Meet the tradespeople reviving the woollen mill tradition of Wales - ITVX 

it would be great to see the wool industry in the UK make a comeback. You can't get more environment friendly than wool.

We need quality back ! I really hope people will buy more quality clothing made with wool , such a good feeling to have pieces that last and look great .

Well done, Hamish! I can only say my nearly 80 years have been spent with wool, needles, hooks, and a 4-harness loom from Sweden in my "living" room making beautiful clothes for my entire family, friends and even complete strangers. Teaching adult men & women (some with special needs), as well as small children (many with ADHD), for the last 30 years has been my greatest joy. I have had a love affair with wool from early childhood when I sat with my blind grandmother to learn how to crochet, do hairpin lace, and embroidery. As an adult rejoining the workforce in a big city, I bought my suits from Kerry Woolen Mills in Ireland in the 1970's. Even today, a USA company (Overland Sheepskin Co.) provides all things sheep for my family gifts other than what I still produce myself with fabulous yarns I acquire from all over the world. I can't thank you enough Hamish for bringing your excellent video from Wales to all of us around the globe. I am rabid for more of the same❣️👍😊

This is awesome! As a person living in a cold country, half the year, i wear wool. Also an outdoor person, I'm tired of all the synthetic active wear on the market. NOTHING beats wool! 👍😎🇨🇦❄🐑

Wool is an amazing fibre it not only deserves a come back, we need it to!

What a lovely film! I so love how Hamish talks about how lucky he was to grow up on Auskerry, he could just as well have complained about having been stuck on an island all his childhood and he didn't. So nice to hear a person go on about the positive and I hope this wool industry flourishes in the future. Beautiful fabric they are turning out. I am a knitter and it is my calm in this turbulent world we live in today. With love from Canada🍁

Lovely wool. It's so superior to polyester. Let's hope we can all enjoy wearing it and using it as insulation, etc.

My wife’s parents farmed around 20 sheep here in Newfoundland and only gave it up a few years ago. They would shear the sheep in the fall and send it to Quebec for processing. Her mom would knit socks and slippers that were sold or given as Xmas gifts. I still have a few pairs for our cold winters. I love watching your videos on the island as it reminds me of a my childhood growing up in outport Newfoundland.

As a handweaver and handspinner from Germany, seeing this makes my heart sing! 💓

Thanks, Hamish. I hope Scotland & England also can join in this effort.

I am so happy that the wool industry has gained interest again. Slow but as long as it is progressing. I live in the states and learned weaving some 20+ years ago. I love it. I have branched out to spinning, rug hooking etc. thank you for such informational material.

Brilliant little film. Thank you …Why don’t we appreciate the joy of wool? How magical is it that fleece shorn from sheep can become so many different types, patterns and colours of fabric always amazes me. I do hope that the industry does grow again as we appreciate wool again and that the farmers are paid for fleeces more respectfully.

We had the privilege of visiting Trefriw Mill on our trip to Wales. It was so interesting.

Let’s hope this wool revolution includes the workers of the mills all sharing ownership. This is wonderful to see.

I was a woollen and silk designer for many years and came from a textile family. I’ve been in love with wool forever. I worked in a mill On a hand loom showing people how cloth was woven. Like lots of things, people never think where it comes from. I’d love to get my hands on a 16 shaft dobby loom! I saw a post on Facebook about a man who was rebuilding an old mill in South Wales. I lost the post, I would have loved to go and help.

This would be a change all of society would benefit. Quality craftsmen making a decent living producing quality goods.

Wool is such a fabulous cloth, so versatile, warm and luxurious. I am thrilled there is hope stirring within the industry again. 🤞🙏👍

A stunning interesting vlog. We need to seriously bring methods and industries like this back.

Thanks, I really enjoyed this short film on one of my favorite subjects. Wool. Nothing compares to it and I wish everybody got a chance to really get to know this incredible fiber. But it’s more than that. It’s the dedicated craftspeople/artisans who transform fleece into stunning fabrics ( and yarns ) and who keep beautiful traditions alive ❤

Thank you for presenting this lovely story. It is edifying to learned about the preservation efforts of the country and the potential of the updated industry.

So wonderful to see.❤❤❤

Very enjoyable video. Learned so much. Of course wool is sustainable but we really haven't been thinking of it that way. I hope the dragon wakes up and your 600 sheep are part of it. Also, how great is it to have those master craftsmen taking time preserve the art of yarn making and weaving. So wise to collaborate and share successes to keep the craft alive for future generations.

Salt of the Earth sort of people😊

That gladdens my heart ❤

Thank you for the new video Hamish. I have been working with will for about 20 years now. Weaving spinning felting and anything else I can think of to do. I really appreciate how much this industry means to you and your family.

