Materials

Every Northform piece names its mill and its fiber. This page collects them in one place. We don't own these factories; we work with five of them.

Têxtil Vale do Ave (Porto, Portugal)

Knits and shirting. Three generations of one family. Their machines run worsted merino, cotton-linen blends, organic cotton oxford, and Portuguese poplin.

Used in:

• All knit pieces (Wool Crew Sweater, Cashmere Crew Sweater, Cotton-Linen Crew, Cardigan, Turtleneck, Knit Polo, Knit Midi, Sweater Dress, Knit Pant)
• All shirting (Oxford Button-Down, Poplin Button-Down, Linen Popover, Shirt Dress)
• The Overshirt (cotton-linen)
• The Straight-Leg Jean (Indigo and Ecru, on their denim line)
• The Quilted Vest (shell)
• The Mid-Weight Long-Sleeve (sleeve attachment)

Casa Bandeira (Lisbon, Portugal)

Tailoring. The atelier finishes jackets and trousers for two well-known European houses; they take Northform's runs on the same machines.

Used in:

• The Single-Breasted Blazer (half-canvas)
• The Double-Breasted Blazer (half-canvas)
• The Tailored Trouser, Straight
• The Tailored Trouser, Wide
• The Trench (raglan-sleeve construction, half-canvas)
• The Wool Coat (full-canvas)
• The Slip Dress (French-seamed construction; the silk is from Setas do Porto)

Curtumes Alcanena (Alcanena, Portugal)

Vegetable-tanned leather. Alcanena has been a Portuguese tannery town since the 1700s. Vegetable tanning uses tree bark instead of chrome salts, takes three weeks instead of one day, and produces leather that changes color through time. The Suede Card Holder uses brushed suede from the same hides.

Used in:

• The Leather Tote (calfskin)
• The Leather Belt (calfskin)
• The Suede Card Holder (suede)

Setas do Porto (Porto, Portugal)

A small silk mill. Two looms. They weave silk twill and silk poplin in lots of 200 yards or less. The Silk Blouse and the Scarf come from their cloth; the Slip Dress is finished by Casa Bandeira from their fabric.

Used in:

• The Silk Blouse
• The Silk Scarf (both pattern designs)
• The Slip Dress (cloth source)

Algodonera del Norte (outside Lima, Peru)

The only mill we work with outside Portugal. They grow and spin Supima cotton, which is structurally better than anything else we could source.

Supima refers to American Pima cotton grown to specific length and quality standards. Algodonera del Norte's Supima comes from extra-long-staple fibers (1.5 inches or more), which is why a Northform tee can be combed and ring-spun without losing softness or hand.

Used in:

• The entire Tee Program (Mid-Weight Crew, V-Neck, Scoop, Long-Sleeve, Light-Weight, Heavy-Weight, Henley)
• The T-Shirt Dress (same Mid-Weight cotton, extended)

Fibers we use

Fiber	Where	Why
Supima cotton	Tee Program, T-Shirt Dress	Extra-long-staple. Holds shape, holds opacity, ring-spins cleanly.
Worsted merino wool	Most knits, Knit Pant, Knit Midi	The fiber for a sweater that wears five days a week without pilling out.
Mongolian cashmere	Cashmere Crew Sweater, Sweater Dress	Traceable to its herders. Good Cashmere Standard certified.
Italian hopsack wool	Both blazers, both Tailored Trousers	The weave that holds a press while resisting wrinkle. Casa Bandeira's house cloth.
Italian wool melton	Wool Coat	Heavyweight (540 GSM). The weight a coat should be when winter starts.
Cotton poplin (Portuguese)	Poplin Button-Down, Shirt Dress	Smoother than oxford, lighter than tropical. The dressed-up cotton.
Cotton oxford (organic, Portuguese)	Oxford Button-Down	Heritage weight at 180 GSM. Holds a press through dinner.
Cotton-linen blend	Overshirt, Cotton-Linen Crew	Slubby, breathable, transitional.
Portuguese linen	Linen Popover	Heavy at 200 GSM. Washes to a soft hand.
Sandwashed silk (Portuguese, 16 momme)	Silk Blouse, Slip Dress	Matte hand; not the slippery shine of charmeuse.
Italian calfskin (vegetable-tanned)	Leather Tote, Leather Belt	Builds patina. Resists time.
Italian calf suede	Suede Card Holder	Same hide source as the tote, brushed.
Cotton gabardine	The Trench	Water-resistant in the weave. We don't add a coating.
Selvedge cotton denim (Portuguese)	Straight-Leg Jeans (Indigo, Ecru)	13-ounce. Fades with wear, not before.
Recycled polyester (60% post-consumer)	Quilted Vest fill	The only synthetic in the catalog. Reused, not virgin.

What we don't use

• Virgin polyester
• Acrylic
• Conventional chrome-tanned leather
• Mulesed merino (all our wool is non-mulesed)
• Any fiber from supply chains we can't trace
• Any cloth we wouldn't wear ourselves for five years