Where can you buy British yarn? Loads of places! Read on to find out who’s making yarn here. From local farms and hand-dyers, to large mills and commercial spinners, there’s a wealth of British yarn makers producing some amazing quality yarn.
Following on from a request via the website asking where they could buy British-made hand knitting yarn we put a call out on Instagram for people to recommend companies that make British yarn. We had a fantastic response…it appears that the British yarn scene is thriving.
Our aim was to put together a top 10 of British yarn producers, but there were so many fantastic ones to choose from that we went well over 20. If you know of any others then please mention them in the comments below and we’ll add them to this post.
One thing that we’d like to point out is the distinction between British wool and British-spun yarn. This article covers British spun yarn, i.e. the criteria was that the yarn was spun in Britain but might be from fibres that aren’t from the UK. However, the vast majority here, especially from the smaller companies, use local fibres from British sheep or Alpaca. If in doubt, always ask the yarn supplier to give more details about the provenance of their yarn.
Laxtons
Laxtons are specialist manufacturers of worsted and fancy yarns, not for hand knitting a high volume manufacturing. You’ll find them at our Meet the Manufacturer event.
Town End Alpacas
Town End Alpacas produce British alpaca wools and other UK alpaca blend knitting yarns from their farm in the Lake District. They buy local fleece where possible and sort and blend the fibres on the farm.
Ardalanish Mill
The Ardalanish Mill on the Isle of Mull not only spins its own yarn but also weaves it into beautiful fabrics.
Black Isle Yarns
Natural and sustainable yarns from Scotland.
Blacker Yarns
Blacker Yarns produce a range of beautiful breed specific yarns made exclusively from British sheep, all spun in Cornwall. They are also one of the exhibitors at our Make it British Live! event.
Cambrian Wool
100% Welsh wool spun from the fleece of the of the Welsh Mule.
Countess Ablaze
Yarn-dyer based in Manchester with some stunning coloured wool.
Daughter of a Shepherd
100% British wool from shepherds and producers within the United Kingdom.
Eden Cottage Yarns
Beautiful hand-dyed yarns.
Garthenor
Certified organic knitting yarns from traditional British sheep.
Isle Yarns
Pure wool from the Isle of Purbeck.
J.C. Rennie & Co
Established in 1798, J.C. Rennie make beautiful woollen yarns for knitters and weavers. They’ll be exhibiting at our Meet the Manufacturer event in May.
Jamieson & Smith
Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers purchase Shetland wool from over 700 of Shetland’s crofters and farmers, and transform it into high-quality Shetland yarn.
Jamiesons of Shetland
Shetland wool and yarn suppliers.
John Arbon
Worsted spun luxury yarns and custom yarns for hand dyers and designers.
Kettle Yarn Co.
Hand-dyed British yarn from ethical mills.
Knockando Woolmill
Historic working district woolmill situated in Knockando, in the Spey valley, Scotland.
Lily Warne Wool
British wool from a Devon farm.
New Lanark Wool and Textiles
New Lanark Wool & Textiles is a small-scale producer of high quality Chunky, Aran, Double Knitting and Organic woollen yarn.
R.E. Dickie
Specialising in British and Rare Breeds Wool, manufactured on their premises in Halifax.
The Knitting Goddess
The Knitting Goddess is an independent dyer of British knitting yarns, producing hand dyed yarns from British wool.
The Lace Knittery
The Lace Knitery started over ten years ago with the aim to celebrate and promote the wonderful, sustainable, natural fibre resources we have in the UK. It has grown from a single idea to an in-house range of patterns, kits, yarns and bespoke finished garments and homewares. All of which are produced from scratch at their home base in rural Somerset. They use natural dyes often foraged metres from our door, acid dye techniques and traceable yarn sources.
Toft Alpaca
The Toft Alpaca shop sells British alpaca and luxury 100% wool yarn.
Uist Wool
Undyed yarns from the Outer Hebrides.
West Yorkshire Spinners
West Yorkshire Spinner’s yarn is reared, sheared and spun in Britain.
If you’re looking to buy from these British yarn producers you may want visit the Edinburgh Yarn Festival which happens in March. With over 100 exhibitors, many of which produce 100% British wool, it promises to be a great event for knitters.
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Great to see British wool championed but please don’t forget the small guys who keep the sheep and sell their own wool. We do this ourselves and sell via our Etsy shop, and through local wool shops.
Yarn Stories manufactured in Huddersfield.
Hi Lisa. I wet felt and use merino roving tops. I’m interested in visiting small producers for a variety of reasons, including personal purchase. Is this possible?
Griffiths’ Mill in Derbyshire produce 100% British yarn not just spun in Britain but grown here as well!
Ooh, thanks David. I’ll add them to this post!
Many thanks for putting our Farm to Yarn family business on the list proud to fly the flag for British Wool from our Debin Farm
Hi
My name is Isla and I run BritYarn, an online yarn shop which only sells British wool (wool that has come from British sheep). I stock many of the producers you have featured and many more. It is fantastic to see British wool featured.
