What Wakayama Cloud Cotton Actually Means
May 19, 2026 — Mercer St.
The Wakayama Cloud Cotton pieces in the Mercer St. collection are made from a fluffy cotton-blend fleece — 97% cotton and 3% polyurethane — knitted in Wakayama, Japan. The fabric is thick but light, with a cloud-like handfeel, and is used in our hoodie, sweater, and sweatpants.
If you have not encountered the term before, it is reasonable to wonder what it means and whether it is a meaningful distinction. This note is an attempt to answer that directly.
In this note
- What “Wakayama” refers to — and what it does not
- Why knitting location affects fabric character
- What loop-wheel (tsuri-ami) machines are and what they do
- What this specific fabric is like in wear
- What the term does and does not tell you about a garment
What Wakayama is
Wakayama is a prefecture in the Kinki region of Japan, south of Osaka. It has been associated with textile production for several centuries. The modern knitting industry in Wakayama began in 1909, when circular knitting machines were imported from Switzerland. Over the following decades, the region became Japan’s most significant circular-knit fabric production area.
When a fabric or garment is described as “knitted in Wakayama,” it means the fabric was knitted in Wakayama Prefecture. It does not mean the cotton was grown there — cotton is not grown in Wakayama. The cotton used in Wakayama-knitted fabric comes from elsewhere; the origin varies by supplier and is noted separately where confirmed.
Why knitting location matters
Most cotton fabric is produced on modern high-speed circular knitting machines. These machines produce fabric efficiently, consistently, and at significant volume. For the majority of cotton garments, they are exactly the right tool.
Wakayama is notable not for modern circular knitting but for the continued operation of an older type of machine: the loop-wheel machine, known in Japanese as the tsuri-ami-ki. These machines operate differently from modern circular knitters, and the difference in process produces a difference in fabric character.
What loop-wheel machines are
A loop-wheel machine is a circular knitting machine — it produces fabric in a continuous tube, the same basic principle as modern circular knitting. The difference is in how it works.
Modern circular machines use mechanical tension to pull fabric downward as it forms, allowing them to run fast. A loop-wheel machine uses gravity instead. The fabric hangs from the needles under its own weight and accumulates slowly — at approximately one metre per hour, compared to ten metres or more per hour on modern equipment.
The Japanese name reflects this directly. Tsuri means suspended or hanging. Ami means knitting. Ki means machine. The fabric is literally hanging as it forms.
What the slow process produces
Because the yarn is not under mechanical tension during knitting, the loops form at their natural size and settle into the fabric without distortion. The result is a fluffy fabric with more loft and air in its structure than standard circular-knit cotton.
For Wakayama Cloud Cotton specifically, the practical character is:
- Cloud-like handfeel: soft and giving, with a fluffy surface.
- Thick but light: substantial in body and warmth, but lower in weight than the volume suggests.
- Warm and airy: the lofted structure traps warmth while still breathing.
“The slowness is not inefficiency. It is the mechanism by which the fabric acquires its character.”
What the term does and does not tell you
“Wakayama Cloud Cotton” tells you that the fabric was knitted in Wakayama, and in this case implies the use of loop-wheel machines — because that is what distinguishes Wakayama knitting from production elsewhere. It does not tell you the cotton variety, the yarn count, the fibre origin, or the finishing process.
Mercer St. uses the term because it is accurate and because the knitting method is directly relevant to the character of the fabric. The fibre composition and product-specific care details are noted on each product page.
What this means for Mercer St.
The Wakayama Cloud Cotton pieces in the Mercer St. collection use a 97% cotton / 3% polyurethane fleece knitted on loop-wheel machines in Wakayama. The fabric is used in our hoodie, sweater, and sweatpants. Product-specific care details are noted on each product page.
For more on how the loop-wheel process works and what it produces, see The Loop-Wheel Machine: Wakayama’s Slow Knitting Tradition.