Wool arrives at the mill in its natural state, still in locks, carrying the lanolin, grease and character of the individual fleece.

The fleece is washed in hot water to remove lanolin, grease and dirt, then dried on mesh racking before any mechanical processing begins. Clean, dry fibre is essential for good carding.

The dried fleece passes through a fibre opener, which uses a toothed drum to tease apart the clumped locks and release the natural loft of the wool. Dense matted fibre is transformed into a light, airy cloud.

The opened fibre passes through a series of fine-toothed rollers that disentangle the individual fibres and form them into a continuous rope called a sliver. Fibre for felting can be taken off at this stage as flat batts.

Multiple slivers are fed through the draw frame together, drafted down to an even, consistent thickness to produce roving. This thorough blending of fibres is what gives the finished yarn its consistency and character.

The roving feeds into the ring spinning frame, where it is drafted further and twisted into yarn. A small metal clip called a traveller runs around a ring at each spindle, controlling the twist as the yarn builds up on the bobbin.

Singles are twisted together to produce the finished yarn weight. Plying balances the twist and adds strength and durability.

The yarn is wound onto cones, ready for larger format projects such as weaving machine knitting. Hanks are then tied by hand from these to set weights - perfect for smaller knitting and crochet projects.