Considering the global nature of our world now I think the wool industry really has a good chance at thriving. I live in a frozen place for 1/2 the year and cotton or synthetic fibers will kill you if you get caught out. Wool is naturally moisture wicking and water resistant. It keeps your toes warm and your back dry. I'm also in awe at the whole, beautiful process. I know several fiber artists and they will only work with natural fiber. When they are creating a piece from high quality wool, they have a real reverence for the material. It's a beautiful thing to see. Great Video. I love seeing the Welsh tradition being kept alive. If I ever get to Wales I'll surely put that museum on my must see list.

Imagine those who invented and built these machines. My off the boat Italian grandfather who came to US in his mid 20s with wife and 2 young kids and who never finished elementary school was a tool and die maker self taught. My father is still alive at 96 and was youngest of 4 so not sure when grandfather got here. There was nothing grandfather could not build. He built his own own on a big lot homestead in upstate NY. When his younger brother and 2 younger sisters came over from Italy and married he built their houses and homesteads right next to his. He went on to work for GE and tool and die maker designing with engineers machines that GE used for production. The people that design, build maintain, make replacement parts for these old machines were in my eyes absolutely amazing (with no computers)

❤ Love my woolen socks, sweaters, berets, long underwear, slacks, etc.!!! I even had woolen covers for our children’s cotton diapers! So soft!

This is WONDERFUL and I thank you for it. Sustainable decency of product that supports a better earth and all of us on it. As a handspinner/weaver of small textiles, I understand the notion of getting the passion for it into the blood. It has been the pleasure of my long life to work with natural fibers!

Love wool! Nothing better!

Thank You , I love your Series, I follow you from down here down under ,in Sydney Australia, Todays episode briefly touched on my own story, many, many. years, ago when I was a lad I worked out at Parramatta a outer west Sydney suburb, at the Sydney Woollen Mills they are long gone now , I worked as a Twister. The Twisters job is to join the threads of Wool on the reels to the fabric in the loom, ...They were the days

So happy to find another video from you today😃 Thank you for sharing this!

I love wool. Its warm, waterproof and has many great qualities.

We need hands on industry across the planet to be reborn. Small business, home industry and craftsmanship must not go away. Praying for the will industry in Wales.

Beautifully presented wools is so warm :) its beats a flesse jacket any day :) Thank You for your lovely Thoughtful Channel! Best wishes from 🇨🇦✨ west coast on the Pacific Ocean 🌊

Brilliant video, how wonderful you have brought to light these dedicated skilled people keeping wool processing alive. It is really heart warming to see and I do hope from the bottom of my heart that they can revive and make people fall in love with wool again. Thank you for sharing this story.

It would be wonderful if wool was as revered as it was before imports

Loved this vlog 🥰

Nice to see, cheers to everyones efforts and dedication to save this industry!

Loved this video i got myself a couple of wool jumpers this last winter so much better than anything else. Thanks for sharing keep up your fantastic work 👍🇬🇧

Hi Hamish, I commented a few day's ago but it seems tae have disappeared, hope the revival of the wool industry continues as the hard work of the producers like you're parents deserve the respect of all the wool wearer's worldwide, 🐏🐑🐏🐑👍🏻,cheers fae Pat

Wonderful. Please do more of these films.

Fabulous! Thank you for sharing. I love seeing the comeback of mills, especially textiles, whether they're woolen, cotton, linen in the UK and US. I live in Virginia which used to have many cotton mills and garment manufacturers. As a 68 year old, watching them be destroyed in mynlifetime by cheap imported fabrics and clothing has been heartbreaking. (PS. I love textiles ...Period! 😊)

This is excellent news! Beautiful fabric.

Thank you all for your hard work.

This made me emotional. ❤

Discovered your channel a few months ago, What an amazing family history & story, I’m surprised it wasn’t told & filmed for RU-vid many years ago. Will be purchasing a lambskin for sure, it was very interesting watching it being processed & packed onto the boat. Wool is a superior material, I’m an avid outdoors lover, hiking & camping, no synthetic material comes close.

Brilliant report, Hamish. Thank you!

I enjoyed this video very much. We need more like it!

It was a tragedy that these skills were close to lost forever in the 80s and 90s. So much competition from countries with low labour costs, low material costs and good exchange rates. I live in Western Australia and there are half a dozen fabric retail franchises churning out poor quality synthetic fibres of zero value and we have no outlets for quality fabric. The closest would be a 3,000 mile plane flight to Adelaide or Melbourne and how green is a jet trip?? I would treasure a piece of woven Welsh woollen fabric for a warm, long lived, ecologically sound piece of clothing. Long live the old crafts and priceless fibres. Thank you for this enlightening piece of journalism. Well done.

