Fabrics with Soul Jetzt entdecken
In the sign of the thistle
Fabrics with Soul Jetzt entdecken
The thistle: a superficial analysis.
We do not want you to think that we are shallow; however, we have to admit that we are very much into looks. We certainly make sure our scarves look beautiful but we are also interested in the exterior of a specific plant: the weaver's thistle. We all know what a thistle is. They prick us when we are out walking and are not particularly pretty in a vase. However, one thing this prickly character is excellent at doing is combing; which is why it was once known as the “wolf's comb”. The spines of the dried seed heads are perfectly suited for stroking the surface of a fabric without damaging its sensitive fibres in the process. The countless tiny barbed hooks are better than any other tool at stroking cashmere to a perfectly soft finish.
And please, do not replicate this at home, because, of course, you cannot just brush a rough thistle over the fine woolen fabric. You need to treat the thistles beforehand so that they do not remove too much product. To do this, they are placed in hot water and lightly flattened. Only then do we stretch them by hand onto rails, which are later attached to rollers.
This is done on the wet coater. Here, too, you need expertise: The curls must not be even; after all, cashmere is a natural product. For this reason, large and small thistle heads are stretched by hand in alternation (over 1200 pieces). This is not very pleasant work, because the thistles are hot (the hot water) and prickly (a freak of nature). But this is the only way to get outstanding quality and a brilliant result. We are one of the few companies that still process cashmere this way because of the huge amount of work involved. Why all this? Because the procedure makes our cashmere scarves buttery soft and fluffy and that is why we at FRAAS have loved and used this product refinement since the company was founded in 1880. No wonder it is reflected in our brand logo.