The Ribcage
Our flagship skeleton sweater. A full anatomical ribcage and spine in bone-white, knitted into a heavyweight black jacquard crew-neck: not printed, knitted. The motif is part of the fabric itself. It cannot crack or peel, because it is made of the same yarn as the sweater. Knitted to order on flat-bed machines in an Italian atelier with forty years of knitwear behind it.
- TechniqueKnitted jacquard, never printed
- ColoursBlack, bone
- Yarn50% wool, 50% acrylic
- Weight450 to 650 g depending on size
- FitRelaxed unisex, S to 2XL
- MadeItalian atelier, 40 years of flat-bed knitwear
- Lead timeKnitted to order, 2 to 3 weeks
- CareWool cycle 30 degrees, dry flat
Knitted, not printed
The motif is jacquard: bone-white and coloured yarns carried through the black wool blend row by row on an industrial flat-bed machine. There is no ink, no transfer and no embroidery on top. Pattern and garment are the same object, so nothing can crack or peel.
Fabric and fit
Heavyweight knit in 50% wool and 50% acrylic: warm and substantial like pure wool, harder-wearing and easier to live with. A finished sweater weighs 450 to 650 g depending on size. Relaxed unisex fit, true to size, S to 2XL. Between sizes, take the bigger one.
Made to order
Your piece is knitted after you order it: the chart goes on the machine, the yarn is mounted, then it is linked, hand-finished and steamed. Two to three weeks, plus shipping. No dead stock, no warehouse.
Shipping and returns
Free tracked shipping worldwide. EU 2 to 5 working days after dispatch, UK, US and the rest of the world 5 to 10. Fourteen days to change your mind, and the size exchange is free.
The Ribcage is the piece people buy first and keep longest. A full anatomical ribcage and spine in bone-white, running down the chest of a heavyweight black crew-neck: no wordmark on the chest, no slogan, nothing but the bones; KNITFERATU sits across the upper back in blackletter. It is the most direct thing we make and the hardest one to get wrong twice, because there is nowhere for a bad chart to hide.
Anatomy is unforgiving in jacquard. Ribs are curved lines that have to stay parallel while the fabric narrows towards the shoulder, and the spine has to sit dead centre or the whole piece looks broken. We charted it three times before the vertebrae read properly from across a room. The result is bone-white yarn carried through black wool blend, bone by bone, on an industrial flat-bed machine.
Relaxed unisex fit, ribbed collar, cuffs and hem, true to size, S to 2XL. The knit is dense enough to wear alone in autumn and heavy enough to be the only warm layer you need under a coat in winter. The model is 175 cm and wears M. If you want it oversized, one size up gives dropped shoulders without losing the shape of the ribcage.
Every piece is knitted to order in Italy: two to three weeks, then free tracked shipping worldwide. Wash it inside out on a wool cycle at 30 degrees and dry it flat, and the bones will outlast every printed skeleton sweater you have ever owned. There is nothing to crack because there is no print.
The photos on this page are AI renders made from the knitting file, so the pattern you see is the one the machine knits.
Is the motif printed or knitted?
Knitted. It is jacquard: the bone-white and coloured yarns are carried through the black wool blend row by row on an industrial flat-bed machine, so the motif is the fabric. There is no ink, no transfer and no embroidery, and therefore nothing that can crack or peel.
Is the KNITFERATU lettering on the back knitted too?
Yes. It is part of the same jacquard, knitted across the upper back in the bone-white yarn. It is not a patch and not a print.
Which size should I take?
Relaxed unisex fit, true to size, S to 2XL. Flat garment measurements in centimetres are on the size guide. Between two sizes take the bigger one, and if you still call it wrong the size exchange is free.
How warm is it really?
Properly warm. A finished sweater weighs 450 to 650 grams depending on size, roughly twice a printed sweatshirt, in a 50% wool and 50% acrylic heavyweight knit. It works alone in autumn and as the only layer under a coat in winter.
How long until it arrives?
Your piece is knitted after you order it: two to three weeks in the atelier, then free tracked shipping worldwide. EU 2 to 5 working days after dispatch, UK, US and the rest of the world 5 to 10.
From the same crypt
Knitted, never printed
Every motif is jacquard worked into the fabric on flat-bed machines. Nothing to crack, nothing to peel.
Made to order in Italy
Your piece does not exist until you order it: collection pieces are knitted, hand-finished and steamed in 2 to 3 weeks, commissions in 2 to 4.
Free worldwide shipping
Tracked and free everywhere. Collection pieces come with free size exchanges and 14-day returns.