Hi Isla. So glad you got in touch – a love the yarn shop! Have added you to the article 🙂
Are there still any baize manufacturers in GB?
Yes -AW Hainsworth in Leeds
Great to see you featuring British knitting yarn 🙂
I’m pretty certain that all of the British wool yarns on these pages are processed, spun and dyed in Britain.
The Little Grey Sheep – from sheep loved and cared for in Hampshire, sheared by Susie, washed in Yorkshire, spun in Devon and hand dyed on the farm by Emma.
the family that owns Little Grey Sheep are wonderful people! And the yarn is beyond YUMMY!
So pleased to see Garthenor here. The first certified organic wool yarn in the world.
Low Sutton Wool produces a range of undyed yarns from our own flock of Ryelands and other breeds of sheep kept locally to us in the Yorkshire Dales
I can recommend Laxtons as they spin all our yarn to our specific needs. They are really helpful and friendly even though we are only a small customer for them. Our yarn all comes British Wool Board Platinum Certified as well which is great.
Am I allowed a shout out for my own business? Ripples Crafts, based in the Scottish Highlands. Hand dyed yarn on a mix of bases which include British Bluefaced Leicester I’ll be at Edinburgh Yarn Festival.
Your yarn is beautiful – you should shout about it.
I’m Sylvan Tiger Yarn. Based in Yorkshire I dye British yarns, including a soon to be launched limited edition custom spun yarn, with natural dyes.
This is a great list! If I could just suggest one addition – you missed Baa Ram Ewe! This Yorkshire firm produce beautiful yarns from British breeds, all spun and dyed in Yorkshire 🙂
Hello, so pleased to see this list. Can I post a link for Seren, a DK Welsh Mule (BFL/Welsh White Mountain) yarn, produced in my own part of Wales in the Cambrian Mountains and dyed by me in my studio. Future projects include fibre from Wiltshire and Devon.
Hello, so pleased to see this list. Can I post a link for Seren, a DK Welsh Mule (BFL/Welsh White Mountain) yarn, produced in my own part of Wales in the Cambrian Mountains and dyed by me in my studio. Future projects include fibre from Wiltshire and Devon.
Town End Alpaca Yarns produces luxurious knitting yarns from British alpaca, Blue Faced Leicester and Shetland wools. All our yarns are spun and dyed in the UK.
We will be at Edinburgh Yarn Festival, unravel and Wonderwool Wales.
Laura’s Loom http://www.laurasloom.co.uk
Another comment: festivals like Woolfest and Yarndale and all the other wool events throughout the UK have lists of exhibitors on their websites. Many of these exhibitors either produce or sell British wool yarns, for knitting OR WEAVING!! (my personal beef with yarn articles – where are the weavers??) There are many many British-made yarns available these days, all telling incredible stories. Lists can end up leaving out lots of the lesser known brands so shout from the roof tops for all that you know about! And don’t forget to look at Woolsack for a really comprehensive list.
Great to see this list of wool processed in Britain. We are producing undyed wool in small amounts from our own flock in Dorset – Bramblecot Yarn.
Great List – keep adding to it!
Just wish glossy magazines would feature articles like this more often.
The Birlinn Yarn Company sell yarn and sheepskin products from Hebridean sheep bred on the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
Our products, like our Hebridean sheep, are rare and small in number.
We sell natural yarns which are a blend of our Hebridean and locally sourced white fleeces and have recently added a range of organic over-dyed colours.
Sustainably produced, our products glean their aesthetic qualities from the Hebridean landscape and culture.
There is a group on facebook which aims to link knitters who like to know about the provenance of their wool with the people who keep the sheep/ alpacas and sell the wool.
Anyone can recommend me a company which produce yarns suitable for hand tufting?
Calling all producers of organic and chemical free dyed wool or other chemical free natural fibres. I want to hear from you please. Thank you. cfddukes@icloud.com.
I’m writing a blog. I’m a knitter of some 35 years. Just started using proper yarn to knit socks. I’m writing about British yarn and am interested in its production and the whole process. I’m comparing brands as I knit . If you would like to help my project and perhaps send me a yarn sample please contact me. http://towneleycrafts.blogspot.co.uk/
There’s also a great site called Meraki Boutique – they’ve gathered a lot of British suppliers including Eden Cottage and baa ram ewe to make knit kits for beginners. From a flyer, I think they are soon going to be The Knit Kit Company but haven’t rebranded yet! They only started up within the last year so are quite new but building up all their range of products. http://merakiboutique.co.uk
Please also check out Flock England – all our products are 100% British, 100% Natural and 100% Wool. We use the fleeces of our very own sheep, to make blankets, scarves and wool. No dyes or chemicals used. http://www.flockengland.co.uk
I’m trying to find a supplier of 2/16 woolen spun yarn for weaving. At one time I was able to get to yarn from Lochcarron but no longer. Any suggestions?
