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Tag Archive for: knitwear

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Merino FlockGreat Ocean Road Woollen Mill

Our Fibre: Natural, non-mulesed, local

June 25, 2020/in Uncategorized /by GORWM

We get a lot of comments from wonderful people who love our yarns and can’t believe how soft and real they feel.  The biggest reason they feel like they do is simply down to the animals that spend all year growing that glorious fibre. (Our merino, alpaca and polwarth)

Obviously, I would love to take all of the credit: it must be my processing, the minimalistic approach, my spinning and skeining, but really, it all begins in the paddock with each and every animal. The minimalistic processing just lets the fibre show off all of its wonderful attributes and glory!

Isabel and I believe strongly in sustainability. Wool and alpaca are about as sustainable as you can get! It is natural, it is biodegradable and can be processed without harsh chemicals. We have about 35 of our own alpacas which we use in our yarns and knitwear and when it comes to sourcing additional fibre we want to take that sustainable approach to where we source our fibre from. So, for us local is great, the closer to the mill the better and we buy from farmers who care greatly (like us) about their animals.

Alpaca:

All of our alpaca comes from Victoria! All of our huacaya alpaca fibre actually comes from Western Victoria, no more than 100km from the mill. We regularly catch up with the alpaca farmers and know that they care for their animals and treat them kindly, gently and with respect. The fibre is then 100% processed on site by us!

Wool (non-mulesed):

Like our alpaca, the wool we buy is all from Victoria. In fact, we deal with a wool broker 30kms away to find the exact wool that we are looking for.

This year we have had to find a new merino farmer and Isabel and I have made the choice to go non-mulesed. Mulesing is a practice the merino farmers have used to prevent fly strike ( a particularly horrible thing). It can be done in a few different ways, using pain relief, no pain relief, freeze drying but at the end of the day we believe that it is better to breed sheep who don’t need this form of treatment to be done to them. That is why we buy certified “non-mulesed” fibre to ensure the sheep are not put through this stressful treatment.

The Polwarth wool we use is naturally non-mulesed so it doesn’t have that issue to begin with and in a few decades maybe all merino will be like this too.

Our sheep wool is scoured by a local company in Geelong, meeting strict Australian EPA regulations. It is only scoured (not carbonised) then sent to us (125km away) for processing.

Cotton:

Our cotton is 100% Australian. We know it uses a lot of water and can be a bit contentious, but isn’t it better to process it in Australia? Did you know that no other cotton is commercially processed in this country? Sad, but true.

Linen:

Australia doesn’t grow any linen (flax) for spinning so this is our only fibre that doesn’t come from around the corner, but rather from Europe. If we did, we would!

 

I hope this helps to give a little bit of an insight into our fibre and why we use what we use and why we are so passionate about sustainable. Shipping fibre around the world to get it processed at a cheaper rate isn’t sustainable, it doesn’t support Australian manufacturing, nor is it environmentally friendly.  Next time you buy a yarn, a sweater or anything that is knitted ask, is the fibre all natural? Is the fibre from happy animals? Has the fibre travelled the world to be processed? Has it been processed meeting Australian EPA standards?

There are so many different aspects involved along the way, and areas where we as a mill, but also you as an individual, can make a difference.

By asking questions you can make informed choices, you can help ensure animals are happy, healthy and respected. You can help support Australian businesses all along the supply chain.

Thanks for reading and I will be back soon with more about what we do and how we do it!

 

 

https://gorwm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/1-thats-the-one-a-flock-of-sheep-1.jpg 602 800 GORWM https://gorwm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Great-Ocean-Road-Woollen-Mill-Logo.png GORWM2020-06-25 16:36:002020-06-25 16:36:00Our Fibre: Natural, non-mulesed, local
Brioche scarf- dark grey/ white - natural in colourGreat Ocean Road Woollen Mill

Our Knitwear!

