Top 40 British-made knitwear brands

The ultimate guide to British knitwear brands – all made in the UK

British knitwear is world-renowned. It’s no wonder – the mechanical knitting machine was invented in England and the oldest operating factory in the world is owned by a knitwear manufacturer – John Smedley.

When it comes to quality, British knitwear can’t be beaten. Whether it’s menswear, womenswear or childrenswear; hand or machine knitted; cashmere, wool or cotton; heritage brand or start-up; there’s a British knit for everyone.

If you’re looking for the best British knitwear brands, you’ll love our ultimate list.

The Beehive Brand

A new soulful British knitwear brand, sharing the story of Beehives woollen heritage and knitting pattern archives from industrial Britain since 1785.  The Beehive Brand is located in the market town of Darlington within the North East of England, where they explore and celebrate the community and industry of all things craft, the spirit of soul and the industrial era.

Riachi Studio

Riachi Studio is a contemporary heritage women’s knitwear label by designer duo Scottish-born Natalie Riachi and her partner, Matt Scheurich. The studio is currently based in Paris. Focusing on knitwear means garments can be constructed with minimal wastage, and using well-established manufacturers in Scotland stays true to the ethos of supporting local artisans and economies.

Genevieve Sweeney

Genevieve Sweeney launched her eponymous knitwear brand in 2015. Made exclusively in the UK, Genevieve Sweeney is writing a new chapter for the knitwear industry, marrying contemporary design with exceptional hand finishes. Indebted to the time-honoured techniques of artisan makers, the brand has reimagined the possibilities of knitwear.

Ally Bee

Ally Bee makes beautiful sustainable knitwear, adopting a ‘cradle to cradle’ commitment to fashion. They seek out natural fibres with care for the land and animal welfare and adopt the cleanest processing and dying.

Oubas Knitwear

Oubas Knitwear create beautiful and timeless knitted pieces from natural fibres. Oubas values made in Britain; drawing on the rich history that surrounds them to bring contemporary products with high end craftsmanship.

Ross Barr

Ross Barr is a Menswear Fashion, Lifestyle and Heritage brand that champions the craftsmanship and quality of British Manufacturing.

Ramnation

As well as making very nice knitwear, Ramnation are passionate about provenance and supply chain, insisting that their wool is British, their dyes natural and non-toxic, a Cornish mill and a factory in Nottinghamshire.

Glencroft

Richard Sexton & Co is a family run British clothing company based in Clapham, in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. Since 1987 they have been supplying wholesale with their quality ‘Glencroft’ brand which includes some beautiful knitwear pieces.

British Christmas Jumpers

At Make it British we love a Christmas Jumper and British Christmas Jumpers offer a huge range of designs, all made in the UK of course!

Turtle Doves

Nestled in the heart of Shropshire the Turtle Doves team specialises in turning pre-loved cashmere jumpers into practical and gorgeously soft new accessories.

We are Rushworth

We are Rushworth are a Scottish borders based clothing label started in 2012. All of their knitwear is made in Scotland.

Charles Kirk

Charles Kirk make bespoke school knitwear, all made in the UK, in their factory in Worthing, West Sussex to your precise specifications. Customise one of their standard styles or work with them to produce an entirely unique garment. They can also colour match to co-ordinate with your other garments and offer options for those with allergies or requiring smaller/larger than average sizes.

John Smedley

Established in 1784, John Smedley are the oldest manufacturing factory in the world, crafting beautiful, high quality garments that are designed to last, made in Britain and distributed the world over.

Johnstons of Elgin

Founded in 1797, the Johnstons knitting mill in Hawick, has a team of highly skilled designers and craftspeople working together to create their wonderful knitwear.

&Daughter

Luxury women’s knitwear & accessories made in Scotland & Ireland. Aran knit & cable wool jumpers, cardigans and hand-finished cashmere.

Barrie

An historic manufacturer of premium cashmere, established in the Scottish Borders in 1903. Barrie Knitwear is renowned for its outstanding, traditional expertise.

