The beanie
Released in December 2017
Released in December 2020
Switched to electrically treated wool for less pilling and no shrinking in the wash.
Changed the knit stitch: ribbing instead of jersey for more stretch, less pilling and fewer snags.
Added several elastane threads so it loosens as little as possible over time.
Reworked the shape to round it off and make it less pointed.
Released in February 2022
Relocated production to France.
Switched to a wool that isn't machine washable but is softer.
A "de-slackened" structure that holds the head better and loses its shape less.
Removed the elastane thread (no longer needed).
Slightly longer to cover the ears properly.
Wool keeps you warm because it traps nearly 80% air in its fibres. For this beanie, we use a fine merino wool: with a diameter of just 19.5 microns, the result is a beanie that's as soft as it is warm.
The wool in this beanie comes from Biella Yarn, a well-known Italian spinning mill. We also use this same quality for our women's scarf.
This beanie is made in the Jean Ruiz factory in Roanne, central France, with whom we've been working since 2022.
- Dimensions: folded height (with 8 cm fold-over) 19 cm, head opening width 21 cm
- Weight: around 100 g
PS: Making clothes is manual work, so these measurements may vary by plus or minus 1 cm.
The techniques behind the quality
Knitted as tightly as possible
The knit is worked as tightly as possible to limit pilling and give the beanie more structure.
Knitted as tightly as possible
Tight-gauge ribbing
Tight-gauge ribbing
To make sure this beanie fits every head nicely, we chose a naturally stretchy knit stitch: ribbing. And so it stretches out as little as possible, we set the machine to knit only every other needle: in textile jargon, that's called "needle-out knitting".
Knitted as tightly as possible
Tight-gauge ribbing
Soft, warm and from your neck of the woods
To make this beanie warm without the itch, we chose extrafine merino wool and designed a wide fold-over brim that covers your ears nicely, with a "ribbed" knit stitch that gives the fabric some texture. All made in Roanne, in east-central France, one of the birthplaces of French textiles.
In detail
Rib-knit
On top of being stretchy, this knit stitch adds a nice bit of texture.
Wide lapel
And adjustable, to suit every head size and style.
Composition
100% virgin wool
Origin and certifications
- Wool: Our supplier buys wool from these 4 production areas: Australia, South Africa, South America or New Zealand. For this production batch, they don't know which of these 4 wools was used. We've put measures in place to better trace the origin of the wool with this supplier for future productions.
- Spinning: Poland
- Dyeing: Italy
- Knitting: France
... not wool from French sheep? Because it's sadly less fine than wool from the southern hemisphere, and because the French supply chain has almost completely disappeared. We explain all of this in more detail on this page.
How this product will age
How do we know? We ask our customers what they think of the product one year after they've bought it. And if the product is less than a year old, we give you our predictions based on some spontaneous feedback and on our experience with similar products.
This beanie will stretch out very little thanks to the natural elasticity of the wool and the knit structure. It won't develop holes thanks to the thickness of the fabric. It may sometimes pill slightly in areas of friction... but nothing a fabric shaver can't handle. The two biggest risks are 1) moths, if they settle into your closet, and 2) your washing machine, which could shrink your beanie (so be sure to wash it by hand).
Care instructions
Heads up: this beanie can't go in the machine on a standard cycle. But honestly... you don't need to wash it: since wool is fungicidal and antibacterial, it doesn't hold onto smells. If needed, just air it out now and then. And if you really want to wash it, do it by hand or on the machine's wool cycle (not the delicate cycle!).
Reviews for this product
The standard practice is to send review request e-mails a few days after the purchase. We wait a month, the minimum time needed to form a well-informed opinion
Customer review policy
When do you ask customers for reviews?
We send you a review request one month after you receive your order. We reckon that's the minimum amount of time needed to have worn and washed a garment several times and to really form a well-informed opinion. After that, all your reviews are published within the week, whether they're good or not.
Do you ask for reviews on 100% of the products customers order?
We used to do that at first, then we realised we were starting to send far too many emails to some people who buy from us regularly. In short, we were spamming a bit. On top of that, it was starting to take up way too much of the team's time to reply to reviews - since we want to reply individually and privately to almost every person who leaves us a review. Today, we no longer ask for reviews on products that meet the following two criteria: 1/ There are enough reviews shown on the site for people who want to buy to form a well-informed opinion about the product 2/ We've read enough reviews within the Loom team to understand how to improve the product for the next generation.
Hold your horses: what proves we don't tamper with reviews by slapping 5 stars everywhere?
Honestly: nothing, we're just giving you our word. Same as for everything else, by the way: where we manufacture, where our wool comes from, our lab test scores, and so on. The only times we might touch what you write are if your message contains spelling mistakes (and even then, quite a few slip past us) or if it's racist, homophobic, and so on (but that's never happened so far).
Asking for a review after a month isn't enough to know whether the clothes really are durable, is it?
You're right, which is why we send you another review request email a year after your purchase – we even ask for a photo to see how your garment has aged. The answers help us improve our clothes and provide information about "how this product will age" on our product pages. To avoid bothering our customers needlessly, we don't ask for these reviews on 100% of the products ordered: as soon as we have enough data to understand the areas for improvement, we stop asking for the one-year reviews.