The Case for Lambswool Accessories
Anna Wheeler ~ Founder and Designer
In the last journal entry, I wrote about accessorising rather than accumulating, about adding the right small items to a wardrobe rather than buying more clothing. This entry is about what that small thing; is made from, because the material is what decides whether any of that argument holds up in practice.
i. Why I keep returning to lambswool
I have written elsewhere in this journal about why lambswool runs through almost everything I design, the softness of it, where it comes from, the way it feels off the machine on a first sample. This entry looks at something more specific: how lambswool behaves as an accessory, the piece you reach for most and put through the most, which asks something different of a fibre than a jumper you put on once in the morning and leave alone all day.
ii. What that means for something you wear every day
An accessory gets more handling than almost anything else you own. It goes on and off several times a day, gets folded into a coat pocket or a bag or sits against a collar in the rain. For me Lambswool holds up to that kind of day-to-day handling.
Take the Foxcote Twisted Snood, I reach for it almost daily. It goes on in the porch before I leave the house or studio and I normally wear it from September to April each year; in the colder months I have it on in the studio all day. Its so resilient and I always feel-good wearing it. This scarf is meant to be lived in rather than kept for best as the Lambswool holds that shape, twist after twist, day after day.
The Blockley scarf is another one I get lots of feedback from customers on, these scarves use boucle and merino yarn and have that same lovely durable longevity to them. They are meant to be used daily on repeat, keep their shape, colour and softness throughout the years. I choose all my yarns wisely drawing from the twenty-five years of experience I gained working for other luxury brands earlier in my career.
iii. The questions I get asked most
Two questions come up more than any others. Is lambswool sustainable? Genuinely, yes, when itis farmed and processed responsibly. It comes from an animal that needs shearing regardless of what happens to the fleece afterwards, and a well-made piece will outlast a synthetic equivalent many times over, which is the most honest measure of sustainability I know how to offer.
How do you wash this, is it hand wash only? I personally don’t wash my knits that much, I like to air them instead and this is how wool like to be treated too. Simply hang outside or by an open window and let the fresh air do the work. I sometimes use a little spray of knitwear mist for a just washed freshen-up smell. If you needed to wash, do this once a season or so, I recommend hand wash in a basin of cool water with a wool-safe detergent, or take it to a dry cleaner you trust.
The most important part of hand washing your knits is to not ring it out by twisting it. This is miss shape the item and put extra stress on the fibres, making it look old and worn. I always reshape the knit when wet on a bath towel and roll them up together like a Swiss roll. If you add presser to the Swiss roll the water from the knit will be transfer onto bath towel so you can safely hang it out flat to dry. Cared for that way, a lambswool knit should still look good for many years.
iv. Where it comes from
My lambswool is RWS-certified, spun by Todd and Duncan at Loch Leven in Scotland. Every piece is then designed here in my studio and knitted at a small factory in Leicestershire. I like knowing exactly where the yarn has been before it reaches my studio. It holds up to the handling an accessory gets with daily use, it keeps its colour and shape through years of wear, and it feels genuinely good against the skin every single time you put it on. An accessory that completes an outfit has to hold up to repeated wear. That is what timeless accessorising means to me: a piece still doing its job three winters after you bought it.