Wear Even in Summer

What could we create with this supreme fabric made from a carefully selected wool material?
As remote work became more common during the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted something that felt comfortable at home while still looking neat and refined. Something that was not too casual, not too formal, stylish in appearance, and pleasant to wear. The answer was a wool T-shirt. Designed for summer wear, it was made as a short-sleeve piece.
Cotton short-sleeve T-shirts already existed, but at the time, wool short-sleeve T-shirts were not commonly developed by other manufacturers.
Existing wool tops were usually designed to be worn as inner layers, and most designs were long-sleeve crew necks with tight collars or long-sleeve V-necks.
The idea of a wool T-shirt that could be worn on its own did not really exist at that time.

The Birth of the Jacket-Collar Short-Sleeve Shirt

To make the T-shirt more comfortable for business settings, we designed it with a slightly higher back collar. This prevents the back of the neck from coming into direct contact with the collar of a jacket, helping keep the jacket clean while also providing greater comfort by reducing direct friction against the skin.

However, while the appearance is that of a regular T-shirt, raising only the back collar changes the curve of the crew neck and the width of the collar. Combined with the stretchability of the fabric, this made sewing much more difficult. We repeatedly adjusted the pattern little by little, making prototypes again and again to improve wrinkles around the front and back of the collar.

We also conducted repeated washing and measurement tests. The garment can be placed in a laundry net and washed normally, but a slight amount of shrinkage may occur, and it is not completely zero. For that reason, the T-shirt is made slightly larger in advance. The more you wear it, the closer it gradually becomes to your own body size — a T-shirt that grows with you.

This is how our very first wool T-shirt, the C HIGH END Short Sleeve Wool T-Shirt, was created.