The roll-neck sweater
September 2019
September 2021
New wool: To prevent shrinkage during washing, the old wool underwent an electrical treatment known as “plasma,” but this made it more fragile and could cause the seams to tear. We have switched to a wool with a more traditional treatment known as “total easy care”: Tollegno Harmony 4.0 wool.
February 2023
The collar was loosened a little more for added comfort
Thicker sweater: now made with two twisted strands (compared to one in the previous generation), to make it warmer and more abrasion-resistant and to delay the appearance of holes at the elbows.
We now assemble the different panels of the sweater using a sewing machine instead of a knitting machine (where the stitches are knitted one by one with a strand of wool). Admittedly, it’s less artisanal, but experience has shown us that it’s much more durable: with a sewn assembly, there’s less risk of the seams coming apart.
Wool keeps you warm because its fibers trap nearly 80% air. For this garment, we use fine merino wool: with a diameter of just 19.5 microns, it makes for a sweater that’s not only warm but also soft.
Our yarn comes from Tollegno 1900, a renowned Italian yarn manufacturer. We also use this yarn for our chunky sweater.
A medium-weight sweater that keeps you warm: it weighs about 500g in size M. It's thicker than our thin sweater and thinner than our thick sweater.
The wool is treated so it can be machine-washed without felting. We still recommend using the wool cycle or simply airing it out from time to time (wool doesn't need to be washed).
This sweater is made in Portugal at the Elmate factory, with which we have been working since 2018.
Worn, tested, and approved by thousands of customers, this sweater is the result of several years of continuous improvement. We’ve refined it over time to achieve a balance of quality, ethics, and price that we now consider optimal. For example, we could use virgin wool (i.e., wool that hasn’t been treated for machine washing), but that would compromise its durability: in the past, we’ve received many returns of sweaters that had become felted after being accidentally machine-washed.
Techniques That Ensure Quality
Sewing Assembly
Generally, "fully fashioned" sweaters knitted in tapering panels (like ours) are assembled using the re-knitting technique, in which the stitches are re-knitted together one by one. We prefer to assemble them with seams: in our experience, this prevents the seams from tearing at the shoulders or underarms.
Sewing Assembly
Total Easy Care Treatment
Knit as tightly as possible
Pre-wash
Total Easy Care Treatment
When exposed to water, friction, and heat, untreated wool shrinks and becomes denser (a process known as “felting”). At the microscopic level, this happens because the scales on the fibers interlock. To prevent this, a Total Easy Care treatment—also known as Superwash or KROY-ERCOSETT—is applied. The process involves oxidizing the scales on the fibers and then applying a very fine resin that forms a continuous film, which prevents the fibers from interlocking and thus prevents the wool from felting.
This process, if carried out in countries with low environmental standards, can be polluting. That is why we source our materials from a factory based in Italy that is known for its high environmental standards (Oekotex 100 and 4S CHEM certifications; more information here).
If you prefer sweaters made of virgin wool (that is, untreated wool) and don't mind hand-washing them, check out our lightweight sweater, our polo-neck sweater, and our ribbed sweater.
Sewing Assembly
Total Easy Care Treatment
Knit as tightly as possible
Pre-wash
Knit as tightly as possible
The stitches are knit as tightly as possible. This uses more yarn and is therefore more expensive, but it helps prevent pilling and gives the sweater more structure.
Sewing Assembly
Total Easy Care Treatment
Knit as tightly as possible
Pre-wash
Pre-wash
This sweater is pre-washed at the factory (before it is sewn together, while it is still in the form of panels).
Sewing Assembly
Total Easy Care Treatment
Knit as tightly as possible
Pre-wash
Up to the neck
A turtleneck that’s a little thicker than average, keeping you warm without being itchy—we use merino wool that’s fine enough. The neckline is designed to stay in place without being too tight, the seams are sturdy, and the entire garment is machine-washable.
In detail
Jersey stitch
A smooth stitch that minimizes snags and pilling.
Turtleneck
This section is knitted in 1x1 ribbing (one knit stitch, one purl stitch), a stitch pattern that conforms to the shape of the neck without being too tight. You can easily adjust the height by changing the size of the collar.
Classic Cut
The cut follows the body's contours without being form-fitting. And since wool is naturally stretchy, this sweater fits all body types.
"Decrease" Knitting
The panels (back, front, sleeves, and collar) are knitted directly to the correct shape: this creates a better fit and prevents wasting yarn.
How to Wear It
A few ideas if you're stuck
Composition
100% wool
Origin and Certifications
- Wool: Australia or South America, depending on the production
- Spinning and dyeing: Poland, Italy, or Bulgaria, depending on the product
- Knitting, garment manufacturing, and pre-washing: Portugal
... not made from French sheep's wool? Because, unfortunately, it's not as fine as wool from the Southern Hemisphere, and because the French wool industry has almost completely disappeared. We explain all of this in more detail on this page.
How This Product Will Age
How do we know this? We ask our customers for their feedback on the product one year after purchase. And if the product is less than a year old, we provide our predictions based on some unsolicited feedback and our experience with similar products.
This sweater won’t lose its shape at all, thanks to the elastic properties of the wool. There’s very little risk of it developing holes at the elbows, thanks to the thickness of the fabric (so far, only a handful of people have reported a hole to us).
It might occasionally pill slightly in areas subject to friction, such as the sides... but nothing that a quick pass with a lint shaver can’t handle (and the more pills you remove, the less likely they are to reappear).
