Keep warm in Autumn with the latest knitwear
The cold weather is coming around and what better way to get ready for the festive time of the year than with a quality piece of knitwear. From merino wools to soft cotton and cashmeres to silks, we’ve got you covered this autumn & winter with a great range of knitwear to suit any taste. Starting with everyday knitwear to some real luxurious pieces for special occasions.
We will start with the most iconic British knitwear brand around John Smedley, they have been making knitwear since 1784 and have two Royal Warrant of Appointments. The second of these which came in 2021 after one of the toughest years for John Smedley and the rest of the world. With such accolades it leaves no question to thought that their knitwear is some of the best worldwide. At Union 22 we strive to bring the best to our customers and working with John Smedley is a continued pleasure.
Some of the classic pieces from John Smedley for the winter are the Belper, the Cotswold and the Lundy. The Belper is a classic fitting long sleeve button polo made from 30 gauge extra fine merino wool and finished with a sport collar. It truly is a staple piece perfected over time from a company with over 230 years of manufacturing experience. The Cotswold is the brother to the Belper which is made from 30 gauge extra fine merino wool. The fit is what is known as an Easy fit, this is a looser fit than the classic john Smedley fit, and we recommend some customers to go down a size if choosing an easy fit.
The benefit of an easy fit is for bigger customers the knitwear sits much more comfortably and doesn’t hug the body. The Lundy is a classic crew neck design made from 30 gauge extra fine merino wool, perfect worn by itself or worn over a shirt for smart casual outfit.
It comes with no surprise that the creators of James Bond are a big fan of John Smedley as they have been worn on screen by every single 007 agent, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. If you’re looking for classic fitting British knitwear then our go to is always John Smedley. Built to last these are pieces you can wear every day and with the right care can last for a very long time.
If you prefer knitwear with a more European feel then we’ve got some great collections to show you. Some of our favourite Italian brands make luxurious winter polos with cable knit textured finishes, herringbone designs, zip closures and much more. Corneliani & Canali have their roots firmly in knitwear and this shines when they present their autumn winter collections.
This season some of the best-selling pieces from Corneliani are the Long Sleeve Cable Knit Quarter Zip Polo, the Wool & Cashmere Heavy Cable Knit, the Cotton, Cashmere & Silk Zip Polo and the Quarter Zip Herringbone Finish Polo which is available in three colours. These knits are made from a mix of carefully selected virgin wool, super soft silk, and cashmere.
Canali have two signature knitwear pieces this season which are the Garment Dyed Wool & Silk Polo’s, available in a buttoned finished (bluette) and with a zip finish (green). The garment dyed process gives the look of a more vintage finish by the process of dying the fabric once the pieces has been cut and sewn rather than by the roll of fabric.
For those special occasions look no further than the exclusive Brioni knitwear collection, made with some of the finest fabrics worldwide. The Ultra Soft Long Sleeve Zip Polo has been made in a lovely bluette colour, with a clean minimal design and finished with a signature ‘Brioni’ embroidery on the bottom left of the polo.
Different Gauges
When it comes to picking your knitwear, it is important to know the gauge that has been used in making the piece, the rule is the higher the gauge the finer the knit. Most of the John Smedley collection are 30 gauge knits such as the Belper, Lundy, and the Adrian. There are some which are slightly thicker at a 24 gauge such as the Tapton. The likes of the Wool & Cashmere Heavy Cable Knit from Corneliani is an ever lower gauge so it has a nice winter thickness for when the temperature drops.
We’ve added our Knit Care 101 to this blog to give you some advice on how to wear, wash and care for your knitwear this autumn.
Knit Care 101
When it comes to knitwear all it takes is a few simple mistakes to ruin that favourite or sweater that you love so much. We've put together a short guide to help you or your partner so that you don't make the common mistakes that damage your knitwear. When you take care of your knits, they can last a lifetime and it all starts from a good base knowledge of how to wash, dry and protect them.
So let's get started and straight into our top tips, some of these are pretty obvious but we have all shrunk a jumper or two in our time and hopefully these will re-jog the memory for our more experienced readers and help out some of our first time washers.
Garment Care
- Try using hair conditioner on machine wool knitwear to keep fabric soft & luxurious
- Always dry flat on a dry towel to keep the shape
- Wash knitwear with knitwear, never mix with denim or cottons
- Don't wash wool often, wool contains lanolin oils in its fibres making it naturally antimicrobial.
*Tip: Wear a slim fitting under t-shirt underneath to get more use before washing.
- Wool doesn't shrink in the washing process, when wool rubs together the fibres lock closely tother turning the wool into felt