Best to you all!

I enjoyed that with my porridge and toast this morning, great to see a mini revival and folk keeping these skills alive, its so important that these and other skills like roof thatcher's, slate industry, cotton mills are not lost. Thanks Hamish

I can't help but think that such a sustainable product should be in high demand. But the "sustainability" machine may not be willing to make room for the real thing. Thanks again for your report. I visited Wales many years ago and it seemed to me there were more sheep than people in some places. I hope they can make a go of the wool industry again. ( By the way, those folks should be using ear protection. Mills caused a lot of hearing impairment during the industrial revolution.)

Seriously impressive so much goes on behind the scenes and all of those involved who help to create the wonderful end results the gifts from nature and its inhabitants… always am amazed with its products … so tactile so filled with comfort and warmth blessings wished for all of those involved in this process and their time and efforts to keep this ancient skill alive and educating others … seems the old ways always come back and gain resurgence…and Thank you Hamish for sharing with us all…stay blessed …

Thank you for this. I think natural fabrics like wool are making a comeback. If we look at the cost per wearing, it is much cheaper to invest in a wool garment that lasts for years than a cheap polyester material that ends up in the rubbish heap after a few wearings. My ancestors came to Nova Scotia from Ireland and sheared the sheep, spun the wool, and wove the cloth on the farm I grew up on. It instilled in me the love of good quality fabrics and I yearn for a revival of those days. Seeing your video makes my heart sing. 🙂

Incredible resource, fabric.... Yeah for wool. I'm a crafter whose just added in wool offcuts to use in quilting.. You can even buy wool stuffed duvets called Baavets... Wool rocks!

Thanks for sharing the Welsh wool mill! What a fun video. As an avid knitter, crocheter, and occasional spinner and dyer, I love all things wool. I've toured a semi-local wool mill that makes yarn from wool grown in our area (Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, etc.) It was quite different from this mill. Very interesting to see the differences.

Fascinating video 😊

Oh so happy - wish we could do this here in Australia.

This is absolutely wonderful. Thank you for this wonderful history. I used to weave rugs in Peter Collingwood ,of the UK, style.

I am a huge fan of wool and certainly Welsh wool. Wool is my favorite product for keeping me warm. Nothing works better. I still have 1 or 2 wool sweaters from the late 1980s. Wool is so durable. I hope wool makes a big comeback. Keep up the great work. PS-I have heard about the beautiful woolen Welsh blankets. I have you guys on my list.

😢Farmers in Wales hardly get 50p a fleece these days. My Nana had Cambrian blankets. I remember woollen mills all over Wales as a child. Beautiful, fascinating places to visit

One of my friends opened a woolen goods shop in Milwaukee Wisconsin in the early 80s selling products made from Jacob wool sourced from Wales.

Thank you.

I’m so happy for you and the overall engagement

What an impressive video. It's important to recognize the varied qualities of this great raw material. It needs some idealists with a lot of courage to start it on. I love wool and I hope it will succeed. Greetings from Bavaria Germany and best wishes to your parents

Not just in Wales, here in California, USA there have been new small mills processing fiber for hand spinners and farms that want to have added value products. Hopefully, the industry worldwide can keep coming back, we can't clothe the world sustainably in plastic.

Very informative, thank you for this perspective

I live in SC and I even love buy wool!!!! Natural fibers that what people want.

world class content

Good work! Thank you!

A really interesting & enjoyable episode well done 👍👍

Thanks for another great vlog.

Another wonderful video! ❤️🇨🇦

Good video

Outstanding work sir.

Thank you for an interesting video, the Welsh fabric and woven blankets are beautiful, so hope they can revive it. I'm a knitter and have a strict budget. The English wool like Rowen is out of my reach and often use German wool Scandinavian yarn which is more affordable. But it seems as though they kept their production going from the 1800s. And they use every bit of it. I know on your Mother also spins wool, has she got a website? Yorkshire spinners also produce yarn. I think I am in the wrong part of the country in Cambridge. In Scandinavia it is part of the children's education, boys and girls, to knitting, sewing, capentry etc. so clever because I think it develops the brain in other ways than academically. Thanks again.

I truly hope they will grow and do well. I would gladly pay a premium for wales woolen textile. Linda in the US

I live in a warm climate where I had to turn on the air conditioning on May 10 this year and it will still be on in September! Yet I wear wool socks except for July and August! I would love wool underwear but can’t afford it! I just ordered wool jersey and will start making my own! As much as I love wool, I can’t pay 70 US dollars per pair! But I did splurge for 2 sets of merino long underwear for $260! I can’t live without it! Also just ordered a wool mattress! I hope wool comes back so that everyone can afford to find out the lovely thermal qualities of wool!

those great entire buildings and I can do everything in there from washed fleece to warm scarf - only a few scarves per year as compared to their myriads, but still, seeing it all together, I have to admit I'm a bit chuffed with myself over my ability to draft and spin and warp and weave!

