Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers Ltd

90 North Road, Lerwick, Shetland Islands, U.K.

Get Real Shetland
100% Pure Wool from the Shetland Islands

Mail Order specialist suppliers of high quality Shetland Knitting Yarns, Shetland Wool, blended Shetland Lace, Raw Fleece, Tops, Knitting Patterns, Lace and Wool Knitting Kits and Hand Knitting Accessories.

Imitation, the sincerest form of flattery.

The term "Shetland Wool" is often used to describe a product for marketing purposes only and rarely refers to genuine "Shetland Grown" wool.  A quick check of the figures will demonstrate that there just isn't enough of it to substantiate all the "pedigree" or "100% Shetland Wool" claims that other vendors make and that only a small percentage of the quantity available worldwide is actually "Genuine Shetland Grown Wool".  It is in such short supply that it is getting increasingly difficult to purchase real Shetland Wool products locally (on Shetland) and it is an established fact that a large proportion of Shetland's "commercial" wool businesses import their yarns and raw wool from outside Shetland (rumoured, in one instance, from as far away as Australia!).

Located in Lerwick, capital of the Shetland Islands, Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers Ltd, have been long established as the biggest buyer of the Shetland Wool clip consistently buying, from the Shetland farming and crofting community, the major portion (more than 90%) of the Shetland Wool Clip.

Shetland's officially recorded sheep population during 2007 was 133,000 breeding ewes and, at an average fleece weight of 2kg, represent a total 'Shetland Grown' raw wool production of 266,000 kg.  During the 2007 season we purchased in excess of 240,00kg (again, 90%+) of the Island's total raw wool production of which approximately 50% (in keeping with previous years) was suitable for spinning into quality knitting yarns, the rest being diverted to other uses.

Each producers clip is weighed and recorded on a computerised tracking system and allocated a grading number. The raw wool is then carefully graded (sorted) according to it's quality.
From the very coarse grades, used for carpets, interlinings and mattresses, to the very finest soft handling wool used in high quality knitwear and laces great attention is paid to maintaining a consistent product range. 

When grading our finest wool, Super Fine, we must adhere to the following points.
* Style (crimp), breed characteristics and uniformity of quality.
* Strength, springiness and handle ( softness ).
* Fibre fineness, with high quality Shetland degree of fineness 56s - 60s.

The wool is then baled according to it's grade and shipped to one of the companies Bradford depots for further processing.
After further detailed sorting and scouring (washing), most of the wool is sold on to specialist users in the textile trade.
A percentage of the finest wool is spun into the high quality knitting yarns which we supply to home users and high quality textile manufacturers via our retail and mail order services.

Also available from ourselves are 100% Shetland Wool Tops in their undyed natural colours. These are ideal for hand spinning and felt making.

See our section on Shetland Sheep for even more information.

Jamieson & Smith (SHETLAND WOOL BROKERS) Ltd.,
90 North Road
Lerwick
Shetland Islands
United Kingdom
ZE1 OPQ
e-mail – sales@shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk

Telephone – 01595 693579 Fax – 01595 695009