Our Favourite South Island Wool Varieties
South Island farmers grow a stunning variety of sheep that all have very different qualities, in this newsletter we want to share information with you about the fleeces we buy and what we turn them into for you. As you can see even the birds know the quality of sheep wool and they carefully select their favourite fleece wool to line the insides of their nests. Check out any birds nest on a farm and you'll find it lined with wool.
Merino
Possibly the best known fleece in NZ and definitely the finest, these sheep are farmed in the harshest climates you can imagine. They thrive in the rugged hills and mountains of the South Island and are a disaster in flat paddocks like regular sheep. In the wool industry fleeces are graded for their colour, the amount of vegetable matter (scrub that attaches to the fleece as sheep move around paddocks) and the micron.
Merino wool is the finest micron wool and NZ Merino has the finest micron in the entire world. We purchase Merino fleece at a micron of 17.5-21. Merino is lovely to knit with for babies and adults, the complaints about itchy wool are not heard when Merino yarn is used.
We sell Merino in 100g skeins in 4 ply and Double Knit.
BROWSE OUR MERINO YARNS
Perendale
Perendale sheep are farmed on the flat not on mountain tops like Merino sheep. Perendale wool is stronger than Merino wool and we purchase fleeces with a micron of about 30. This is a great medium micron wool that is perfect for double knit yarns and is excellent for outer clothing and blankets.
Our Rosella yarn is 100% Perendale wool and has been dyed to give you a range of bright colours. The fleece is dyed after it has been scoured and before it comes to us to begin the process of yarn manufacturing.
Our Somerset range is 80% Perendale wool and 20% black Merino. The Perendale wool again is dyed before we mix it with black Merino fleece.
Polwarth
Since the original Polwarths were imported into Canterbury in 1932, they are now established in a range of climates throughout the country. They thrive in a mix of hot and cold temperatures, with low to high rainfall, either hill and high country, or lowland environments. Polwarth sheep are mainly grown in the South Island and they have a finer micron closer to Merino than the other strong wool varieties.
We purchase Polwarth wool at 24 micron and we spin 100g skeins of 100% Polwarth. We also mix Polwarth and Alpaca together, Alpaca has a micron of between 19-21. Our skeins are available as 4ply and double knit options.
BUY UNDYED POLWARTH YARNS
Romney
Romney wool is the strong variety of wool that is grown in NZ. It is mostly used for making carpets but we purchase 30-32 micron which is the softest Romney wool that you can get.
We make this into our unique Chunky Yarn - the Snuggly range. Our snuggly is perfect for making blankets with. We recommend you purchase 1 ball for a baby sized blanket or 2 balls if you want an adult sized snuggly blanket. Get yourself some size 12mm or 15mm circular needles so you can cast on enough stitches to make a decent sized blanket.