Jamiesons of Shetland do weaving yarn, similar to Harris yarn but not so rough
Thanks for letting us know Jenny
Hi Jean,
Do I gather from your post that you are a weaver I am a small manufacturer who is looking for fabrics by the meter made out of alpaca wool it has to be fine on a par with Marino wool to make baby sleeping bags. Is this something you do or do you know anyone who does?
Looking forward to hearing from you
Thanks Hannah
Ooooh don’t leave me out! Lancashire Farm wools ‘From Farm to Yarn ….real wool from real sheep’. Nothing fancy,top quality wool from the top quality fleeces of conservation grazer sheep in Arnside/Silverdale and Forest of Bowland AONB’s in lovely Lancashire
Hi,
Our new business Lifelong Yarns is one of the very few to offer luxury yarns from the Scottish Blackface sheep. Our yarns are grown spun and dyed in the lowlands of Scotland. We create long-lasting yarns which are Good for the knitter, Good for the shepherd and Good for the Earth. Check out why on our website
I hand spin various fibres from my home in South-East Wales. There isn’t a vast amount, but it’s all spun with love, and available from my online shop!
Hello,
Im Enrica from Switzerland.
Sorry for my very bad English…
Im just discovery the Wool world.
I’m not a company just a mum, who would like to find a producer , able to sale to me a nice quality and already colored mérinos 100% yarn , on 19 up to 23 microns (for needles blankets, etc).
If anyone can help me with this I will really appreciate.
Thanks for your comments…
Maybe try Laxtons Enrica
We here at baa ram ewe are also a British yarn producer. Based in Yorkshire, we spin and dye our yarns locally using 100% British wool. Check us out at baaramewe.co.uk
Our masterplan is to make Yorkshire famous for wool production across the world once more, reconnecting it to its woolly heritage. We’ve put ourselves at the centre of this renaissance commanding worldwide appeal for our luxurious and authentic wools.
Hello…Can anyone help me ? I am looking at buy super chunky wool at trade price. I am not having much luck with my search. Many Thanks
Hi everyone – I am looking to start my own business selling super chunky wool in kits with bamboo kneeled. Can anyone help? Cheers
Knitting needles
My Mama Knits hand dyed yarns are available on a 100% UK sourced and spun BFL sock weight yarn called Twisty Face.
our firm produce Woollen yarn , we are able to offer you raw yarn from NM 1 to 5 NM on good price . all yarn are made from new zeland wool . if you are interested in , please contact me .
Hi
Does anyone know of another Merino Farm in the Uk apart from Bowmont please?
Hi
Can someone help me please? I’ve been given a bag of raw Texel fleece (roughly 2 1/2 coats in a bag) as a birthday gift that I would like processed and spun into yarn for knitting – personal use only, not selling. I’m trying to find out how much it would cost me to have the fleece processed but I’m sinking in all the confusing info available.
i’m aware that it isn’t easy to put a fixed price on it without seeing the fllece and it being graded etc but all I would require is a rough gestimate. Any help would be appreciated.
Uradale Yarns! Organic undeyed unbleached Shetland sheep wool.
Dear Sir/Madam
Sadly our daughter Hannah tragically died on the 6th April 2016 aged 18 from a Heart Attack linked to Laryngitis.
After her death we decided to try and get a charity registered in her name, with the aim of helping people who couldn’t get treatment from the NHS.
So far we have been organising bingo’s, fun days and have volunteers knitting outfits for special care baby units and also knitting blankets and memory cuffs for alzheimer’s patients in and out of homes. We started making outfits for local special care baby units, but now have request from hospital’s nationwide. So we are asking if you could donate any balls of wool or oddments so we can carry on making outfits as any help will be gratefully received and hopefully get us closer in having Hannah’s charity being registered.
I you want to check the details of Hannah’s charity please look on Facebook under Hannah’s smile Foundation
Thank you
Alan Bachmann
Email Address alanbachmann1962@gmail.com
Phone 01524 903705
I am looking for the type of yarn used to make Jaeger alpine zip front jackets/sweaters. It was a heavyweight yarn, repelled water. The yarn I used back in the 60’s was “Candide” yarn of Woodbury Connecticut. Can’t find anything like it here in CA and my old yarn shops in NE are no longer in business. If you know of an English mfg. who makes the same kindplease advise. Dian Picone,
I would like to see in the article whether the company uses British wool. I was just about to order some New Lanark yarn from Scotland when I chanced onto a comment from them (on Ravelry, not their own website) that the wool is largely imported and mixed with a smaller percentage of local wool. While I can understand why this might be necessary, as an Aussie I did not want to be getting wool that had already been sent to Scotland sent all the way back to me when I was hoping to purchase a 100% Scottish product. A few too many “wool miles” there!
Does anyone know a cashmere yarn processor/producer in the Inverness area that sell their products to Barrie, John Laing and Johnston’s?