It's certified organic to GOTS standards, which includes high standards of animal husbandry, and also meets the "Naturland" criteria of excellence in social welfare in all stages of processing.
Merino wool is a kind of wool fibre that is very fine, soft and springy and is not itchy at all to most skins. The Merino sheep usually thrives in mountainous areas at high altitudes and its wool is naturally brilliant at keeping the body comfortable at a wide range of temperatures.
Living Crafts' Merino wool comes from Australia and their silk from India. Cambridge Baby ensures all our wool comes from farms that do not practise mulesing and have high animal welfare standards.
Wool/silk combines the thermo-regulating properties of wool with the gentle silkiness of silk and makes a truly excellent next-to-the-skin layer.
Merino wool is the wool of choice for baby and children's clothes, as well as for sportswear, because it's finer than most other wools. It's naturally springy (which makes it softer) and has a tight crimp, allowing it to trap more air, making clothing lighter as well as softer for the same excellent insulation.
Merino wool has also been proven to absorb UV across the whole range of the spectrum, giving excellent lightweight sun protection in the summer too.
Organic Merino wool combined with the gentle, skin-friendly properties of silk makes the ultimate fabric for the well-being of the skin and body.
Living Crafts' wool/silk fabric is a soft, natural fabric that can be gently machine washed on a 30oc wool cycle, or hand washed, at temperatures up to 30oc.
Use a detergent designed for wool and silks which is gentle, and which protects and repenishes wool's natural oils. We recommend one of our liquid wool shampoos in our fabric care section here.
Wool cycles maintain a constant luke-warm temperature throughout the wash and rinse cycles, so as not to "shock" the wool into felting.
To hand-wash your wool silk fabric, dilute your wool detergent in cool water, max 30oc (luke-warm only, should feel coolish), in a bowl. For heavily-soiled areas, use a little gall soap beforehand, testing on an inconspicuous area first.
Add your wool/silk clothing to the bowl, gently stirring and squeezing the detergent through. Rinse using water at the same temperature, otherwise the wool will be subjected to "shock" and might felt up. So luke-warm/coolish at 30oc again.
Things not to do! Don't wring, soak, brush or rub vigourously as the wool and silk fibres may be damaged and your garment felt up a little and shrink. Just squeeze the water through.
To dry your wool/silk clothes, gently squeeze water out and wrap them clothes in a towel to remove the excess water. Air-dry naturally avoiding direct heat. So, hanging on a drying rack over the bath is good, or on a clothes horse. Mine often end up over the back of chairs or on the washing line in the shade (I haven't had a problem with the the heat of the English being too hot, yet, but direct sunlight is not good for wool or silk).
Re-shape while still damp.
"Very nice for this cold winter, I wear them with the leggings purchased here too and the shirt is long enough so there's no gap."
This was worn by... Myself
Sizing: Feels true to size
I'd recommend this to a friend.
This was washed... not needed washing yet
"A warm soft vest makes a great base layer. Not at all itchy"
This was worn by... Me
"Wonderful base layer, and long enough to be securely tucked and and keep your midriff cosy and warm. Perfect on cold walks or hikes and days in the snow, breathable and doesn’t feel like you’re overheating. I love the red colour!"
This was washed... washed fine
"I bought it for myself and I love to sleep in it."
Sizing: A little generous
"I purchased my first Living Crafts wool and silk vest five years ago and since then have purchased one other long sleeve and several sleeveless vests as well as a pair of leggings. They are soft and comfortable to wear and not at all itchy. They last well, I have only just discarded the first one now over five years old. I would like to add that the staff at Cambridge Baby are very helpful and go out of their way to get the product you want."
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