#Handmade in Wales

Founded in 1892, Corgi has been making its exquisite hosiery for over 100 years. Hand-knitting machines that have been present since day one sit alongside 21st century tech on the workshop floor, combining the best of traditional making with modern innovation. The company continues to be family-owned, and is based in the same Welsh mining village where it was founded. You’ll notice all Corgi products come with a ‘made in Wales’ label, a nod to their pride of place and distinct heritage. They are committed to quality, craft and design above anything- so it’s no wonder they were given a Royal Warrant in 1989.

##Not all sweaters are knitted equal. 50% cashmere and 50% superfine lambswool spun to perfection. Sourced from Todd & Duncan, our cricket sweater is comprised of 50% scottish cashmere and 50% Lamaine superfine lamb's wool knitted on a 5gg dubied double bed hand-framed knitting machine. Hand cabled 100% fully fashioned. It requires fibres from the white, downy undercoat of three goats to yield enough for one sweater alone. A combination of combing and shearing is used to collect the sustainable raw materials from the Gobi desert, where the goats are tended by nomadic farmers in herds of 2-300, living together in extreme environments, before bringing the harvested fibres back to the UK for processing. The traditional techniques used by Todd & Duncan create a higher quality product, a cashmere yarn that pills much less than others. While pilling is natural with wear and cannot be avoided completely, the longevity of a sweater or knitted piece ultimately begins with how its yarn is created. Corgi's sourcing model is a process in which fibre is processed and spun by specialist European mills (such as Todd & Duncan in this case) before being delivered to Wales for knitting and finishing, becoming a garment. They prefer to work with long, fine individual hairs for cashmere and lambswool, which make for a product less prone to pilling and splitting than low-grade or imitation offerings. Medium ply garments, such as 4-ply, have a softer and slightly heavier feel to the garment, as the ply refers to the number of yarns twisted together to form one individual strand. A $3,000 Men’s Scarf for $575? A New Kind of Bargain by S. Christian (03/05/2017), The Wall Street Journal.

##Welsh production, performed by skilled craftspeople using traditional methods on the factory floor. Corgi operates as a specialist knitting and finishing factory rather than a vertically integrated spinning mill. The Ammanford facility focuses on knitting, linking, washing, pressing, and hand-finishing rather than raw fibre processing. Production combines traditional knitting machinery, including hand-framing techniques for certain knitwear lines, with modern knitting equipment. One of the company’s defining construction details is the use of hand-linked (hand-closed) toe seams in many socks, a labour-intensive finishing process that reduces the bulk at the seam and improves comfort. The factory is known for fine-gauge knitting, intricate intarsia work, and small-batch runs that allow for complex colour and pattern execution. In structural terms, Corgi’s value lies less in fibre transformation and more in knit precision, finishing control, and generational technical knowledge embedded within the Welsh workforce.