Inside Our Local Knitwear Production with Sompunt

Why knitwear is different from cut-and-sew garments

In cut-and-sew production, fabric is woven or knitted on large rolls, then cut into pattern pieces and sewn together. The fabric behaves relatively predictably because it is a finished material before production begins. Knitwear is different. Each panel — front, back, sleeves, collar — is knitted directly to shape using yarn on a knitting machine. The final dimensions, structure and hand feel of the garment depend on decisions made during the knitting process: yarn weight, machine gauge, tension settings, rib type, finishing method and how the piece is washed after knitting.

A change in tension of even one click on a machine setting can shift the final chest measurement by a centimetre. Washing behaviour differs between yarn batches. Collar rib recovery changes depending on how the linking is done at the neckline. These are not minor details — they determine whether a garment fits well, holds its shape and keeps its structure through a season of wear and multiple washes.

This is why choosing the right knitwear partner matters enormously, and why keeping that partner close enough to work with directly is so important.

Who Sompunt is

Sompunt is a knitwear specialist based in L'Espluga Calba, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia. The company has worked in knitwear since 1969, accumulating more than five decades of specialised technical knowledge in knitting, linking, garment washing, finishing and quality control. Unlike manufacturers that outsource parts of the process, Sompunt brings these stages together under one roof.

That integrated structure matters for quality and accountability. When knitting, linking and finishing happen in the same facility, it is easier to trace an issue back to its source, make an adjustment and follow the corrected approach through production. There is no gap between the people knitting a panel and the people linking it together or washing the finished garment.

The location in L'Espluga Calba also means the workshop sits within a reasonable distance from Barcelona, making development visits, sample reviews and production checks practically manageable rather than expensive and logistically complex.

The yarn and gauge decisions

For Pamuuc knitwear, the starting point is yarn selection. We work with extrafine Merino — fibres below 18 microns in diameter — chosen for softness against the skin, colour depth and stability through washing. The yarn needs to take dye evenly across the colour range, recover well after knitting under tension, and behave predictably when the finished garment is washed.

Gauge — the number of needles per inch on the knitting machine — determines the density and drape of the final fabric. A finer gauge creates a denser, smoother surface that holds structure well. A coarser gauge creates a more open, relaxed fabric with a different hand feel. For our crewneck and cardigan, the gauge is selected to give the garments enough body to maintain a neat silhouette while remaining light enough for comfortable everyday wear.

These decisions are made together with Sompunt, drawing on their experience with similar yarn types and end-use requirements. A workshop that has been knitting for over 50 years has institutional knowledge about how specific yarn categories behave in production that cannot be replicated from a specification sheet alone.

How a Pamuuc knit comes to life: the development process

Swatch and test

Development starts with small panels — swatches — knitted to test the tension, rib construction, collar type and yarn hand feel at the chosen gauge. The swatches are washed and measured before and after to understand how the fabric behaves through the one process it will face most often in use. A swatch that measures correctly before washing but shrinks or distorts afterward tells us something important about the gauge, the yarn, or the washing programme. We adjust before moving to a pilot run.

Pilot and fit review

Once the swatch work confirms the approach, a small pilot production — a handful of pieces — is knitted in the final construction. These pieces are checked on a flat table for measurements and then tried on to assess how the garment sits on the body: shoulder line, sleeve length, body length, rib recovery at the cuffs and collar, the relationship between chest width and armhole shape. On-body assessment reveals things that flat measurement misses — how the garment moves, where it pulls, how the collar sits at different neck postures.

Where adjustments are needed, they are made here, before the full production run. This is one of the most important stages. A small problem caught at pilot stage costs very little to fix. The same problem found in the middle of a full production batch is expensive and disruptive.

Production and quality check

Production runs in controlled lots. Knitting, linking, washing and finishing stay within the same facility at Sompunt, which allows a quality check at each stage rather than only at the end. The final quality control step covers measurements, linking finish, surface quality and label placement before garments are approved for packing and dispatch to us.

What keeping production local makes possible

The practical benefits of local production in knitwear are specific. When a development question arises, we can get on a call with Sompunt and resolve it the same day, or drive there and look at a physical sample within hours rather than waiting two weeks for a shipment from a distant factory. When a pilot sample has a collar that sits incorrectly, we can discuss it in person, agree on an adjustment, and have a corrected sample back quickly.

That speed of iteration is worth more than it sounds. Every improvement that happens at development stage is an improvement that reaches the final garment. Every problem that gets resolved at pilot stage is a problem that does not reach the customer.

Local production also means we know the people involved. We understand their constraints, their preferences and their ways of working. That kind of relationship leads to better communication over time — and better communication leads to fewer surprises in production.

What we are still improving

We want to continue developing yarn-level traceability, so that information about fibre origin is available not just for the yarn category but for specific batches. We are also looking at finishing chemistry — the substances used in garment washing and softening — and working to ensure documentation is complete for each season. Packaging for knitwear is another area where we are working toward options that protect the garment during transit with fewer unnecessary materials.

When we make a confirmed improvement, we update the product pages and journal accordingly. We would rather report progress than describe ambitions as if they are already achieved.

Related reading

For more on the material side of knitwear, read our Merino yarn and care note. For the broader production philosophy, visit Transparency at Pamuuc. To learn more about the brand, read why Pamuuc exists.