our yarn

By selecting only the most suitable fleece from different breeds and crofts around the island, we are able to combine the best properties from each, creating yarns that are strong and durable but with a soft and lustrous feel that can be worn against the skin.

Our knit yarn is mainly comprised of Scottish Mule, a breed now recognised in its own right, originating from a cross with Bluefaced Leicester and Blackface. We select the fleeces that retain more of the BFL characteristics which is the softest of all the native British breeds (long staple length, crimpy with a silky lustre), and combine it with a bit of Texel, Hebridean, Zwartbles and Charolais.

This results in a very special yarn, warm and hardwearing yet surprisingly soft and springy with a lovely bloom when washed. Its robust ‘toothy’ nature means it is a joy to work with and keeps its structure well in a knitted garment.

The collective colour of the island flock

Our natural shade, Silver, is a soft, warm grey that varies slightly with each edition, mirroring any changes that occur in the island flock. For us, this subtle shift in tone is one of the most interesting parts of the Iona Wool project, tracking time and change, and it’s a great pleasure to see different vintages being worn in company. Our first edition, IW1, was the darkest we’ve produced so far, benefiting from a double dose of Hebridean fleece. Since then, IW2, IW3, IW4 and IW5 have all been very similar tonally, with just slight variance in warmth to distinguish them.

The natural Silver comes ‘in oil’, that is, we leave the spinning oil on the yarn so it can be used in knitting machines as well as in hand knitting. Our colour range is dyed on the hank in small batches, into a range of shades inspired by our island surroundings, including the iconic Iona Postbox. All of the colours enjoy a great depth and harmony thanks to their shared base tone - and the skill of the dyers.

We spin our knit yarn into 4ply, DK and Aran, so it has a wide range of applications and is suitable for all your projects.