February 19, 2020/in Uncategorized /by GORWM

Welcome back! Today I would like to tell you about sustainable, ethical and Australian made knitwear.

During our mill tours we get people from all walks of life. Not every one that comes along enjoys to knot or crochet, I’m actually one of those! They do however love our yarns and how they are made. That got Isabel and I thinking about making our beautiful yarns into knitwear.

After a lot of research, a little wine and a lot of blind faith, we decided to invest in a commercial knitting machine and Zauber was born.  Zauber is the German word for magic and that is exactly what I thought this machine was. When you combine  this machine with our yarns the result is simply out of this world.

The Journey

It has been an interesting journey in its own right. I had to try to create yarns that would show of the amazing fibre we use and Isabel had to learn a whole new skill set: design, machine knitting techniques, the software and the machine itself, from operation to maintenance.  This journey still continues every day as new and interesting challenges arise.

Unknowingly what we have created is a unique, totally in house operation that is unrivalled in terms of sustainability, ethical production and environmental footprint. We source local fibre, we spin our own yarns, we knit our own knitwear and we wash and finish it all right here to!

The ethos that underpins our yarn making also goes into our fashion. This is  about slow fashion. We are about creating knitwear that will survive more than one season, both from wearing and from styling. We are about using the best fibre we can get our hands on and we want to do it all here, onsite, not sent offshore for the exploitation of a developing nation/people.

Australia’s manufacturing sector has taken a battering over the last 3 decades. Many skills in the textile world have been lost, exported along with the production. We want to do our little bit to ensure that those skills can stay here. That we can not only grow the best fibre in the world but we can also turn this into beautiful products right here.  Australian grown, Australian spun, Australian made. This is sustainable ethical and Australian made knitwear

We really hope you love our knitwear as much as us. It really is “Zauber”!

https://gorwm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Brioch-whitedark-grey.jpg 427 640 GORWM https://gorwm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Great-Ocean-Road-Woollen-Mill-Logo.png GORWM2020-02-19 09:02:472020-02-23 16:04:04Our Knitwear!

Latest Posts

  • Merino FlockGreat Ocean Road Woollen MillOur Fibre: Natural, non-mulesed, localJune 25, 2020 - 4:36 pm
  • Brioche scarf- dark grey/ white - natural in colourGreat Ocean Road Woollen MillOur Knitwear!February 19, 2020 - 9:02 am
  • YarnsOur Yarns: Sustainable, Luxurious.January 30, 2020 - 3:39 pm
  • Isabel and NickIn the beginning!January 30, 2020 - 3:38 pm

