Our Skye Wool range is woven entirely from local wool. For these products we hand select fleeces from local farmers and crofters and have them turned into a special yarn that is unique to us. It gives us great satisfaction to use this natural and local resource and to know exactly where our wool comes from. If you come to see us in Glendale you’ll meet some of our Skye Wool suppliers grazing along the road.
Our local sheep need to be very good at resisting the cold, making Skye Wool perfect for warm throws and tweeds.
Most of the wool is from white Cheviot hoggs. They are the one-year-old sheep who are being clipped (shorn) for the first time. It is the softest wool a sheep will grow during its lifetime. After grading we send the fleeces off to be washed, spun and dyed. We then use the yarn to weave a range of products on our bicycle pedal-powered looms here on Skye.
A backwards journey from throw to sheep on the Isle of Skye.
Many people are surprised by the fact that the wool of the many sheep on Skye is normally not processed on the island. In the past wool was washed, carded, spun and woven for home use and small scale trade at many crofts. With industrialisation and economic change this is no longer a viable business proposition. Wool is now processed by large scouring plants and spinning mills on the mainland or overseas. The mills buy wool in big batches from British Wool (formerly the Wool Marketing Board). Most of the wool in the UK (and Skye) is bought by British Wool, which sells it on behalf of the farmers at international auctions. The Skye wool gets mixed up with wool from elsewhere. This is why we are so happy to have our own 100% Skye Wool range now.
We really enjoy working with local sheep farmers, see the sheep, handle the wool, and know exactly where it all comes from. We hope you enjoy feeling the essence of the island in our Skye Wool creations.
