Café culture has arrived in the UK and along with it, all the luxury extras that customers expect when spending their disposable income. The decadent interiors and exteriors, luxury crockery, expensive coffee and baked goods. Patio heaters and cushions blankets, throw and furs to keep the chill off.
Blankets being embroidered with a logo
At Impact Trading we have noticed an increase in the demand for branded blanket and throws. We have a wide range of customers who we supply with these items, from vineyards to beauty salons and bars to corporate gifts.
The requirements from each customer can vary from a specific brand colour, style of blanket such as fleece, wool or cotton. They can then be embroidered or labelled with a brand logo.
If you would like to contact us for a quote for branded blankets. Please ring on 01908 511051 or visit our website.
Something that we have learnt over the years at Impact
Trading and Cotton Roots is that the tiniest of details can make the biggest
impact.
One garment that can be brimming with tiny details is our bespoke, made to order aprons. From metal accents and bold colours to tiny stitches and delicate prints, these are the some of the options our design team can offer, to help you find the best way to make your ideas really pop.
Some of our Antique Brass Eyelets
If an industrial or vintage feel is what you have in mind for your brand, adding rivets, eyelets, poppers or leather could help you achieve this look.
Webbing and fabric straps with metal adjusters. A central line of red top stitching can really change the way denim looks.
Small accents of colour can be added to your designs from bar tacks or contrast stitching. Another way of adding colour to a simple apron could be to have your logo or signature printed onto your webbing straps like Michel and Alain Roux. A striped webbing or printed strap can add a flash of colour to a simple denim apron and adding different fastening such as toggles, poppers or dungaree clips can really make an impact.
Many companies have a specific brand colour/shade which identifies them to their customers. Big, well known brands have colours that are so associated with the brand, that many of the population would recognise the brand without even seeing the logo or the brand name.
Some good examples of this are Coca Cola, who have a recognisable shade of red which is Pantone 2347C.
and Cadbury’s who have a purple shade which is 2685C.
From these examples, you can see how important it is to get the exact colour when producing product packaging, graphics, signage, promotional materials and uniform, so that customers can immediately identify it with the trusted brand that they know.
Impact Trading and Cotton Roots are able to help customers with clothing/uniform to exactly match their brand colours, either by matching the Pantone closely to a stock colour garment or making bespoke clothing out of fabric which is dyed to an exact Pantone colour. We can also Pantone match webbing, print designs, buttons and thread which means that embellishments, fastenings and logos can also be matched exactly to the brand colours.
We have hundreds of shades of stock coloured clothing to choose from. These products are ready made and for smaller runs of less than 250 pieces, this is a great, cost effective way of distinguishing your brand. It also reduces your lead times, with most orders despatched in two weeks.
Sometimes the tiniest detail can have a dramatic effect on the way something looks. This is something we have learnt over the years at Impact Trading and Cotton Roots. Our production and design team pride themselves on accuracy and detail which gives our customers the confidence to come back to us over and over again.
These details are something that the design team can offer when developing aprons. For example, a plain apron can be given an industrial look by adding rivets, poppers or eyelets. Tiny accents of colour can be added with coloured bar tacks or contrast stitching or bindings. Leather or suede straps can give a feel of quality and nostalgia to an apron.
If you want your apron to really stand out, then interesting fastenings like poppers, dungaree clips or toggles can be a real talking point.
To see some of the details we have used in the past have a look at some of our aprons
When deciding which fabrics to use for our bespoke aprons, the two main choices are canvas or twill. So, what are these weaves and how do they differ?
Canvas
The yarn most used for canvas is cotton. It is a simple plain weave, which means that the warp and weft are woven in a pattern of “over one, under one.” A double filled canvas uses two yarns in the “over under” instead of one.
Generally, canvas uses much heavier threads than other cotton fabrics and so the combination of the plain weave and heavier threads creates a strong fabric that is resistant to snagging, tears and abrasion. The simple, rustic style of the canvas weave is also attractive and combined with it durable qualities, makes it ideal for our aprons.
Close up image of canvas fabric
Twill
Twill describes the weave design, which is more complex. The weave consists of going over one yarn and under two or three. The weave then moves across each row to create a diagonal effect. These diagonal lines are called a ‘wale’. The most common type of weave is a 2/2 twill, which is two warps crossing every two weft threads.
Twill is very tough. It is basically a plain weave with extra yarns added at intervals for extra strength. This makes its very difficult to tear. One big difference between a canvas and twill is that a canvas is reversible, there is no visible difference between the front and back and this allows for more flexibility when cutting the fabric. Twill has a different front and back. The ‘wale’ pattern being the front. Jeans are probably the most common example of a twill weave.
Close up image of twill fabric
Conclusion
Whilst canvas fabrics are simple and very durable. Twills are a more complex version, and the appearance is more sophisticated.
Both are perfect for aprons or, in fact any workwear garment. Twill adds that extra bit of interest and durability. The durability will always depend on the fabric weight. A canvas that is 300 grams will be stronger than a 200 grams Twill.
Bar tacks are a tiny run of stitches that are placed on garments to reinforce an area, which may receive extra stress or wear. This could include the side of a pocket, the end of a strap, the bottom of the fly or either end of a belt loop.
Bar tacks are one of those tiny details on clothing that you don’t really notice, but when they are there, they can add a unique detail as well as being highly functional.
One of the areas that Impact Trading and Cotton Roots specialise in are bespoke aprons and we often use bar tacks on the sides or corners of pockets to strengthen the join to the apron. From a design point of view, bar tacks create an opportunity to enhance the design. Adding bar tacks to unusual areas or by using brand colours that add a ‘Pop’ of interest, you can create an apron that is entirely unique to you and your business.
