Seamless sweaters and knitwear knitted in a single piece on Shima Seiki — no side seams, exceptional comfort, near zero-waste. Run in-house in Turkey, OEM, under your label — a premium knit source outside China.
WHOLEGARMENT is Shima Seiki's seamless knitting technology: the whole garment — body, sleeves and all — is knitted as one continuous piece, with no panels to cut and no seams to sew. It's widely regarded as the pinnacle of knit construction, and we run it in-house — a premium, hard-to-find capability for US brands who want their seamless knit made outside China.
New to the technique? Our explainer covers what WHOLEGARMENT is in plain terms. This page is about producing it with us — OEM, under your label.
Conventional knitwear starts as flat panels that are knitted separately, then linked or sewn together. A Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machine works differently: it knits tubes — body and sleeves — and shapes them simultaneously on multiple needle beds, so a finished three-dimensional garment comes off the machine in one continuous piece. No panels to cut, no side or shoulder seams to link, and minimal finishing afterwards.
Because the shaping is built into the knit program rather than done with scissors and a sewing line, whole-garment knitting removes two entire steps — cutting and linking — from production. That is where its two signature advantages come from: a seam-free garment that drapes as one piece, and near zero material waste.
Body and sleeves are knitted together as tubes and joined on the machine — the garment is complete when it comes off, not assembled afterwards.
Full-body shaping is programmed into the knit itself on Shima Seiki — armholes, necklines and silhouette are formed stitch by stitch, not cut.
Knit-to-shape in one piece eliminates offcuts and the entire linking step — the source of both the waste saving and the seamless comfort.
Each style is programmed by our trained team and knitted on our own Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines at fine 12gg and 14gg — part of a 22-machine flat-knit fleet.
Three ways to turn yarn into a knit garment — and the construction choice shapes fit, waste, look and cost. Here is how they differ in production terms.
| Aspect | WHOLEGARMENT | Fully-Fashioned | Cut-and-Sew |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | Entire garment knitted as one continuous piece | Panels knitted to shape on the machine, then linked together | Panels cut from rolls of knit fabric, then sewn |
| Seams | None — no side or shoulder seams | Linked seams, with fashioning marks where the shaping happened | Sewn seams on cut edges |
| Material waste | Near zero — no cutting, no linking waste | Minimal — panels are formed, not cut from yardage | More — offcuts from cutting the fabric |
| Fit & drape | Moves as one piece; the cleanest line and drape on the body | Shaping engineered into the knit; clean, stable edges | Shaping approximated by cutting; cut edges can curl or fray |
| Best for | Premium seamless sweaters, fine-gauge layers, next-to-skin pieces | Colorwork, cable and structured multi-panel styles | High-volume jersey basics — tees, sweatshirts, hoodies |
| How we run it | In-house on Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT, 12gg–14gg | In-house on Stoll CMS and Shima Seiki, 3gg–14gg | Through our vetted knit partner network |
Nothing to rub or chafe; a cleaner line and better drape. Ideal for soft luxury and next-to-skin wear.
Knit-to-shape in one piece means almost no offcuts and no linking waste — a genuine, explainable sustainability gain.
"Seamless / WHOLEGARMENT" is a recognized mark of quality that differentiates a collection on the rack.
The garment moves as one piece — superior comfort, shape retention and a refined finish.
Run premium seamless knit in Turkey — outside the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-made apparel, with UFLPA-clean yarn origin. Standard US duties still apply by fiber/HTS; confirm current rates with your broker.
FTC fiber-content and care labeling, "Made in Turkey" origin, your RN number, and CPSIA support — produced to your spec.
Ocean freight to the US East Coast in roughly two weeks, on FOB or DDP — materially shorter than transpacific lanes.
Sweaters, fine-gauge layers, knit dresses and next-to-skin pieces — in merino, cashmere, cotton and blends, at gauges up to 14gg. Seamless construction suits clean, modern silhouettes and elevated basics especially well. For colorwork and heavily structured pieces, fully-fashioned may be the better route — we'll advise honestly per style.
Where drape decides the sale: seamless construction lets a 12–14gg merino or cashmere piece fall cleanly, with no side seams to interrupt the line.
The garment moves as one piece on the body — the single biggest fit advantage of seamless construction, and most visible in longer silhouettes.
No seams means nothing to rub or chafe — the reason WHOLEGARMENT is the default choice for soft luxury worn directly against the skin.
Knit-to-shape in one piece produces almost no offcuts — a genuine, explainable sustainability claim for a hero basic, not marketing gloss.
We confirm whether your style suits seamless construction and propose yarn and gauge — within 48h.
Your design programmed and knitted on Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT, refined to an approved pre-production sample.
Production in 45–60 days with in-house QC, then labeled to US spec and shipped under your brand.
Many factories quote WHOLEGARMENT but broker it elsewhere. We run Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT in-house — so the craft, quality and timeline are ours to control, founder-direct, at a 250 MOQ. For a US brand, that's a genuinely premium, hard-to-source capability with a clean supply chain behind it. Sampling is 10–14 days; bulk 45–60 days; pricing itemized on FOB or DDP. You also run our OEM program and private label the same way.
WHOLEGARMENT is Shima Seiki's seamless knitting technology — the entire garment is knitted in one piece on the machine, with no side or shoulder seams to sew.
Yes — we operate Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines in-house, alongside Stoll flat-knit. It's a core capability, not brokered out.
Yes — premium seamless knit in Turkey, outside the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese apparel, with US-market labeling and compliance docs. Ocean freight reaches the US East Coast in roughly two weeks.
It's a premium technique, but it eliminates linking labour and produces almost no cutting waste, which offsets some cost. Whether it's dearer than conventional knit depends on the style and yarn.
250 pieces per colour/size — the same minimum as our other flat-knit production.
Fully-fashioned knitting shapes each panel on the machine and then links the panels together, so seams remain. WHOLEGARMENT knits the complete garment — body and sleeves — as one continuous piece on multiple needle beds, so there are no panels and no linking at all.
Our Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines run fine gauges — 12gg and 14gg — which suit lightweight, drapey seamless pieces. Across the wider 22-machine flat-knit fleet we cover 3gg to 14gg.
We knit seamless pieces in merino, cashmere, cotton and blends. Fine, even yarns suit the 12–14gg gauges best — we confirm yarn and gauge per style at the feasibility stage, within 48 hours.
Sampling takes 10–14 days — your design is programmed and knitted on Shima Seiki, then refined to an approved pre-production sample. Bulk production runs 45–60 days with in-house QC.
Send a tech pack, a reference garment or a brief. We respond within one business day with a capacity check, indicative pricing and a sample timeline.
WHOLEGARMENT Guides
Technical
How seamless knitting works, which gauges it covers and what it means for your product.
Read guide →Strategy
Why elevated US labels are reaching for seamless construction — and when fully-fashioned is smarter.
Read guide →Guide
The construction choice that shapes cost, quality and positioning — explained for US brands.
Read guide →Technical
What gauge numbers mean, which weight they produce and how to specify yours.
Read guide →Fibers
The blend ratio decisions, yarn sourcing and US market positioning for cashmere-merino styles.
Read guide →