For restless summer nights, kontex's summer towel blanket. Experience the softness and absorbency created by slow weaving

A towel blanket that gently holds air, with just the right amount of thickness. A companion-like towel blanket has arrived, perfect for staying cool and comfortable without chilling the body during the muggy summer months. It comes from Imabari, Ehime—one of Japan's leading towel-producing regions.

The Challenge of Summer Bedding

Summer is gradually approaching. Yet contrary to the open, carefree feeling it brings, the rainy season and summer months are also trying times—humid, sticky, and hard to sleep through. In an attempt to escape this discomfort, people turn on fans or air conditioners, only to sometimes chill their bodies and fall ill. "Good sleep" is a crucial factor for staying healthy through this season, but achieving it is no easy task.

Many people already know that we sweat about 200ml while sleeping. But where does that sweat go? It's absorbed by our pajamas and bedding. Once you've sweated, if there's nothing to absorb it, your body will actually feel cold—so it's best to have something covering your body even in the heat. For exactly this need, ZUTTO would like to introduce a towel blanket made by kontex, a towel manufacturer from Imabari, crafted to bring out the full softness and absorbency of cotton.

A Towel Maker from Imabari, Renowned Around the World

"Imabari towel" is a name held in high esteem not only in Japan but around the world. This reputation comes from an independently established set of quality standards, and kontex, which we're introducing this time, is a certified brand under this system. Let's take a look at the history of how the towel industry developed in Imabari, and the dedication that kontex brings to towelmaking.

The History of Imabari Towels

Blessed with a mild climate and quality water sources, the town in northern Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku has been home to Imabari towel-making for nearly 120 years. Imabari is a major towel-producing region where close to 200 factories—spinning yarn, dyeing thread, and weaving towels—are concentrated. In recent years, the town has also become known for the Shimanami Kaido, a route that crosses the strait, drawing an increasing number of cyclists. It's fair to say that the warm climate, abundant water sources, and rich natural surroundings nurtured Imabari into one of Japan's foremost towel-producing regions. The groundwater flowing beneath the Sosha River is soft water, ideal for towel-making—gentle on thread and fabric, and able to fully bring out delicate, vivid colors as well as the natural softness inherent in cotton.

What kontex Strives For

For its towels, kontex carefully selects superior cotton from around the world, including organic cotton. Cotton harvested from the fields goes through further rigorous screening, then passes through a ginning process before being spun into thread. At kontex, weaving is done using the traditional Imabari towel method known as "senzarashi-atozome" (pre-bleaching, post-dyeing), meaning the fabric is woven first and dyed afterward—a process that results in a softer, more absorbent towel.

Using once-legendary Toyota looms, the fabric is woven slowly so as not to place strain on the thread, resulting in exceptional softness and a wonderful feel against the skin. Depending on the characteristics of each product, kontex uses a mix of older and newer looms.

After weaving, the starch applied to strengthen the thread is removed, and the fabric moves on to bleaching, dyeing, and printing. In fact, this finishing process affects product quality just as much as the weaving itself. A towel that has only been woven contains no absorbency at all, so bleaching removes excess starch and dirt, finishing the towel so that it can properly absorb water.

Once the dyeing and printing processes are complete, the fabric undergoes cutting, edge-stitching, and hem-stitching. At this stage, the towel is still one long, connected piece of fabric. Each piece is cut apart by hand, one at a time, gradually taking the shape of the finished product. The cut towels then have their selvedge—mainly the long edges of the towel—machine-stitched to prevent fraying. Finally, after hem-stitching, which weaves in the thickest part of the towel, the Imabari towel certification mark and the kontex logo are sewn on, completing the product.

From the cotton used to make the thread all the way to boxing the finished product, every single step is carried out with care—and the kontex products created through this process reflect a brand image that honors its history while facing the present.

The Exquisite Towel Blankets Made by kontex

These exquisite towel blankets are packed with careful attention to detail. The kontex towel blankets we're introducing this time come in two series: AILE and VINTAGE WAFFLE. Both are pleasant, summer-appropriate towel blankets, but they differ in feel and material.

AILE Towel Blanket

A clean, gentle off-white towel blanket that suits any bedroom

This is kontex's new AILE towel blanket series. Made with a pile-free waffle weave, it has less surface contact with the skin, keeping you dry and comfortable even when you sweat. Despite being called "waffle," the weave consists of small, lattice-like patterns, offering excellent breathability—making it ideal bedding material that resists trapping moisture, regardless of the season.