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This beautiful light grey merino/ alpaca vest is a This beautiful light grey merino/ alpaca vest is also now available in our online store ☺️
It is natural in colour, 100% Australian and ethically made all by us. 😊
Perfect for almost any occasion ☺️
🦙 
🐑
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#ethicalclothingaustralia #ethicalclothing #australianmade #australianfashion #ethicalfashion #slowfashion #sustainablefashion #ecofashion #ecofriendly #outfitoftheday #fashiongram #streetfashion #trend #lookoftheday #ethical #smallbusiness #artisan #cottageindustry #greatoceanroadwoollenmill #zauber_knitwear
I thought to share with you the release of our Sum I thought to share with you the release of our Summer Tee. 🥰
Ethically made here in Victoria by us - including the yarn 🧶 
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#summertop #knitwear #madeinaustralia #madebyme #ethicalclothingaustralia #ethicalclothing #summertime #slowfashion #sustainablefashionaustralia #sustainablefashion #sustainablefashionbrand #australianmade #shoplocal #artisan #greatoceanroadwoollenmill #zauber_knitwear @missfarmerjojo
🖤🦙🖤🦙🖤🦙 This little cutie was bor 🖤🦙🖤🦙🖤🦙
This little cutie was born late afternoon yesterday. 
In case you are wondering why she is wearing a little coat... it is unseasonably cool here at the moment. 🥰
🦙
#alpaca #alpacasofinstagram #cria #farmlife #countrylife #countyliving @nocturne_alpacas
We find it always exciting when we get fibre.... G We find it always exciting when we get fibre....
Got more beautiful black alpaca fibre today. 🖤🖤🖤
This time from Sue and John from Onyx Alpaca 
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#alpaca #nautralfibre #shearingseason #australiangrown #australianalpaca #yarn #lotsofnewprojectsahead #yarnsddict #yarnporn #fibreporn #knitwear #sustainablefashion #slowfashion  #ecofashion #greatoceanroadwoollenmill
The joys of a new paddock... ☺️🦙. . . #alp The joys of a new paddock... ☺️🦙. 
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#alpaca #alpacasofinstagram #newpaddock #farmlife #countryliving #countrylife #lifestyle
And this is how you knit a button hole on a knitti And this is how you knit a button hole on a knitting machine 🤩 
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#whomademyclothes #machineknitting #stoll #australianmade #productdevelopment #sustainablefashion #slowfashion #ecofashion #ethicalclothingaustralia #greatoceanroadwoollenmill @fran.pedrini
Nick and I wish you all a merry Christmas and love Nick and I wish you all a merry Christmas and lovely holiday season from our family to yours. 
🎄
In a year which has been difficult for many we would like to express our gratitude to all of you who have continued to support us. 
Thank you 🙏 
🎄
Stay safe, stay well. 
🎄
Merry Christmas 🎄❤️🎄❤️🎄
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#christmas #christmas2020 #holidayseason  #happyholidays
Hi everyone, we have decided to open the 1st Satur Hi everyone, we have decided to open the 1st Saturday of each month from 11-3pm. 
So, the next time we’ll be open is on 2nd January 😊
Mill tours can be booked through our website 😊
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#localyarnstore #localbusiness #smallbusiness #lys #yarn #yarnlove #australianmade #australianmadeandowned #visit12apostles #otwaysharvesttrail #visitgreatoceanroad #victoria
Just getting our mini-collection ready for the pho Just getting our mini-collection ready for the photographer @missfarmerjojo 😊
Just loving these colours 😍
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#knitwear #slowfashion #summertee #australianmade #shoplocal #sustainablefashion #sustainablefashionaustralia #localbusiness #local #ethicalclothingaustralia
These are the 4 colours of our Tee which we will b These are the 4 colours of our Tee which we will be releasing soon. 
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Apart from the linen these are Victorian grown, spun, dyed and knitted garments - all natural fibres. 
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#knitwear #fashion #sustainablefashion #ecofashion #slowfashion #ethicalclothingaustralia #australianmade #australianmadefashion #artist ##australianfashioncouncil #zauber_knitwear #geelongdyeing
Gudrun from @gk.knits is kindly offering a 20% dis Gudrun from @gk.knits is kindly offering a 20% discount for the following patters on Ravelry for our customers. 
🧶 Infinite Columns
🧶 Insieme 
🧶 Puro Hat
🧶 Twins in Mind 

(In the photo are Infinite Columns and Twins in Mind knitted with our La Bella Fingering yarn and the beanies will work too 😉)

So, with every order from us before Christmas 🎄 we’ll include the code (valid until 31/12/2020) 
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Thanks so much Gudrun 🙏🥰
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#gkknits #knitting #knit #knittersofinstagram #knittersoftheworld #knittersofaustralia #stricken #strikke #christmas2020 #giftideas #ravelrypattern #ravelry #greatoceanroadwoollenmill
A special thank you goes out to these wonderful sm A special thank you goes out to these wonderful small businesses who helped us making this a fantastic day 🙏😊: 
@tarndie 
@thelittleststitch @spincushions 
@timboonicecream 
@greatoceanroadpaddock2plate 
@geelongdyeing 
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#supportsmallbusiness #thankyou #local #localbusiness #greatoceanroadwoollenmill

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