Under One Roof

The Orkney Scarf is made at one of the last vertical mills in the UK - founded in 1837. Here’s a look at the different stages of production.

In a vertical mill, every stage of production happens under one roof. It’s a fascinating process. Some of the machines are cutting edge, others are over a century old and still in regular use. With control at every step, the quality of the end product is second to none.

RAW WOOL

The story of all good cloth starts out on the hills. Bales of raw wool are sent by long-standing suppliers who only work with farmers known to produce high-quality merino. On arrival, the wool is checked, graded and stored in a dedicated warehouse, waiting to be transformed into fabric.

DYE HOUSE

From the warehouse, the wool heads to the dye house. Here it’s coloured using precise combinations of dye, pressure, temperature and time. The mill can make more than 500 different shades and keeps a library of recipes and samples, so any colour in the archive can be reproduced. This stage is highly skilled and has a big influence on how the finished yarn looks.

BLENDING

For each yarn, up to seven shades of wool are blended together to make what looks like a single colour. That’s what gives wool cloth so much depth – one colour from a distance, an impressionist painting up close. The Orkney Scarf uses two colours to make the diagonal pattern. On paper that sounds simple. In practice, the eye is seeing fourteen tones working together.

CARDING

Blending sorts the colours. Carding sorts the fibres. Lightly misted with water and oil, the wool passes through rows of combed rollers that tease the fibres in one direction, then the other. Impurities are removed. Knots are broken up. At the end of the process, the fibres are brought into line so the fabric will be soft, smooth and consistent. They’re then wound onto a spool, ready for spinning.

SPINNING

Spinning turns loose fibre into strong yarn. On six spinning frames, the wool is drawn out and given a precise number of twists per inch. The result is a fine but durable thread – ideal for a scarf that’s warm, soft and built to last. The yarn is then wound onto cones and checked for even thickness. Any faults are removed and the ends are thermally joined rather than knotted, so the yarn will weave into smooth cloth.

WARPING

Warping is where the pattern starts to appear. The cones are set up on a large drum and the lengthwise threads – the warp – are wound in order. This is slow, meticulous work. A roll of cloth can need up to 2,000 individual threads across the width of the fabric. Colours have to be in an exact sequence. Every thread is checked by hand. If one is out of place, the design will be affected.

WEAVING

Weaving is the moment the cloth comes to life. Automatic rapier looms carry the weft (the horizontal threads) back and forth through the warp. Row by row, the length grows. Once complete, every inch of fabric is inspected three times: first when it comes off the loom, after finishing, and before it leaves the building – ensuring the highest quality standards are met.

SCOURING, MILLING + FINISHING

Fresh from the loom, the fabric is still carrying oils from spinning and weaving. Scouring fixes that. The cloth is washed in pure water drawn from boreholes 800 feet beneath the mill, then milled and dried. This is when the handle starts to change. The fabric relaxes, softens and takes on the luxurious feel you’d expect from a winter scarf. Finally, it’s cut and carefully pressed using specialised equipment to stabilise the cloth and remove any remaining shrinkage. Once labels are attached, the Orkney Scarf is ready for a cold winter’s morning.

 
ORKNEY SCARF - BUY NOW →

Under One Roof

The Orkney Scarf is made at one of the last vertical mills in the UK - founded in 1837. Here’s a look at the different stages of production.

In a vertical mill, every stage of production happens under one roof. It’s a fascinating process. Some of the machines are cutting edge, others are over a century old and still in regular use. With control at every step, the quality of the end product is second to none.

RAW WOOL

The story of all good cloth starts out on the hills. Bales of raw wool are sent by long-standing suppliers who only work with farmers known to produce high-quality merino. On arrival, the wool is checked, graded and stored in a dedicated warehouse, waiting to be transformed into fabric.

DYE HOUSE

From the warehouse, the wool heads to the dye house. Here it’s coloured using precise combinations of dye, pressure, temperature and time. The mill can make more than 500 different shades and keeps a library of recipes and samples, so any colour in the archive can be reproduced. This stage is highly skilled and has a big influence on how the finished yarn looks.

BLENDING

For each yarn, up to seven shades of wool are blended together to make what looks like a single colour. That’s what gives wool cloth so much depth – one colour from a distance, an impressionist painting up close. The Orkney Scarf uses two colours to make the diagonal pattern. On paper that sounds simple. In practice, the eye is seeing fourteen tones working together.

CARDING

Blending sorts the colours. Carding sorts the fibres. Lightly misted with water and oil, the wool passes through rows of combed rollers that tease the fibres in one direction, then the other. Impurities are removed. Knots are broken up. At the end of the process, the fibres are brought into line so the fabric will be soft, smooth and consistent. They’re then wound onto a spool, ready for spinning.

SPINNING

Spinning turns loose fibre into strong yarn. On six spinning frames, the wool is drawn out and given a precise number of twists per inch. The result is a fine but durable thread – ideal for a scarf that’s warm, soft and built to last. The yarn is then wound onto cones and checked for even thickness. Any faults are removed and the ends are thermally joined rather than knotted, so the yarn will weave into smooth cloth.

WARPING

Warping is where the pattern starts to appear. The cones are set up on a large drum and the lengthwise threads – the warp – are wound in order. This is slow, meticulous work. A roll of cloth can need up to 2,000 individual threads across the width of the fabric. Colours have to be in an exact sequence. Every thread is checked by hand. If one is out of place, the design will be affected.

WEAVING

Weaving is the moment the cloth comes to life. Automatic rapier looms carry the weft (the horizontal threads) back and forth through the warp. Row by row, the length grows. Once complete, every inch of fabric is inspected three times: first when it comes off the loom, after finishing, and before it leaves the building – ensuring the highest quality standards are met.

SCOURING, MILLING + FINISHING

Fresh from the loom, the fabric is still carrying oils from spinning and weaving. Scouring fixes that. The cloth is washed in pure water drawn from boreholes 800 feet beneath the mill, then milled and dried. This is when the handle starts to change. The fabric relaxes, softens and takes on the luxurious feel you’d expect from a winter scarf. Finally, it’s cut and carefully pressed using specialised equipment to stabilise the cloth and remove any remaining shrinkage. Once labels are attached, the Orkney Scarf is ready for a cold winter’s morning.

 
ORKNEY SCARF - BUY NOW →