Craftsmanship

Cashmere products made by dedicated and
passionate artisans from Japan’s snow country

Experts working with cashmere year-round

UTO’s factory is located in the city of Kitakami in Iwate Prefecture, an area of Northern Japan blessed with four distinct seasons.

The factory’s employees specialize in cashmere and are dedicated to making fine cashmere knitwear.
Each item is produced with careful craftsmanship, the artisans paying close attention to detail with the patience and resolve that people from Japan’s north are known for.
Because production is handled entirely in-house, they take responsibility for every aspect of manufacturing and are deeply involved in each process.

They are the faces behind every product and a source of great pride for UTO.

The world’s only cashmere knitwear made entirely by artisans

Finely knit cashmere

UTO’s cashmere knitwear products are not designed to be soft only when new; they are carefully and finely knit so that they remain soft for years, no matter how many times they are worn and cleaned. We want our customers to treasure our handmade cashmere products with each wearing.

Fabric seams and edges joined together by hand

Linking is a technique for joining delicate side seams and edges of fabric pieces by hand rather than machine. Only skilled artisans are capable of performing this advanced technique. Thanks to linking, seams feel comfortable on the skin, and the neck opening of a sweater can expand and then contract after being pulled over the wearer’s head. Linking also helps keep knitwear from shrinking or losing its shape.

Meticulous processes for ensuring softness

Fulling is a wet finishing process for making cashmere soft. Cashmere shrinks slightly during this process, and weather, temperature, humidity and the type of yarn can also affect the degree of shrinkage. Therefore, to ensure the correct size of our products, we closely examine every detail of the fulling process based on calculations for all of these factors while considering the desired texture of the knitwear.

Naturally dried cashmere knitwear

Knitwear manufacturers generally use drying machines to quickly dry large quantities of clothing. However, at UTO we dry our knitwear naturally. Every item is dried by sunlight and a natural breeze. Cashmere is a delicate material, so we handle it with great care during the drying process.

Specifications closely checked before delivery

Every item of knitwear is ironed, measured and carefully checked to ensure that customers receive them in perfect condition. We do not make final adjustments of the size using the conventional method of fitting the item over a model and applying intense heat, because it may shrink back to its original size after cleaning. Instead, we produce each cashmere knitwear product from start to finish so that it comfortably fits the customer who ordered it.

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