FAQs

Frequently asked questions

We use natural, luxury yarns to construct our products and these are sourced from fine woollen spinners all based in the UK. 

We do not use Orkney yarns in our knitwear. Our yarns are selected for the soft handle and a flowing, draping quality. There is limited availability of such yarns in Orkney.

Silk/Lambswool  

Silk/Lambswool is a blend of 52% Silk and 48% Lambswool. 

The silk content in this blend creates a soft, textured and robust yarn, making It a strong hardwearing, and one that does not pill.  

Geelongora  

This composition is made of 75% Super Geelong Lambswool and 25% Angora. The Lambswool gives durability and structure whereas the angora adds a greater softness and silky feel. 

This yarn is made only using the very finest angora and is obtained with the caregora scheme. Caregora ensures complete traceability and only sources fibres from responsible rabbit breeders. The animals are treated with respect and angora is gathered humanely by shearing. Caregora complies with very strict animal welfare codes, so customers can purchase geelongora safe in the knowledge that no rabbits were harmed in the process. 

Each item should be carefully hand-washed. Our advice would be: 

Fill a basin of lukewarm water and wool wash detergent. Immerse your garment and leave to soak for a few minutes. Do not agitate as this can felt the piece. Drain off the liquid and rinse in cold water. Squeeze to remove the excess water and hang double over a rack/washing line or dry flat. 

To ensure the longevity of our knitted items, please do not machine wash. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any queries regarding caring for your knitwear. 

Our knitwear story starts in the yarn store of our workshop. From there the cones are either distributed to our outworkers on our home island of Westray, in Kirkwall on mainland Orkney, or they are knitted here in the workshop. Each piece is well travelled during its different stages of production, whether by road, sea or air. Regardless of its journey the knitwear ends up back in the workshop in Westray to be finished, checked and washed before being lovingly packed up and sent out to our customers.  

Our garments are knitted by hand using domestic knitting machines. They are then finished by linking, or in many cases skilfully hand grafted. Many items travel between two or three ladies who expertly complete each stage of the process using their particular skill. We are extremely lucky to have such a skilled group of people working with us.

We are proud to say that we take a sustainable approach to our knitwear, meaning most of our online purchases are either made to order or part of a small batch production. This keeps wastage down to a minimum.  

Because of this, please allow up to two weeks turnaround from placing your order. However, in many cases, this time may be much shorter if the item is currently in stock. Delivery is dependent on the volumes of knitwear going through the workshop at one time. If there is to be a longer delay on your orders dispatch, we would inform you immediately. 

Many of our knitwear pieces come in styles with one size fits all, with the exception of our tunics which are a more fitted range. Please see our knitwear size guide for help on this. 

We want you to feel good in our knitwear. As many of our pieces are made to order we are happy to provide a made-to-measure service. However due to the added time implications and consultations, there is an additional charge of 10% added to the cost.