I worked on a floor loom I loved that very much.

I'm a fiber artist and I love Wool and it is getting strong here in the USA not that I'm proud of my Chelz in the USA I am proud of the artist

Wool is great, I'm a big supporter of wool, we just need to make sure the industry allows for the support of all aspects, reforesting depleted lands, providing a good income and incentive to farmers to sustainably farm rather than overstock and ensuring that wool is promoted in a sustainable way - mending/reusing/not suggesting everyone immediately throw out their trousers for woollen ones etc.

I’m still using a ww1 issue Australian wool blanket during winter in Australia at my rural property. They last >100 years.

I so much want wool cloth to make a real comeback! I infinitely prefer wool to any man-made fibre, but it is so expensive to buy by the yard (or metre!) to make clothes! Hopefully more production would help bring prices down.

Thank you for your video. I'm sure most people realise the benefits of wool but the biggest hurdle is price. It's so expensive and sadly many people just can't afford it.

The big four-heddle loom was from my in-laws family.

thanks for this interesting report..any chance u can note the mills you have been featuring?. thank you!!!!

Wondering if the seaweed adds to the wools properties over time has the wool the sheep produce changed in texture, length, or softness? Hum.. and if you eat a lamb who grew fat off the seaweed does that count as eating seaweed lol I love dried seaweed and add it to lots of soups but their meat might be also rich in the oils of the sea kelp ? Glad the woolen mills are still thriving there : ) lovely video of the process 🐑

I need this.... so sick of the "wool fabric" we get locally. Australia is one the largest wool producers and yet we can't even buy a wool jumper. So this is encouraging. Can I talk you to coming to Australia and bringing your wool with you (yarn and cloth)

Maybe the farmers that consider their wool a waste product should donate it to some schools (or a foundation that figures out where to send it) so students and younger people gain an interest and learn or possibly find new ways to treat it. Spark the interest and send them out to work with the masters on a rotating basis

Great film (I don't know if you remember, but I ran into you while you were at university a few years ago now). One question, if you know the answer: where do they have their wool scoured? My sense is that the limited capacity of scouring is one bottleneck in the industry at this point.

The fabric they're producing speaks to my soul. Where can i buy some?

The true Welsh dont hold Cardiff to be "Welsh". We of Gwynedd have long said "they are not true Welsh down there". And recent studies of the many immigrants, not only from England but European Balkans, and DNA studies bear this out. But I'm very glad to see this ancient Celtic practise still there, and nicely recorded here.

Sheep farming is, for some people who are into conservation and ecology, controversial. They say that sheep create 'artificial' landscapes detrimental to a natural and richer biodiversity. Some say that nature conservation means that sheep farming should be strictly controlled. The future will be tough for all of us: producers and consumers alike.

I believe what we as consumers are warming up to is the fact that" synthetic" fabrics are not as economically viable as natural fiber fabrics. For example, synthetic fabrics are zzhot to wear.Unvomgotable in warmer climates. Something out Great Great grandparents New long before the synthetics came along. I love wool in Winter ! I have vintage blankets,coats skirts and sometimes if I get lucky I can find yardage wool at estate sales. I'm holding on to 4 yards of 60" wide fabric to make a. Ansemble from. Skirt, shawl vest and Mabe a jacket if I wiggle the patterns right. Also wool along with Cotton and Cotton / linen blend make very comfortably cool clothing for Summer in my Southern ,USA State of South Carolina. Really all over the south we knew in very early vintage years how to wear the lighter fabrics in Summer and Woolen ,even light weight woolen fabric in all climates. I love the feel of wool in Winter. The blankets really are the warmest and I love all the patterns made from hand loomed wool. Bravo Welsh Wool Industry for your come back. Good luck and I'm pulling for your Success. The old sometimes is always better.🐏🐑🐑🐑🐑💜✌️🇺🇲🙏

Longer videos please! love to see the videos but they are too short and too irregular

Not only in Wales we had this happen in Poland it was over 100 years business it’s all gone .

I would be interested in knowing how your parents’ wool is different from others due to their diet, as well as location. Have there been any tests done? Is that even a thing?

I'm noticing that the type of wool is specific to a certain kind of sheep. The willow machine that precedes the carder would not work for other types of wool. I'll bet the meat and cheese made from the milk from those seaweed-eating sheep is delicious, though they are breed just for fiber.