Soft like knitwear. The surface feels smooth and pleasant to the touch.

Woven slowly using Toyota's low-speed looms, it has a soft, full volume despite its thin construction.

The material is a 100% cotton twisted thread, made from 50% soft organic cotton and 50% a special springy thread. To preserve the natural texture of the organic cotton, dyeing is kept minimal, resulting in a natural off-white color.

Also works well as a sofa cover

Vintage Waffle Towel Blanket

From top: brown, ice gray, navy

Ice gray

The Vintage Waffle Towel Blanket is a cotton-and-linen waffle-weave towel made with kontex's original thread. It combines the gentle texture of cotton with the crisp, refreshing feel of linen, resulting in a springy touch that is its defining characteristic. ZUTTO does not carry it, but the same series is also available in bath towel sizes, which shows that this fabric is genuinely towel-grade. Making this material larger and calling it a towel blanket is, in a sense, a confident statement about its absorbency and texture.

Brown

Ice blue

The Vintage Waffle Towel Blanket has a pile-free waffle weave. Because less of it touches your skin, it doesn't cling. The weave has a large, clearly defined grid pattern with distinct texture, giving it excellent breathability. It's soft like knitwear, with a crisp, refreshing feel against the skin. This too is woven slowly on low-speed Toyota looms, taking care not to strain the thread, so despite being thin, it has a soft, airy volume.

The material is a blend of 95% cotton and 5% linen, giving it just the right amount of firmness so you don't need to worry about it becoming too soft and losing its shape. After weaving, it is carefully washed over time using plenty of spring water from Mt. Ishizuchi, which contains few impurities, resulting in a crisp vintage feel and a smooth, soft texture you can enjoy.

Navy

How should I care for a towel blanket?

・About washing

It can be machine washed. Since some color fading and fuzzing may occur, please wash it separately from other items. Do not dry clean or use chlorine bleach.

・About washing frequency

A towel blanket absorbs a good deal of sweat while you sleep. For this reason, please wash it regularly, even if not every day.

・About using fabric softener

The maker asks that you avoid using large amounts of fabric softener, so as not to compromise cotton's natural absorbency. This is much like hair conditioner: it coats the fibers and hinders water absorption. However, unlike ordinary towels, if the blanket's texture is your priority, it's fine to use fabric softener as long as you follow the recommended amount.

Bedding to Pair With It

Linen Box Sheet

If you want something with a crisp, refreshing feel, high absorbency, and close contact with the skin like a sheet, linen is the right choice of material. This custom-order asie sheet comes in blue-gray, perfect for a calm, sophisticated bedroom. We also recommend the clean, fresh white or the natural color, which lets you enjoy linen's true hue. Pillowcases are available in the same colors.

Mikawa Momen 5-Layer Soft and Smooth Gauze Blanket, Single

A gauze blanket whose smooth texture brings a sense of calm. Comfortable to sleep with year-round, ichiori gauze products feel crisp and light in sweaty weather and warmly wrap the body in cooler seasons, becoming more pleasant to the touch the more you wash them. Just as a baby can't bear to part with a favorite gauze blanket, it grows softer and develops a texture all its own over time.

This blanket, made of five layers of gauze, softens with use but is sturdy enough to resist becoming flattened. The single size comes in 10 colors, each in a gentle hue, so we recommend choosing your favorite colors and combinations. Getting a different color for each family member is also handy come laundry time.

Wabo Pillowcase

Of all bedding, the pillowcase may be the item we should pay the most attention to for the sake of our skin. A pillowcase that is gentle on the skin and kept clean has a deep connection to both sleep quality and skin care. For such a pillowcase, we recommend one made from hand-spun thread, gently spun by human hands. The faint unevenness unique to hand-spinning traps air, giving it a soft, gentle feel. This irregularity, which machine weaving cannot replicate, feels remarkably natural against the skin when you touch it.

Highly absorbent, it quickly wicks away sweat, keeping you comfortable and free of stuffiness. It grows softer with every wash.

Even lying in bed for the same number of hours, summer can leave you sleep-deprived depending on your bedroom environment. By combining materials that are natural for our bodies, comfortable sleep becomes possible. We hope this gives you some ideas for a bedroom environment that will help you get through the coming season.

▽There's more: comfortable towel materials from kontex