Specs:

• 10/2 x 5/- x 2/2 original heavy flannel fabric
• Samurai engraved nut buttons
• "hi no maru" rising sun name
• Samurai guarantee ticket
• made in Japan

This heavyweight contest flannel work shirt was the winning entry in our April Truth flannel project held in 2023. Woven in Niigata Prefecture, the birthplace of yarn-dyed fabrics, this fabric is thick yet soft and textured. As the name implies, the warp and weft yarns are made of very thick heavyweight yarns that are normally used for making heavyweight denim. The warp is twinned (we used double threads) to increase strength, and slub yarns are used in the weft to give the fabric a rough texture. The colors are inspired by the colors of natural dyes representative of Japan, such as indigo, persimmon tannin, mud, and sumi ink, and are arranged with kinari yarn, the original color of raw cotton, in the image of home-made Samurai cotton.

*April Truth Flannel contest

This was a contest we held after our April Fools post last year. We reached out to the public and asked them to submit their own ideas for a flannel pattern on Instagram and Facebook. After the final 500 or so votes, the grand prize winner and the winning pattern was chosen.