Brora

Brora are known for their luxury, Scottish cashmere knitwear.

Collingwood-Norris

Knitted jumpers and accessories for men and women, designed and made in their small studio in the Scottish Borders. Using the finest lambswool, each scarf, hat, wrap, and jumper is individually knitted by Flora in her studio.

Cooking Apple

Traditional yet wearable clothes for children and adults. Cooking Apple designs are inspired by forgotten patterns and styles, which are then knitted up in beautiful colours. Each piece is hand-knitted in the Cotswolds by a small team.

Eleven Everything

Eleven Everything creates luxury fashion knitwear designed in London, knitted in Britain and completed with foiling and hand finishing back in London in an east end artisan studio.

Esk

Esk combine style and luxury in their knitwear. They make and mill everything in Scotland under the same roof and source their yarns with care and integrity, trying to use the small but rich seam of spinners in Britain.

Fanclub

Fanclub is a London based knitwear brand. Yarns are sourced from Britain’s premium suppliers, spun in England and Scotland.

Glenbrae

With a heritage born in the mill town of Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, and a reputation renowned the world over, Glenbrae’s history is rich in developing technical yarns.

Glenevan Mill

Since its foundation in 1978 on the hills of the Scottish Borders, Glenevan Mill has been producing exclusive handmade Cashmere knitwear for its discerning clientele around the world.

Harley of Scotland

Harley of Scotland have produced quality knitwear for 87 years. Their ideas and inspiration,  eclectic blends of the highest quality fibres, textures and patterns, and pairing their traditional techniques with highly sophisticated technology ensures the perfect balance between old and new.

Last of England

Last Of England is a clothing brand which is led by design. Last Of England takes stylistic inspiration from the past to create items that will endure in the future and use the manufacturing talents of British industry.

Leith Clothing

Leith clothing is a British menswear brand whose range includes cable knit jumpers crafted on the Shetland islands using 100% Shetland wool from the Jamiesons mill – a company who have been supplying yarn since the 1890s.

Paul James Knitwear

Paul James is a luxury, Leicestershire-based knitwear manufacturer. They take yarns from all over the world and knit them into stylish, functional garments that are made to last.

Peregrine

Peregrine is an English Heritage clothing brand with British Heritage Merino wool jumpers and cardigans.

Plum of London

Luxury knitwear brand Plum of London makes its entire range within these shores meaning that they can support local, highly-skilled industries whilst keeping their carbon footprint to a minimum!

Richmond Knitwear

Richmond Knitwear is country, cricket, work and schoolwear knitted by Crystal Knitwear since 1990.

Shackleton 

British clothing authentically made and inspired by Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Range includes merino jumpers knitted in Hawick.

The Tailor Retailored

Designer men’s luxury Scottish cashmere knitwear combining modern fits and design with traditional artisanal construction.

Unmade

UMd is an experimental fashion label from the team behind Unmade. Everything produced by UMd is powered by Unmade technology, made to order and unique to the customer. UMd works in collaboration with other innovative global brands, reflecting Unmade’s desire to transform fashion by working with the industry.

Valentina Karellas

At Valentina Karellas every piece of knitwear is one-of-a kind. Valentina uses surplus yarn from large factories that would otherwise have gone to waste. The result: each piece of knitwear is a lifelong-lasting, entirely unique London original.

Verisimilitude

Based in the Outer Hebrides, Verisimilitude source Scottish wool for all of their knitwear and use its natural tone and grain to create uniqueness for each piece that they produce.

William Lockie

William Lockie is one of the oldest family run luxury knitwear businesses based in the Scottish Borders.
They specialise in knitwear made from natural fibres such as Cashmere, Camelhair, Merino, Geelong & Lambswool using traditional techniques that have been passed down for generations.

Wonderers

Wonderers makes knitwear for 3 to 10 year olds. All Wonderers knits are made in the UK using 100% natural fibres.

Please leave a comment below if you enjoyed this article about British Knitwear. You can also see which Make it British members make knitwear in our directory here