Acacia Vest, Earth

Crafted by female artisans in the rural areas of Uruguay from undyed Corriedale wool - transformed by a manipulation of tension during the spinning process to achieve a wonderfully spongy flamé knit. Each ound knitwear piece is hand-knit and takes 3 -5 days to be crafted. Read more about their amazingly thoughtful production below.  SIZE ound garments are hand knitted and hand processed, therefore the measurements may vary with each piece and the following must be considered as a guide only. Each ound knit comes in only two sizes, listed here as size 1 and size 2. The model is 173cm high and wears a size 1.  *Overall the brand runs small. we would suggest sizing up if on the fence. Email hello@caus-studio.co with any sizing questions and we'll be happy to help guide you! COMPOSITION 100% Corriedale wool CARE Processed without chemicals and 3-ply twisted to minimize pilling. Some natural pilling may occur during use. Handle with care to preserve the original look. Take care of your ound pieces and they will last a lifetime. Here we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide to help you get the most out of your knitwear and silks. CARING FOR WOOL PILLING Some natural pilling will occur during use, especially when your knit is new. Don’t be alarmed if you find your knit bobbling at the start of its life, this is completely natural and a normal feature of the high quality fibres used to spin the yarn. Just like the best cashmere, extra fine merino wool tends to pill more than coarser wool. To remove any pills, use an electric fabric shaver which will cut across the knit, taking away only the extraneous surface fibres. A sweater stone or comb will also do the job, but use carefully - if used too vigorously, these can pull out more fibres from the wool causing it to quickly pill again. The more you shave your knit, the less it will peel until it stops occuring. HAND WASHING Wool fibres differ in structure to other fibres. They are self-cleaning and don’t need to be washed as often. A quick spot clean (dab, don’t rub!) and frequent airing will keep your knitwear fresh for longer. When it comes to stains, time is of the essence, act quickly and never use heat - this will set the stain and make it impossible to remove. Separate your delicates. To ensure they don’t get mixed up with other laundry items, we recommend storing knitwear and silks separately in your utility area. When the time comes to wash your woollens, gently hand wash in lukewarm water, using a PH neutral, organic soap. The simpler, the better. Avoid any fabric softeners or harsh, scented detergents (especially those containing bleach) as these will damage the natural fibers. Let your knit soak in soapy water for about 15 minutes then rinse thoroughly - multiple times if necessary - by soaking the piece in clear water only. Don’t agitate the water too much when your knit is soaking and make sure you use the same water temperature all the time as agitation and temperature socks can cause the wool to felt.    Once clean, gently roll your knit in a large, thick towel, reshape whilst damp and lay flat to dry on an airy surface. A wooden clothes dryer is perfect. In summer, you can place the dryer by an open window or outside in the fresh air. In winter, drying your knits near a radiator will speed up the process. Just be sure to lay them out horizontally on a flat surface. Heavy knits may take up to a couple of days to fully dry. Be careful not to put them away whilst still damp. MACHINE WASHING We recommend that you do not machine wash your hand knits. The type of yarn we use is thick, but very delicate, with fibres that are not as compacted as those spun into thinner yarns. This provides extra comfort and fluffiness but also means that the knits should be handled with extra care so that they do not lose their shape. An aggressive spin cycle can also be damaging to delicate fibres and can cause just as much shrinkage as hot temperatures. DRY CLEANING Dry cleaning is harmful to the environment and the chemicals used will damage and weaken natural fibres over time. A good hand wash gets the best results. STORAGE Store your knits in a clean, dry space with lavender bags, cedar balls or bay leaves to deter moths. Moths thrive in dark spaces and love dirty clothes, so keep your knits clean and air outside or by an open window to freshen up between wears. We recommend folding your knitwear, as hanging will cause it to become misshapen. It’s also a good idea to shake your knits out a couple of times during the summer months when they are not getting as much wear, to check for any unwanted visitors. MENDING If you discover a little hole in your knitwear at any point during its lifetime, don’t be afraid to have a go at darning it. There are many online courses to show you how and results needn’t be prefect. We believe in imperfect beauty! Make a feature out of your mend with contrasting yarn, or if you prefer an exact match, get in touch and we will send you enough wool to darn the hole, free of charge. If you don’t trust your own mending skills or don’t have the time, ask a professional. We can even organise this for you. PRODUCTION All ound pieces are one-of-a-kind and can only be made in limited editions. The intricate process of making ensures the precious nature of each ound item. Thoughtful craftsmanship establishes an emotional bond between the garment and the person wearing it. ound believes that the greatest luxury is to be found living in tune with ourselves and in alignment with our values. In this day and age, the real nature of luxury is intimate and lies in simplicity and high quality materials. ound is an investigative project by designer Paula Delgado. From 2015 to 2017, she spent several months in rural Argentina and Scotland, learning about wool production, weaving and knitting, and teaching herself the art of botanical dye. Paula is inspired by the philosophy of permaculture, a holistic design system for creating harmonious relations between humans, plants, animals, and the Earth, which she translates into a contemporary aesthetic rooted in simplicity and humble luxury. Through her background as a high-level fashion designer for two leading global fast fashion corporations, she gained a profound awareness of the harmful nature of an industry that is based on high-speed turnover, overproduction and waste. With ound, she presents an almost meditative approach and an alternative to a broken system – a thoughtful design practice that is based on an appreciation of materials and matter and evolves and matures over time. ound designs their wool pieces in their studio, taking inspiration from the things that surround them. They like to create from what they already have, taking vintage pieces or their own garments as a starting point, until they naturally evolve into a new design. Playing with different stitches and proportions to create pieces that are comfortable and rich in texture, visually and tactilely, is an essential part of this process. This involves a lot of dialogue with the artisans who knit the pieces. In fact, hand-knitting involves a lot of calculations and decisions that affect the structure of the garment. It's not just your grandmother sitting on the sofa and knitting you a woollen pullover; it’s about exploring different tensions and different needles in each part of the garment, moving the stitches until finding the perfect recipe to obtain and maintain the shape. It is like architecture of clothing; what they mean by saying their pieces are knitted to perfection. Their garments are hand-knitted by a group of independent female artisans led by Gabriella, an incredible knitter who is also a physics teacher. Her background can be seen in the perfection of the garments: she pours all of her knowledge and calculations into the pieces she develops. Most of the female artisans who work with ound live in Santa Lucía, a small city in the countryside of Uruguay, and they work from their homes. Each of ound's hand-knitted garments takes three to five days to be crafted.  Knitting in itself is a zero-waste process, since the knitted fabric is created with the exact shape of the pattern, which means that the fabric is generated in the same knitting process, without cuttings. Also, ound reuses every small bit of thread that they have for sewing the pieces of the garment together or as a part of the packaging. Finally, ound pieces are finished in their studio, where they take care of details such as putting the labels and preparing the packaging. ound tries to develop the packaging using materials that they already have in-house and making designs that can also be reusable, as a way to avoid creating extra waste. They use deadstock fabrics or repurposed materials and collaborate with other local circular projects to achieve a packaging that protects the pieces as it is useful and has a positive impact on the environment and the society.