Vianno Merino™
Merino is a breed. The grade is what you feel.
Every knitted piece we make starts from extra-fine merino wool. What separates one merino garment from another is not the breed but the grade of the fleece – measured in microns, the diameter of a single fibre. On the label, and in law, the composition is stated as it must be: 100% wool.
Wool does not itch. Coarse wool does.
A fibre thicker than roughly 30 microns is stiff enough that, meeting skin, it does not bend – it presses in, and the nerve endings beneath register it. Below that threshold the fibre bends instead, and the skin reads it as soft.
This is why a coarse jumper has to be worn over something, and a fine one does not.
The Micron Scale
The finer the fleece, the less of it a sheep grows, and the more a kilo of it costs. Fineness is the price of the garment.
Vianno Merino is spun from Australian merino wool measuring 18.5 to 19 microns.
60–80 microns. For reference. |
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25–30 microns. Warm, but worn over a layer. |
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19.6–22 microns. Soft enough for most skin. |
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17.5–19.5 microns. Worn next to the skin. |
What the fibre does
Wool absorbs moisture vapour into the fibre itself, holding a substantial share of its own weight before the surface feels damp. That is why it works across a wider range of temperatures than its weight suggests.
Odour comes from bacteria feeding on sweat, and wool gives them a poorer surface to work on than synthetic fibre does. Each fibre also carries a natural crimp that behaves like a spring: stretched, it returns. That is what keeps a collar upright and a hem flat.
How to Care for It
Hang the piece overnight between wears. Wool releases odour as moisture leaves the fibre, so airing does much of what a wash would, without the wear. |
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Heat and agitation are what felt wool, not water. Cold water on a gentle wool cycle is safe; hot water and a fast spin are not. |
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Wet wool carries its own weight downward. Lay it flat and reshape it by hand. Never hang it wet. |
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Heat and tumbling together shrink wool permanently. There is no recovering from it. |
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Short fibres work loose in the first few wears and gather into pills. This is normal in fine knitwear and it stops once they are gone. Remove them with a comb or a fabric shaver. |
Where we use it
Vianno Merino™ is the fibre in every knitted piece we make. Where a piece uses a different composition, that composition is stated in full on its own page.