Trade Services

We regularly provide our services to trade customers from the UK and around the world.

We specialise in batches from 12kg finished product(final yield) to 1,000kg and above with good turn-around times. Each batch is processed individually, providing exclusivity and assurance of sourcing from a single farm or group of named farms.

Capability

We can undertake the following:

• Preparation. We match your yarn requirements from samples you provide, including making sample batches (minimum 15kg or less by special arrangement). We can also:
  • Card for output as scoured/carded fibre or make slubbings for woollen spinning;
  • Blend, including blends of different fibres and colour mixtures.  We specialise in the natural colours of yarn from the original sheep, goat or alpaca.  We can also blend with nylon, silk, bamboo, Tencel, hemp and flax as well as some manufactured fibres.  Some wools are blended with mohair.  Blending, particularly of intermediate shades of grey and beige, produces slightly heathered shades, which are attractive for both weaving and machine knit.  Please contact us about other fibres.
  • Scour in our own plant
  • Hand sort and grade wool, mohair and alpaca, including colour sorting Jacob wool
  • Source suitable fibre for your requirements.  We source both via merchants and direct from specialist small producers of rare, regional and British breeds wools.  Our speciality is British wool in individual breed-based yarns; we understand the characteristics of these fleeces.

• Worsted spinning. Worsted spinning single or plied knitting and weaving yarns from 2.5nm to 20nm (depending on the quality of the fibre) to your specification and/or matching yarn samples, from tops or greasy fleece

• Woollen spinning. Woollen spinning singles knitting and weaving yarns from 4ysw to 18ysw (depending on the quality of the fibre) to your specification and/or matching yarn samples, from scoured or greasy fleece

• Finishing
  • Twisting/plying/folding up to 6-ply yarns;
  • Reeling, winding, washing and ball-winding of finished yarns. Balls can be made into 50g. Cones are normally unweighed. Skeins/hanks are 50g, 100g, 200g, 500g, other as specified or unweighed;
  • Ball-band and skein-band application or tying on labels;
  • Steaming hanks and cones, waxing cones for knitwear purposes, etc.

Additional services

We can produce to order the following:

• Breeds local to the area where your business is based, in some cases from named farms, sourcing from local producers for whom we regularly spin yarn from their flocks;
• Specific finishes, such as marls, flecked yarns or tweeded yarns;
• Yarn supplied washed on cone for rugs/carpets or knitting purposes or oiled-on-cone for weaving, larger volume and machine knitting;
• Yarn supplied in measured washed hanks with loose ties for craft dyeing;
• Combed rovings for many breeds and gilled rovings for most breeds;
• Yarns in balls. If you would like the ball bands to be customised for your business we recommend Launceston print who can design, print and cut the bands and have a large selection of paper and options available.
• We can help you source small-scale hank or package dyeing, pencil rovings, roving yarns, needle felt, cushion stuffing and felting batts.

We are also able to make or support arrangements for design, weaving, knitting or contract dyeing.

Trade terms

We negotiate prices individually for each order and endeavour to provide high quality first and foremost, at rates which are competitive and appropriate for the quality, work involved and quantity.  We are not able to process to guaranteed levels of regain.

Items made to order will be subject to minimum quantities of 15kg finished, which is also our usual sample size.

We need to receive part payment prior to sending your order and therefore use proforma invoices, with a deposit of 25-30% with order. Trade accounts may be available on 30-day terms to regular customers accepted for trade credit.

Delivery is normally around 4-6 months from scoured fibre and 6-8 months from greasy fibre, depending on the complexity of the order and seasonal pressures. The estimated delivery time will be agreed when the order is placed.

Please download our trade terms and conditions.

Environment and Society: our values

We try very hard to minimise our impact on the environment.

• We source almost entirely British fibre (apart from silk and flax) which is processed entirely by The Natural Fibre Company.
• We use almost exactly the same processes for our normal production as we would for organic production, aiming to use best practice on the use of oils and detergents and to reduce, re-use and re-cycle as far as possible;
• We deal fairly and promptly with all enquiries, customers, suppliers and staff;
• We welcome comments, questions and ideas.