KNIT CARDIGAN

A cardigan from UpcycleLino, knitted from the offcuts left over when clothes are made, spun back into yarn. The blend of colours gives TOP GREY its depth. Cut in straight lines, it changes with the buttons: loose and easy, or crossed over the body like a kimono. The yarn takes its colour from whatever scraps are gathered, so no two shades are quite alike. That, too, is part of upcycling.

The raw material is the offcut that every garment leaves behind. It is cut small in Okazaki, Aichi, then taken to a mill in Gifu, where it is pulled apart into loose fibre and spun. Fibre in many mixed colours becomes a single yarn.

We call this blended shade TOP GREY. Dyeing over it gives BROWN and BLACK. Because the dye does not cover the base colour, the original variations in tone show through and give the colour depth.

The colour of the yarn depends on the scraps we collect. From one lot to the next, the same shade is hard to reproduce, so each piece is slightly different. That is the character of upcycling.

The front band is straight, with two sets of buttons and buttonholes. Change how it is fastened and the silhouette changes. Use the centre-front pair for a loose, relaxed drape. Use the pair nearer the side seam and the fronts overlap, kimono-style, into a crossed front with a cleaner line. The pattern is built on straight lines, with simple means such as buttons and a drawcord, so that it can be worn in more than one way.