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Frequently Asked Questions

Fabric

What is bleached fabric?
Bleached fabric is white fabric soaked in water, starched, and left to dry in the sun. All fabric wrapped around waists at festivals and cheering parties is bleached fabric. Kanno towels are all bleached fabric.
What is thread count?
Thread count is a unit that shows the thickness of the thread. The larger the number is, the thinner the thread and softer the material. Our fabric is very thin with a thread count of 30.

Hand Printing

What is Chusen?
Chusen is a dyeing process used where glue is put onto the parts of fabric not going to be dyed. The dye is poured onto the fabric and the embankments created by the glue prevent these areas from being dyed. The separation of the dye using the glue allow many colors to be used at once and leaves an attractive pattern on back. This is a traditional dyeing technique used with all tenugui and is used to create Kanno Towels.
What is Sashiwake?
Sashiwake is a dyeing technique using many colors and only one block. Saishiwake is one of the methods used in Chusen.
What is color variation?
Since our towels are all hand made, there may be a slight variation in color and thickness of the design with each of our towels. Some may be slightly darker or lighter and the thickness of the lines may vary slightly.
What's the difference between a hand dyed towel and a hand print towel?
The main difference between these two dyeing techniques is that the dye seeps through the back of the hand dyed towel while the back of a hand printed towel will be white with the patterns only faintly showing through. Hand printed towels allow for more intricate designs and there can be a degree of color loss. All of Kanno Towels are created using this technique.
What does ‘sticking’ and ‘running‘ mean with hand towels?
When creating Kanno Towels, glue is put on parts of the fabric not going to be dyed. Sometimes the dye permeates through the gaps between the glue and fabric. This is called ‘sticking’. Generally ‘sticking’ is more likely to occur on fabrics with rough threads. Because of this, we recommend Oka fabric for more detailed designs because it is finer and less ‘sticking’ occurs. The fabric at the edges of the towels can be bulky when it is layered up to dye making it hard for the dye to permeate. This may lead the print to be slightly off in these areas causing ‘running’ to occur. Glue can have subtle differences in stiffness depending upon the season, temperature, and humidity. This and other factors may mean that each hand dyed towel has a different texture and ‘running’ and ‘sticking’ can occur. Please understand that this a natural part of the dyeing process and value that no two products will be the same. There will always be a slight variation with each product but your towel should look almost identical to the towels on our website.

Returns and Cancellations

What is your return and exchange policy?
We will accept returns and exchanges for items that are unopened and unused within 8 days of delivery. Please be aware that we cannot accept returns and exchanges for sale items, items that have been damaged by the customer, or items that do not have tags. If for some reason the item was not what was originally ordered or was damaged during deliver, we will cover the return shipping costs. If an item is being returned or exchanged because would like a different style, color, or size, the return shipping and refund costs will be covered by the customer.
What is your cancellation policy?
If you need to cancel your order, please contact us via the inquiry form before noon the day after you have placed your order.

Shipping

How long will it take my order to ship?
For items in stock, we will usually ship your order within 3 business days of receipt of payment. We will notify you via email when your order has shipped. In the unlikely event that your order is delayed, we will contact you via email.

Contact

How can I contact Kanno Towels about my order?
You can contact Kanno by sending a message through the inquiry form.