2024 SUWA TOP 1

The  SUWA Discharge Print Black Tea Blueberry Octopus Ink Dye Top is a one-of-a-kind cut-and-sew piece hand-made one-by-one by Sugar Water. 

The fabric is sourced from a small, slower, family-owned mill in the USA that specializes in producing sustainable, natural fabrics. The organic cotton is grown, spun, milled, and laundered in the USA. This 9-ounce 100% organic cotton slub jersey we used is made only, exclusively by this mill. The jersey has a beautiful texture caused by twisting the yarns prior to weaving the cotton. Due to the loose-knit of the cotton, the fabric is naturally lightweight, breathable, pilling resistant, and wrinkle resistant. It also has an effortless, beautiful drape and a natural stretch without the use of man-made stretch fibers. Lastly, this American mill meets rigorous sustainability standards through the compliance of CPSIA, EPA, and OSHA to ensure the fabrics are safe and ethically made. 

The silhouette of the top is referenced from a Dr. Collector’s piece, a brand based in California that we personally love to wear due to their artisanal, hand-made approach. We found that the cut and drape of the piece is a perfect base to start our patterns. During the prototype stage however, multiple fitting sessions and adjustments had to be made to ensure a proper fit and silhouette is achieved with our special organic cotton slub jersey. The initial patterns had excess fabric near the pit, collar, and hem. After three prototyping sessions the desired silhouette was finally achieved - a fit that is tailored, loose-fit, with a cropped, boxy flair. 

Each piece is cut and hand sewn, one-by-one, from the sixty yard roll of the organic cotton slub jersey. The sleeves and torso patterns are cut in a way that matches the natural grain of the fabric. The top is constructed with contrast white stitching, unique inside-out seams, and raw-hem finishes. 

The fabric then went through a laborious dyeing process by us where crushed blueberries and black tea were soaked in the dye bath for hours. The black tea added a slight warm hue, further softened and aged the fabric to provide a worn-in feel, and the blueberries added a natural purple tint. A black ink bath was then applied to darken the overall color, and a last general wash was executed to complete the dyeing process. This multiple-step dyeing and washing process coupled with the organic nature of the fabric provides a hand-feel experience that is truly one-of-a-kind crafted by Sugar Water. 

The SUWA graphic is printed with discharge ink that bleached the original colors of the fabric - creating a print that is embedded into the fiber itself. Lastly, the piece is finished with our Sugar Water label with contrast, signature blue stitching. 

Even after production, we found ourselves seam-ripping the collars, shortening the collar patterns, and re-doing the label tags to ensure every piece exceeds the quality standards that we set for ourselves.


Sugar Water aims to create timeless pieces that are designed to age beautifully over time, and rejects the conventional conveyor-belt production system and ethos that we see in the fashion industry today. We believe in artisanal craftsmanship that is ethical from start to finish, and genuinely cared for. This piece represents comfort through unconventional means, rawness, and artful design, and we hope that you can experience this. 

 


Only 40 made. Each piece is uniquely dyed - expect yours to be one-of-a-kind. 


Comes with a special, burlap packaging with Sugar Water hand-sewn logo details.