A lightness and softness like wrapped-up air—living with gauze

Bedding, towels, and baby items need washing every time they're used and become damp with sweat. What you want to choose is a material that "absorbs sweat well and dries quickly once washed." Linen, popular here at ZUTTO, is one material that answers this wish, but for a baby's still-delicate skin, you'll want something with a gentle softness. Kyowa zarashi mensha (Kyoto-bleached cotton gauze) has excellent absorbency and quick-drying properties, along with a softness that feels like it's wrapped in air.

Made slowly, over time

Kyowa zarashi mensha gauze items are soft from the very first use, and grow even fluffier with each washing. This texture comes from a production method that takes its time.

This method is a process called "wazarashi," which is even part of the brand name Kyowa zarashi mensha. Zarashi refers to a process carried out after cotton cloth has been spun, in which the natural oils and impurities in the raw cotton, as well as sizing paste added when making thread, are removed—along with the pigments and distinctive smell inherent to natural cotton fibers. This process is also called scouring. In addition to turning spun cotton cloth into textile products usable in daily life, it also serves as pretreatment to make dyeing easier.

The commonly used zarashi process, known as yozarashi, uses automatic scouring equipment and takes only about 40 to 80 minutes. It applies tension, heat, and chlorine-based bleach, placing stress on the fibers themselves during processing. Because it takes little time, it's often used as a productive method. Wazarashi, on the other hand, processes the woven raw cotton cloth as-is, without applying stress, in a large vessel called a wazarashi kettle, slowly removing impurities and odors. Remarkably, wazarashi takes a full four days.

By taking this much time, each individual fiber keeps its round shape without being crushed or deformed, resulting in gauze that is plump and fluffy rather than flat. It's also said that because the fibers aren't damaged, less lint is produced compared to other gauze or cotton products—a welcome quality for bedding.

Sewing that creates layers of air

Beyond the zarashi process, the sewing itself is distinctive. Kyowa zarashi mensha products use a material called tajuu gaze (multi-layer gauze), made of many layers of thin gauze fabric stacked together. Ordinary multi-layer gauze fabric is finished as a single piece of cloth by stitching it together at many points during the weaving stage, but Kyowa zarashi mensha instead layers individual pieces of gauze fabric together during the sewing stage to make them into one. This allows air to enter between each layer of gauze, which also helps create that fluffy, soft texture. Sewing together this thin, soft gauze requires skilled technique, so it isn't achieved through mass production by machine—it's only possible because craftspeople sew each piece by hand, one at a time.

A safe, reassuring material—ideal for gifts too

When choosing items for a baby to use, or gifts for someone important, the safety of the material is a natural concern. At Kyowa zarashi mensha, filtered natural water is used to rinse the cloth after the zarashi process, and during the drying finish, the only thing used is a gentle, natural starch paste made in Okinawa—applied so that the layered fabrics don't slip during sewing. No fabric softeners, synthetic dyes, or other unnecessary additives are used at any stage, reflecting careful attention to material safety throughout the entire process.

For a baby's delicate skin

Gauze is the ideal material for a newborn baby's skin, which is still sensitive to irritation. That's why so many items—towels for wiping a newborn's mouth, bath towels for after bathing, and more—are made of gauze. Towels and bibs, which need frequent washing and changing, are items you can never have too many of, making them a welcome gift as well.

Hooded Towel

This is a baby bath towel with a hood, which quickly absorbs the moisture from hair and body after a bath. Bath towels need washing often, but because the gauze material layers thin fabric together, it's a relief that it dries quickly.

Baby Sleeper

This baby sleeper doesn't just absorb sweat—the layers of air trapped between the gauze also provide warmth, making it useful for preventing babies from getting chilled while sleeping, or from catching a chill after a bath. With two large hooks on the right shoulder and ties at two points on each side, it can be put on a baby who can't yet sit up while they're lying on top of the sleeper. Its roomy design means it won't feel tight even worn over an undershirt or pajamas.

Baby Gift Set

This is a baby gift set that can be used right from birth. It includes a baby afghan, a bib, a gauze hand towel, three gauze handkerchiefs, and a nigi-nigi rattle. Since it can be used regardless of the baby's gender, age, or size, it's an item that's easy to choose as a birth gift.

Gauze towels for adults, too

Gauze handkerchiefs may bring to mind something used by small children, but since they absorb moisture with just a light dab, they don't disturb your makeup when wiping sweat from your face—making them an item we'd also recommend for adult women as an everyday handkerchief.

Rainbow Gauze Handkerchief Set of 7

This is a set of 7 gauze handkerchiefs, each with a differently colored border. Made from thin, triple-layered gauze, these handkerchiefs are compact and easy to carry in a small bag, which makes them especially convenient for everyday use. They come in a box, making them a nice gift for the summer season, too.

Towel Gauze 4-Piece Set

This is a towel gauze set. It includes a face towel, two hand towels, and a gauze handkerchief. The face towel and hand towels are made from highly absorbent, five-layered gauze. It's a towel set that will come in handy every day, both inside and outside the home.

Care Instructions

Top: before washing, Bottom: after washing

The texture becomes even softer with repeated washing, so feel free to wash it without worry. After washing, smooth out any wrinkles on all four sides, reshape it, and hang it to dry.

Kyowa sarashi mensha (Kyoto-bleached cotton gauze) gauze is 100% cotton. Cotton is one of the more heat-resistant fibers, but tumble drying causes greater shrinkage than air drying, which can lead to shrinking and wrinkling, so we recommend avoiding it. For towels and gauze blankets that can still be used even with some change in size or shape, please use tumble drying only when shortening the drying time is a priority.

▽See the full lineup of Kyowa sarashi mensha products here