Swampgod Hand Knit Basic Sweater

Hand knitting is not a slower way of doing what a machine does. It produces a different fabric. A hand knitter varies tension continuously without meaning to, so the stitch is very slightly irregular across the whole surface, and that irregularity is what gives a hand-knit its depth: light does not fall evenly on it the way it falls on a machine knit, so a plain black reads as a texture rather than as a flat plane. Hand knitting also produces a fabric with more air in it at the same weight, which is why a hand-knit sweater tends to be warmer than a machine-knit one that weighs the same. The word “Basic” in the name is doing something specific here: the shape is deliberately ordinary so that the making is the only thing to look at. One hundred percent wool, black, made in Italy.

Why we selected it

A plain black wool sweater is the most replaceable garment anyone owns, so the only reason to stock a particular one is that it is made differently. This one is made by hand, which is the difference.

Swampgod normally argues through assembly and salvage, and this is the garment in the line where the argument is craft instead.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent wool, hand knitted. Color: Black. Made in Italy.

Fit notes

Hand-knitted fabric has more give than a machine knit and less recovery, so it will follow the body and will grow slightly with wearing. Size for the shoulder rather than the chest. Because this house builds one piece at a time, sizing and appearance vary from piece to piece, which on a hand-knit is not a caveat but a description of what hand-knitting is. Please ask us.

Styling

With the Stovel Sweatpants for wool on wool. With the Double Layer Denim, the Cutout Jeans, or the Bosega Pant. Under the Vest Jacket.

Care

Wash by hand in cool water, press the water out between towels rather than wringing it, and dry flat, never on a hanger, because a hand knit hung wet will grow at the shoulder and never come back. Fold it rather than hanging it in the closet, for the same reason. Wool wants airing more often than it wants washing. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Stovel Sweatpants are wool below the waist, and the Cropped Patchwork Hoodie is the assembled version of the same idea. Everything we carry from Swampgod is listed together.