Creativity and passion are the ingredients that guide Menchi in the creation of a noble fabric that aspires to be “timeless.” All this is possible thanks to the teamwork of the Menchi staff, composed of industry professionals who oversee the various stages of processing, from the selection of raw materials to spinning, weaving, and finishing. The creative flair of the textile designer meets the operational side to bring a unique fabric of its kind to life.
Since 1961, Menchi has entrusted the production stages of its fabrics to subcontractors, boasting years of collaboration with many of them. Trust and transparency are the core values of a solid relationship that makes the company’s success possible.
The meticulous selection of the finest raw materials is the essential element for creating fabrics of primary excellence: a selection curated in every detail with the awareness that the nobility of the finished fabric depends precisely on the quality of the fiber.
Menchi processes various types of fibers: wool, cashmere, alpaca, and camel, which can be combined with additional raw materials such as silk, linen, mohair, cotton, hemp, and viscose, creating impeccable blends that fully satisfy customer requests. Plays of color and compositions of extraordinary quality are made possible thanks to a dedicated team that continuously develops and experiments with new blends with accuracy, curiosity, and expertise to create innovative and trendy fabrics. Using a carding machine, the felt-maker processes the raw material to create the felt, ready to be spun.
In this phase, the wool is refined to create a thin, resistant yarn of extraordinary quality.
The operation begins with opening the bales to clean the raw material of impurities without damaging it. Subsequently, the fiber is carded: short fibers are removed while long ones are kept, appearing silkier and more suitable for processing.
Once detangled, the raw material is ready to be spun through a fiber twisting process capable of transforming the carded wool into yarn. The cord obtained at the end of the cycle will then be ready for warping.
In this phase, the threads are arranged side by side to create the warp, which is the set of vertical threads that make up every fabric. This is made possible by the use of a specific machine, the warper, which allows for the creation of the desired pattern by arranging the threads close to each other.
Subsequently, the yarn undergoes a series of processing stages, including sizing and drawing-in: two preparatory steps to strengthen the yarn and prepare the beam, a cylinder on which the threads are first wound and then passed through the eyes of the heddles and finally through the dents of the reed. The finally tied warp is thus ready to be placed on the loom.
Weaving is the moment when the warp meets the weft to give life to a high-quality fabric. The horizontal weft threads cross with the warp threads to create infinite combinations of structures, patterns, and colors. The system by which the warp and weft intertwine is called the weave. Menchi collaborates with various weaving mills in the Prato district to create the perfect mix: this is how the story of the fabric begins, ready to be refined in finishing.
This is the refinement phase, the set of treatments that give the fabric its final appearance and hand. Know-how and experience are fundamental to managing this final process effectively: each piece undergoes various treatments to transform it into a product of prestige and quality. Menchi constantly monitors the individual stages: competent staff, trained and attentive to the needs of the fabric, spend entire days in finishing to ensure the highest quality of the processes.
Depending on the treatment used in the process, different types of fabric can be obtained, whose characteristics such as resistance, softness, stability, and luster vary according to our customers’ requests.