The biggest risk with this wool sweater is moths if they take up residence in your closet! So here’s a short article to read on how to keep them from showing up in your home.
Care Instructions
Wool is naturally antifungal and antibacterial: it doesn’t retain odors. So there’s no need to wash the sweater. If necessary, just air it out.
If you really want to, you can machine-wash your sweater: it’s been treated with “Total Easy Care” to minimize felting and prevent it from shrinking three sizes. But use the wool cycle: it may still shrink a little on a standard 30° program. Use a special wool detergent if possible—the enzymes in regular detergents can damage the wool. But don’t worry if you don’t have any; there’s really no risk at low doses. After three wash tests using regular detergents or special wool detergents, we found no difference in softness or fragility in our sweaters.
Do not use a dryer to prevent shrinkage, but don’t dry it on a hanger either: your damp sweater is heavy and could lose its shape under the weight of the water. The best way to ensure its longevity is to dry it flat on a drying rack or a towel.
If a hole ever starts to form at the elbow (some people’s elbows are a bit pointy :)), take it to a tailor right away to have it mended. It usually costs less than 10 euros. If it’s too late, you can also try elbow patches. Similarly, if a thread is pulled, don’t cut it—take it to a tailor to minimize the damage.
Is pilling appearing in areas of friction? It can happen. Inthis article, we’ll show you how to effectively remove pilling from your clothes.
If the hems of your sweater are stretching out, we’ll explainherehow to easily fix this problem using just your iron.
Environmental Cost
This environmental cost is calculated using the official methodology of the French environmental labeling system (to be rolled out starting October 1, 2025).
The label above shows the product’s environmental cost according to the official French environmental labeling methodology. This represents what its production “costs” nature when considering its impact on climate change, ocean acidification, its toxicity to freshwater, and so on. Currently in use in the textile sector, this label should soon appear on many everyday consumer products (food, cosmetics, furniture, etc.) to help you make more eco-friendly purchasing decisions.
The turtleneck sweater therefore has an environmental cost of 2,425 impact points*.
By comparison, a garment of equivalent weight—made of 100% acrylic, manufactured in Bangladesh, and sold by a fast-fashion brand—has an environmental cost of 2,974 points*.
Why is there this difference? Here are the main reasons:
- Countries of origin: Manufacturing in Portugal or France requires less fossil fuel energy than in Bangladesh (one of the leading producers of low-cost clothing). As a result, this more local manufacturing reduces the impacts on climate change, ocean acidification, and resource depletion.
- The material: Wool has a fairly significant environmental impact, particularly because sheep release methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—during digestion. For this reason, the difference between the environmental impact of our product and that of fast fashion is not very significant. However, unlike acrylic, wool has major advantages: it is warm (thanks to its insulating properties), retains its shape (the fiber is very elastic), breathable (it wicks away sweat), and odor-resistant (it prevents the growth of bacteria).
- Sustainability: Fast-fashion retailers encourage purchasing—in particular by rapidly refreshing their collections and offering a vast number of styles—and they discourage repairs by charging rock-bottom prices. This, in turn, increases the number of garments sold per person and reduces the number of times a garment is worn. In contrast, at Loom, we’ve chosen to adopt business practices that encourage our customers to keep their clothes for as long as possible.
Even though we've done everything we can to minimize it, this product's environmental impact is not insignificant. So before you buy, make sure to get the most use out of your clothes.
*Calculations performed by Loom on August 24, 2026. Click on the links to access the simulations from the official Ecobalyse tool and get more details on the assumptions used. Please note: The number of points is not always exactly the same on Ecobalyse (whose methodology changes regularly) as on the official environmental label (based on Ecobalyse version 7.0).
Reviews of this product
The standard practice is to send review request emails a few days after the purchase. We wait a month—the minimum amount of time needed to form an informed opinion.
Customer Review Policy
When do you ask customers for reviews?
We’ll send you a review request one month after we receive your order. We believe this is the minimum amount of time needed to have worn and washed an item several times and to form a truly informed opinion. After that, all your reviews are published within a week, whether they’re positive or negative.
Do you request reviews for 100% of the products ordered by customers?
We used to do that at first, but then we realized we were starting to send way too many emails to certain customers who shop with us regularly. In short, we were spamming them a bit. Plus, it was starting to take the team way too much time to respond to reviews—since we want to reply individually and privately to almost everyone 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 posted on the site for potential buyers to form an informed opinion about the product. 2/ We on the Loom team have read enough reviews to understand how to evolve the product into the next generation.
Just a quick thought: What proof is there that we aren't manipulating reviews by giving 5-star ratings to everything?
Honestly: nothing—we’re just giving you our word. Just like with everything else, actually: where we manufacture our products, where our wool comes from, our lab test results, and so on. The only times we might edit what you write is if your message contains spelling mistakes (and even then, quite a few slip past us) or if it’s racist, homophobic, etc. (but that’s never happened so far).
Asking for feedback after just one month isn't enough to know if the clothes are really durable, is it?
You're right—that's why we send you another email asking for a review one year after your purchase—we even ask for a photo to see how your garment has aged. We use the responses to improve our clothing and to provide information on “how this product will age” on our product pages. To avoid unnecessarily bothering our customers, we don’t ask for reviews on 100% of the products ordered: as soon as we have enough data to understand where we can improve, we stop asking for reviews after one year.