During our first visit to Foula in 2013 we met Magnus and Justyna Holbourn who had just set up Foula Wool, selling yarn from their hardy sheep. We watched Magnus clip the sheep with hand sheers, and demonstrate how in olden times a sharpened butter knife was used to cut at the separation between the old an new fleece. And my daughters were allowed to roo a few sheep  — pulling plucks of the old wool by hand — as done by Shetland children in past generations. In following years we helped bring in the sheep for clipping, clipped the odd sheep, and experienced how the reputation of Foula wool gradually grew.
Wool from the most traditional Shetland Sheep
Foula sheep are the most traditional strain of Shetland sheep, escaping cross-breeding and ‘improvement’ due to Foula’s isolation and the need for hardy animals, adapted to the rugged conditions on the Foula scattald (common grazing land). The sheep are extremely colourful, and Magnus selects the wool into seven traditional natural shades: black, moorit, fawn, mioget, grey, light grey and white.
There are rumours that Foula wool contains too much hair to make quality knitting yarn, but Magnus dispelled that myth, explaining that the quality of the yarn is determined by careful selection and timely clipping. And the wool Magnus showed us was indeed extremely soft and warm.
Foula wool projects
On our first trip we bought 2.2kg of wool, in a range of colours. I’ve knitted Gonda a warm jumper from the wool, and Hilde knitted a herself a pinnafore, which you can read about in separate posts. The yarn is very soft, warm and feels like it’s hard wearing. I still have enough wool left to knit myself a warm cardigan, which should be ideal to wear whilst working in the garden.
I can only agree with Magnus and Justyna that Foula wool is a soft and sturdy yarn with ‘plenty of character’. The wool has  true Shetland crofting heritage, providing a direct link to the wild Foula landscape.
Further information
Foula Wool is dynamic new company, slowly extending its popularity whilst finding ways to increase production and develop new applications. Numerous blogs have now written enthusiastically about the wool, and there is an increasing number of patterns designed specifically for Foula Wool by Kate Davies, Hazel Tindall and Tom of Holland.
Visit the Foula Wool website
Read blogs by Hazel Tindall, Kate Davies, Knit British and Tom of Holland.
