British wool brands: 18 UK makers using wool from British farms

October is Wool Month, and it’s one of our favourite times of year. It’s a whole month to celebrate the fleece and all the wonderful people who work with it.

As Graham Clark, Head of Marketing at British Wool, puts it: “British wool is the best wool for bedding. It’s so lofty.”

Loft is that lovely feeling when you pull your duvet up on a cold night. The wool springs back and holds onto the air, so your duvet feels full and cosy without being heavy. It’s one of the reasons we fell for wool in the first place.

But fleece makes so much more than our wool bedding. To celebrate Wool Month, and to support the people keeping British wool going, we’ve gathered 18 British makers who are giving it a new job. Some you’ll wear, some you’ll live with, some you’ll plant in the garden, and one you’ll take round eighteen holes.

What counts as British wool?

It’s a good question, and not always as simple as it sounds. British wool is grown on British sheep. British Wool is the non-profit that sells the wool clip on behalf of the UK’s sheep farmers and returns the market price to them, minus its costs.

It’s worth knowing that “spun in Britain” isn’t the same as “grown in Britain”. If a label says British wool, look for the British Wool certification mark, or simply ask the brand which farms their wool comes from. Any maker who cares about where their wool comes from will be very happy to tell you.

To wear

Navy Grey

Rachel Carvell-Spedding spent years looking for a jumper as good as her mother’s navy one, which had lasted 23 years. When she couldn’t find one, she made her own. Navygrey is built on that idea of knitwear made to last, using natural, traceable wool. Rachel works with British breeds like Bluefaced Leicester and Masham from British farms, spun at Laxtons in Yorkshire, as well as wool from Shetland.

Clò Fold

Dee McGilvray named her Norfolk label after the Gaelic word for cloth and the sheepfold. Everything is made in the UK from traceable British wool. The Holt Gilet is woven in Yorkshire, and its code tells you which farms the wool came from.

Charl Knitwear

Frankie Davies spent years designing knitwear for Burberry. Now she reworks the Norfolk fisherman's gansey. Each style is named after a real fisherman or knitter. The Craske is knitted from British wool in Nottinghamshire.

Izzy Lane

Isobel Davies keeps a flock of rescued Wensleydale and Shetland sheep in the Yorkshire Dales. Her knitwear is made from their wool, so every piece traces back to her own fields.

Corgi

Five generations of the Jones family have made socks in the same Welsh factory for over 130 years. Their British wool range is heavyweight, made for boots and cold mornings.

For the home

Bronte by Moon

Throws woven from British lambswool at Abraham Moon in Yorkshire. It's one of the few vertical woollen mills left in the UK, so every stage happens under one roof. Each throw is traceable back to the farm.

The British Blanket Company

Throws and cushion covers in undyed British wool, finished with blanket stitch edges. The wool is certified by British Wool.

Herdwick Limited

Herdwick Tweed from sheep born and shorn around Grasmere. Scoured, spun, dyed and woven in Yorkshire, then made into caps, bags, cushions, lampshades and chairs.

Cable & Blake

Upholstery fabric made from Herdwick fleece. The idea came on a walk along the shores of Windermere in 2016.

Brockway

The Lakeland Herdwick carpet range uses undyed Herdwick wool in fell greys. The colourways are named after the lakes: Windermere, Buttermere, Ullswater.

To grow

Wool Pots

Graham Hull and Tom Lind knit plant pots from British wool that farmers struggle to sell. Fill it, sow it, then plant the whole pot. The wool breaks down in the soil.

Wooltiliser

Eddie Mordue developed it on his Oxfordshire market garden, Traditional Garden Growers. It's low-grade British wool pressed into pellets for beds, borders and pots. He researched it with the University of Reading.

Dalefoot Composts

Simon Bland and Jane Barker make peat-free compost on their farm in the Lake District fells. Bracken from the fell, wool from their own flock and Herdwick fleece from neighbouring hill farmers.

Twool

Garden twine spun from the wool of Whiteface Dartmoor sheep. Tie in sweet peas with it next spring.

Unexpected

Son of Edmond

George Edmondson spent a decade in luxury textiles before golf took over. His golf club covers are made by hand in Yorkshire, and several use certified British wool.

The Woolly Shepherd

Lower-grade fleeces, mostly from smallholders, made into acoustic clouds that hang from restaurant ceilings in Somerset and beyond.

For the Bedroom

All Floks wool duvets, pillows, toppers and mattresses are made in the UK from fully traceable British Wool.

Know a British wool maker we should add? Let us know!