The Road to Flannel: Our Newest Pajama Fabric

Flannel was a fabric that I hadn’t really considered. As a child I had flannel sheets in the winter - they were stiff and covered in pills so it wasn’t the fondest memory! However, after receiving an overwhelming amount of requests for flannel, I knew this was something we wanted to offer for our customers. We spent the last year researching and testing and have finally developed a buttery soft, lightweight flannel that’s perfect for our best selling Bagheera print.

My first step was to see if the mill that we work with in India had any flannels available. We found that some were too heavy and some were not soft enough - and that’s where our research began. We read countless reviews of existing flannel pajamas to figure out where issues commonly arose, and found that many flannel pajamas in the market were too scratchy, pilled after washing or created too much fuzz in the dryer. 

Flannel is actually a process of combing and agitating the surface of cotton to comb it into a fuzz. Developing a cotton that can withstand that process and stay soft even through multiple washings was quite a challenge. The same goes for determining the weight of the fabric. We had to find a way to keep the fabric cozy while reducing the chance of pilling. Another challenge we faced involved adding our prints to the new fabric. Typically flannel is printed with very bold graphic designs that are almost cartoon-y – and that really isn’t our style! We knew we had to develop a fabric that would be delicate enough to handle our elaborate prints and the many colors we use. 

Not for this collection, non-recycled cotton tends to last much longer as the staples (fiber length) of the cotton are longer and make for a longer lasting wear. The process of developing our flannel during the pandemic was lengthy. It’s hard to believe how long it takes to develop a core fabric for our line - one that will wash well and get better over time. When working with a new vendor, 100% organic options aren’t always initially available until you are able to put in a sizable order (and that is a true challenge for small brands looking to make organic choices!). However, we believe in continuously improving our designs and fabrics. We hope to introduce fully organic flannel by 2022.