Buying British

Edited to add: Please note that this information is moving to a new website, www.britishyarn.org.uk, and I won't be adding any new companies/traders to this list. Please do e-mail any more to me though at: jowatso21@yahoo.co.uk. Thank you!

I've been trying to think of knitting-related New Year's resolutions (and other ones too actually) but I've not been able to come up with anything. And then I started reading a post on Ravelry about buying British yarn. So that's what I'm going to do in 2009: whenever I need to buy yarn (which, admittedly, is not much) it will only come from the back of a British-based sheep. This is going to be a hard one to keep, given all the lovely yarns that are imported into our country.

I'd like to find out about as many UK-based independent yarn producers this year, and in fact any other British-based companies selling British products. Please let me know if there are any others that can be included.

England

Farm Yarn

The Nude Ewe

Gedgrave Flock of Wensleydales

Coldharbour Mill

Crookabeck Angoras

Hicks Angora

Greengate Wools

The Natural Fibre Company (some very interesting links)

Frangipani

Bluefaced

The Wool Clip

Cornish Organic Wool

Devon Fine Fibres

Krafty Koala

The Natural Dye Studio

The Mulberry Dyer

The House of Hemp

Oxford Kitchen Yarns

UK Alpaca

The Alpaca Spinner

Great British Yarns

Wingham Wool Work

The Alpaca Wool Company

British Breeds Yarns (no prices on here but contact details are available)

Wildcraft (for handspinners only)

The Knitting Goddess

Heathland Hebridean

Skein Queen Debbie says: "I have several lines of British grown and dyed yarns - my Encore (BFL/nylon), Blissful (BFL) and some new BFL weights I’m introducing over the next couple of weeks. However, the rest of my stock is non-British"

Rosewood Farms

New Forest Mohair

Artists Palette Yarns

Aragon Yarns

Wool and Willow

Violet Green Jane says: "I sell British Bluefaced Leicester Aran.Most of the yarns I hand-dye are spun in the UK (Socrates sock yarns, both laceweight yarns, Utopia sock yarn, DK Alpaca), so using the tiny British spinning industry, but the merino used comes in from the Falklands."

Scotland

New Lanark Fantastic Soil Association- certified wool in DK and Aran weights. Incredibly reasonably priced. A world heritage site, well worth a visit if you're anywhere near Lanark.

Northern Lace Liz Lovick's website, full of patterns and her own North Ronaldsay Wool - Natural and Hand Dyed

Jamieson's of Shetland

Artisan Threads

The Yarn Yard

Virtual Yarns (Alice Starmore)

Shilsadair

Moondance Wools

Old Maiden Aunt


Wales

Posh Yarn

Fyberspates

Garthenor Organic

Bowmont Braf

Honourwood Flock

Knitwitches

Cambrian Mill (looks like a very interesting place!)

The Wool Hunter

Colinette

Preseli Mohair Centre

Wool Out of Wales
no website but e-mail to pjteamwork@aol.com
(Ravelry page: http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/wool-out-of-wales-wool-out-of-wales)


Ireland
To be worked on at a later date!