Material Guide

At MASKA we have a profound understanding of the character of the fibres: what fibre should be used in which garment and how it should be treated. Natural fibres, such as wool, hemp and linen have unique and excellent attributes. If you pick the right one, the final product will keep its shape and colour, have an amazing lustre, antibacterial capacities and will hardly ever need to be washed. We work actively to promote alternative luxury fibers such as alpaca, camel, silk and mohair to avoid stressing the resources of just a few.

Wool

Wool is a fiber with great properties that is easy to care for and to take care of. It is durable, has a natural shine and keeps both colour and shape. We use a variety of qualities and finenesses depending on the desired properties of each garment. In our collection you will discover supersoft qualities like Supergeelong, high performance merinos, untreated topwool and classic lambswool. Lately there has been an increasing availability of GOTS organic and RWS certified wools on the market and we intend to use it whenever possible. However, when it comes to wool many of our suppliers are small, family run historic mills that fulfil the requirements but haven’t paid for a certification yet.

Cashmere

Cashmere is a fantastic material famous for its softness, lightness, insulating properties and natural lustre. Our pure cashmere and silk-cashmere blends we source from a GCS, OEKO tex and GOTS certified supplier. The fibers are fully traceable to the farm.

What sets our cashmere apart is also that the yarn is knitted more tightly and optimized to be low-pilling. This prolongs the garment life and elevates the wearing experience.

Mohair

The mohair fiber comes from the Angora goat and is a desirable fiber due to its incomparable lustre and sheen, lightness and resilience. It also takes dyes incredibly well. Because of its light reflecting properties and strength (stronger than steel) it is also known as the “Diamond fiber”. It is warm as wool but much lighter, making it ideal for travelling. We only use mohair from carefully selected farms in South Africa and that is fully traceable. The spinning mill also follows the GOTS regulation of a low environmental impact production cycle.

Alpaca

Alpaca is a fibre from the Andes in South America. It is a long staple fibre with remarkable lustre and drape, resulting in strong and durable yet elegant fabrics. Alpaca is graded depending on softness and baby alpaca is one of the very softest grades. It is the fibers from the first shearing of the young alpaca. The shearing does not harm the animal in any way and is necessary to help the animal lose its warm winter fur. Traditionally, the fiber has been used undyed or dyed with natural pigments such as indigo, nogal leaves and lime. Even in industrial, large scale production natural pigments are used to a big extent.

Camel

This yarn is made from carefully sourced, very fine baby camel hair from Mongolia. Camel wool is gathered as the animal sheds their coat or combed by hand. The hair is thermo-regulated to stay warm in cold and cool in hot temperatures which makes the garment warm yet breathable. The final fabric is characterized by high drape, lightness and durability. Our camel yarn is spun in Italy and comes in both top dyed colourways and our favourite, the natural and original undyed camel shade.

Organic Cotton

Made from very fine and long organic cotton fibres, this eco-friendly fabric is supremely soft, durable and naturally lustrous. Organic cotton is a sustainable choice as it is grown without the use of toxic agricultural chemicals. We also offer a range of knitwear made in the world's first LS (Long Staple) organic cotton. Spun in Italy and made from an exquisite blend of "Queen of cotton" GIZA 45 and GIZA 87 fibers cultivated by the Nile delta. Famous for their silky touch and extraordinary long staples which results in a yarn that is ultrasoft, durable and zero pilling - a one of a kind cotton. Traceable from seed to finished product.

Hemp

The first plant cultivated for textiles, hemp is grown for 10 000 years. Hemp is an interesting and strong fiber with linen-like qualities. Hemp grows quickly, requires little water and needs no chemicals of any kind. It is the strongest natural fiber, naturally antimicrobial and resistant to UV light. It is comfortable, breathable and cool to the touch.

Linen

Linen is a light, fresh and durable fiber with natural lustre, absorption and thermoregulating properties. It is elegant yet easy to care for, durable and breathable. A classic and timeless material that becomes more beautiful with time.

From a sustainable perspective it is often mentioned as one of the best (after hemp) since it can grow in poor soil, require little water and the final fibre is strong and durable. We use various linen qualities depending on application but all of them are certified EUROPEAN FLAX and MASTERS OF LINEN, ensuring the origin and traceability, social and environmental responsibility as well as fiber qualities.

Silk

Silk is one of the strongest natural fibers and has an incredible sheen and high lustre. It is thermoregulating and has good absorbency. We use blends of Tussah peace silk and high grade 5A Mulberry silk, both originating from China which has a 4000 year tradition of producing silk.

With 6A grade silk being the best and finest silk on the market, our 5A Mulberry silk is very high quality and with great quality/price ratio. The supplier is SFA, OEKO tex and GOTS certified. Tussah silk fibers are shorter but much stronger and thicker than mulberry silk, and the final yarn has a characteristic roughness. Peace silk, also know as Eri silk, guarantees that the silk is raised peacefully and with no harmful substances.

Viscose

The viscose fabric we use is from Italy and the majority of the viscose is Lenzing Ecovero™. This certification guarantees that the fibres are derived from sustainable wood and pulp, coming only from certified and controlled sources and that the production is eco-responsible and meets the highest environmental standards. Production of Ecovero requires nearly 50% less water and energy than the production of regular viscose.

Tencel™

Tencel™ is a man made material, manufactured by Lencing in a closed loop with fibers derived from wood pulp Eucalyptus cellulose. It is an eco-friendly fabric with a fantastic drape and a soft and silky touch. It is durable, lightweight and breathable, and has a natural resistance to wrinkling.

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