There comes a moment in a sheep's life when its wool stops being fiber and becomes knitwear. For the garments in our Filiera Corta line, that moment has a precise address: Maria Grazia's workshop in Piacenza. We introduced her to you in 2024; today we're going back to tell you what has changed - namely, the yarn that reaches her knitting machines - and what has stayed the same: her way of working.
A family workshop, since the 1970s
Maria Grazia carries on the tradition of her parents, who founded their knitwear workshop in Piacenza in the 1970s. This is not just a biographical detail: it means decades of passed-down expertise, of hands that know the yarn even before looking at it. That's why we chose her as a partner. We were looking for reliability and expertise, along with the determination to continue working with the quality that distinguishes handcrafted goods.
Every garment begins with her: she conceives and designs it so that it reflects today's style and trends, while retaining that tailored touch that ensures comfort and a good fit. And it is with her that we also choose the raw materials, together, yarn by yarn.
The yarn comes from far away, but not too far
The new element this season is the wool. The yarn now entering the Piacenza workshop is from our Filiera Corta line: Italian Sopravissana merino wool, from selected farms in Lazio. One of them is Controra, the farm owned by one of Lanaioli's partners in Norma, in the Lepini Mountains, where we raise around 70 sheep. The wool is washed, carded and spun by Lanatura Filati in Pedemonte, in the province of Vicenza, and dyed by specialized Italian companies; from there, it travels to Piacenza.
That's why we call it a short supply chain: there are only a few steps between the pasture and the workshop, all in Italy, and each one has a name and an address. If you want to retrace them one by one, you'll find everything on the page about the short merino wool supply chain.
From the knitting machine to the garment: what happens in the workshop
Maria Grazia's work follows steps we have chosen not to change, because they work. The yarn is worked on artisanal knitting machines, designed to precisely create different weaves, patterns and textures. Once the panels have been made, each one is cut and sewn according to the original design.
Then comes the part that, for us, truly makes the difference: finishing. The neck, cuffs and other details are applied by hand, garment by garment, because that's what distinguishes knitwear from a simple piece of sewn fabric. Every garment must undergo a thorough inspection before it can be considered finished, and we examine it on the "light mannequin", a tool that highlights every imperfection. Only then does the garment undergo a double pressing, with a steam machine and a traditional iron, before being packaged.
What changes with Sopravissana wool
Almost nothing in the workshop's work. The craftsmanship is the same. What changes is the story of the yarn: today, anyone wearing one of our merino wool garments can know which flock it came from, in which region, and through whose hands it passed. This traceability matters to us more than anything else, because it allows people to make informed choices rather than relying on blind trust.
Sopravissana is a historic breed from central Italy that is now at risk of genetic erosion. Every garment made from its wool gives tangible value to a flock that risked losing it altogether. We discussed this in the article about the Sopravissana breed and the land that is home to it.
Why this matters to those who buy
When you buy a garment made this way, an important part of the price remains with people you know by name: the farmer, the people who wash and spin the wool, and the people who turn it into knitwear. This is the difference we tried to explain in Where your money goes when you buy a garment: buy less, but buy better, and always know who is behind it.
And if one day your sweater needs some care, you can bring it to us: the Lanaioli repair service exists precisely because a garment made this way deserves to last.
You can discover the styles made in Maria Grazia's workshop in the Filiera Corta merino wool collection. And if you want to learn more about the people who work with us, you can find the first story about Maria Grazia here.
