The Real McCoy's
MC25114
Loopwheel Cotton
022 SNOW GRAY
Originally issued by the U.S. Navy in the 1940s, this style of sweatpants was designed for physical training and on-deck drills. Built for durability and range of motion, the silhouette featured a wide leg, shallow rise, and reinforced knees to handle the demands of military exercise routines. This reproduction draws directly from those archival patterns, though while the 1940s version lacked any pockets, this model includes added side pockets for everyday practicality.
Constructed from 10 oz. loopwheel cotton, the U.S.N. DOUBLE-KNEE SWEATPANTS feature double-layered knee panels sewn from the inside using twin-needle chain stitching. The fabric’s weight and density provide structure without sacrificing comfort. Details such as offset drawcord hem holes and internal reinforcement fabric have been faithfully recreated to match original military specifications.
Loopwheel machines, which produce this tubular-constructed fabric, are renowned for their slow knitting pace, producing only a single meter of fabric per hour. However, this low thread tension technique is what sets them apart from contemporary manufacturing methods and creates an exceptional and distinctive fabric. The resulting material is reminiscent of hand-woven textiles and possesses a unique stretchy quality and washed look, similar to old American sweatshirts that can only be reproduced on a loopwheel knitting machine. This loopwheel sweat is knitted in Wakayama, Japan, using extremely rare machines known in Japan as Tsuriami-ki, and requires rare skills and techniques, exclusively for The Real McCoy’s.
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