We all have our very favorite comfy clothing. It’s the t-shirt, bra, and pair of underwear we wear as many times as possible before washing—the first thing we reach for, putting it on straight out of the laundry rather than making it wait for us in a dresser drawer.
What makes it our favorite? Sure it’s how soft and comfortable it is and that fact that it hugs our body just right. But behind all of that is the fabrication and construction—what it’s made of and how it was made. That’s why BRANWYN Performance Innerwear pieces crafted out of our seamless Merino make for so many “favorites.” (See our reviews for the proof!)
Our seamless Merino is different from anything else out there. The fabric has all the incredible benefits of Merino—more on that later—and the construction involves extraordinary machinery to avoid seams and allow for a three-dimensional feel. Here’s what makes seamless Merino so special and why it feels so dang good.
What is Seamless Merino?
Seamless Merino clothing is made through specialized knitting machines. The yarn is knit together into tubes which become your underwear and bras. In this way, the fabric and the garment are being created at the same time. Seamless construction is very different from the “cut and sew” technique, which is how most clothes are made. Cut and sew construction begins with large swaths of flat fabric. It takes the fabric, cuts it into shapes and then sews them together to create a garment full of seams.
That can be a little hard to imagine, so here’s an analogy. Think of taking pieces of paper, cutting them up into small pieces and taping them together into the shape of a sphere. You might get close to a sphere—but it wouldn’t be perfect. Plus, you’d be left with lots of scraps, and a number of places where the tape could fail, making the whole thing come loose. That’s cut and sew. Seamless construction would be starting with pulp, shaping it around a ball and letting it dry. It might take a little longer, and you might need some skill, but if done right, the end result would be a perfect sphere with very little waste and much sturdier construction. That’s seamless design.
The Many Benefits of Seamless Merino
Merino on its own has incredible performance benefits, especially for women. Merino helps keep us dry when we sweat, it helps regulate our body temperature so that we don’t get too hot or too cold, and it has anti-odor properties to keep unwanted smells at bay. It even has natural SPF benefits to protect our skin from the sun. Not to mention it is a regenerative natural fiber that’s gentle on our earth.
Merino becomes even more amazing when it’s seamless like BRANWYN Performance Innerwear. A few important benefits of seamless Merino include:
- Maximum Merino: If you’re wearing Merino as a close-fitting garment, it needs to be blended with something to give it a bit of stretch. Seamless technology empowers us to use very little stretchy yarn (nylon and spandex) and to maintain an incredibly high 75–80 percent Merino-forward integration. The seamless machines integrate the Merino as the core fiber throughout, so it’s not just next-to-skin or next-to-air—it’s everywhere. This allows for the garment to fit like a glove, while still retaining all of Merino’s incredible natural properties.
- Compression capabilities: Knitting Merino into the shape of the garment creates gentle compression. Compression is the hug of fabric on your skin that keeps you feeling secure, supported, and able to perform at your best.
- Total comfort: Integrated Merino knit makes for a very soft feel. This is welcome everywhere, but especially on our most sensitive areas. Plus no seams mean no rubbing, chafing, or hot spots.
- Curve-approved: Our bodies aren’t flat—they are made up of curves, lumps, bumps, and bends. Seamless Merino supports us in all of our 3D glory by starting as a 3D garment itself. This helps make it feel even more comfortable and truly like a second skin.
- Less waste: Minimizing scraps makes seamless design more eco-friendly!
Why Doesn’t Everyone Make Seamless Merino?
If seamless Merino is so great, why are you the only ones doing it? Good question. That’s because it’s extremely difficult, complicated, and more expensive. First, we start with ZQ Merino wool, which is certified to be ethically produced—this is difficult to source, but for us happy sheep and fairly paid farmers are a non-negotiable. Next, this Merino needs to be spun into a fine yarn count in order to work for the seamless machines. This yarn needs to be of exacting and consistent quality in order to work for the precision of seamless knitting machines.
Once the yarn is in the machine, there’s one shot to make the garment. In cut-and-sew, if you make a bad stitch, you can take out that stitch and easily correct it. For seamless, the stakes are much higher. If there’s a tiny snag or any small fault in the garment or the yarn, the whole entire thing needs to be started from scratch. It’s a true craft process that takes time, precision, and patience. If seamless Merino were easy, everyone would do it—but for us, it’s well worth the hurdles and hoops to create something special for women to feel supported to be their best adventurous selves.
Have any questions, thoughts or feelings about seamless Merino? We’d love to hear from you! Please drop us a line at info@branwyn.com or DM us on social at @branwynofficial.
