from the web...
Another fabric besides denim that the Japanese have 'borrowed' and perfected.
Here's Loopwheeler's interview off their own website:
http://www.loopwheeler.co.jp/en/origin/makeit_w1.htmlOr light out-take:
"
Ichigo: These are all vintage sweatshirts, right? How old are they?
Satoshi: They are all made in USA during late 40's - mid 60's. They still look great, don't they?
Ichigo: That's cool. Are they still wearable?
Satoshi: You bet. Just because they were knitted by a machine called "Loopwheel". But they can knit only a meter of fabric per hour. I must say it's awfully inefficient in the light of today's technology.
Ichigo: Do they still use this machine in USA?
Satoshi: No, they don't. Exactly speaking, they'd already scrapped Loopwheel machines in the past. Currently they use only the ones for mass production.
Ichigo: Then, where are sweatshirts of LOOPWHEELER being made?
Satoshi: They are being made here in Japan. Fabric in knitted in Wakayama prefecture.
Ichigo: I see. I wonder if I could see the whole process.
Satoshi: OK, let's go. I will guide you through the production.
Ichigo: Nice looking town. I came here for the first time, but mountains are nearby, very much calming place.
Satoshi: This town looks a bit rustic now, but in the past, this place had been the biggest factory area in Japan for circular knitting. There are still a few factories running Loopwheel machines.
Satoshi: This is the factory of Kanekichi co. They are knitting Loopwheel fabric for us.
Ichigo: Are they winding yarn here?
Satoshi: Yes, this machine is re-winding yarn to make it suitable for knitting machine. The first stage of knitting.
Ichigo: I've never seen this kind of machine. Rotating very slowly...... Is this a Loopwheel?
Satoshi: That's right. It's rorating 24 rounds per minuite, knitting fabric. It's so slow that actually you can count it.
Ichigo: I see, is that factor making soft fabric?
Satoshi: Being slow means no excess tension. Fabric is being made with very much relaxed yarn, making fabric with softness which comes from cotton yarn itself.
Ichigo: All these machines are connected to a single motor, right?
Satoshi: Yes, that's right. In Japanese, Loopwheel machine is called "Bagworm knitting machine". You can see machines hanging from wooden pole just like a bunch of bagworms. Apart from slow rotating speed, another important factor is that knitted fabric would go down just by gravity, no pulling down, thus making fabric with no excess tension, soft with a lot of air knitted in together with yarn.
Ichigo: White cotton dusts everywhere like silkworm factory. Looks very soft and.... beautiful.
Satoshi: It's just a dust for us, but maybe you get a different impression, Ichigo?
Ichigo: I've been thinking about "snow".
Satoshi: "Snow"...... actually, the image of snow is the right connection to the next place we go, Yamagata prefecture.......
Ichigo: A lot of yarn going into this machine.
Satoshi: This is the latest Sinker machine. Invented in mid 60's, during big global economic glowth, where the priority was "the mass production". Currently, this machine is used all over the world in majority. When compared with Loopwheel, bigger diameter, 240 rounds per minuite, 10 times faster, 10 meters per hour, less needs for maintenance.
Ichigo: It makes a lot, but not a soft fabric.
Satoshi: Exactly. It might feel like soft at first, but keep on wearing and washing, you would be lucky if you could think it's still soft after 3 years.
Ichigo: This is a funny looking setting. What's in these milk bottles?
Satoshi: Lubricating oil. You see the stick wrapped in white cloth on top of bottles. Osmotic pressure keeps the cloth always a bit wet with oil, giving it to the yarn to enable smooth knitting. A wonderful invention of Kanekichi to make a better products using only old conventional methods. I think it's very important to consume time and labour, to try to make it better.
Satoshi: This is a roll of fabric knitted by Loopwheel. Final process at Kanekichi.
Ichigo: How many meters in a roll?
Satoshi: 22-23 meters per roll, worth 17-18 pieces of sweatshirt. In a day, though, only 11-12 meters per machine, 8-9 pieces of sweatshirt.
Ichigo: Oh, it's making a single sweatshirt very valuable.
Satoshi: Well, you can say so. But it was normal in the past. Nowadays, a very few people bother with this inefficient production, almost a level of cultural heritage.
Ichigo: We should keep on making good quality things even if it's taking a lot of time and labour.
Satoshi: We are determined to hand this over to the next generation. There is only Japan left.
http://mynudies.com/showthread.php?11887-Loop-wheeled-cotton-fabric-from-sweats-to-Ts/page2&s=edc338ea28f6ead6bcee96535cac3208
