Behind the Wool: A Heritage Collaboration for British Wool’s 75 Years
October is #WoolMonth, and this year it feels extra special, in the Anderson household. I’m thrilled to finally share something that’s been quietly in the works — my new collaboration with British Wool, created to celebrate 75 years of their incredible work supporting sheep farmers across the UK! It’s a project that feels deeply personal, blending my love for wool, sustainability, and storytelling with the heritage that runs right through our own family and farming life.
Wool with Roots
Our connection to British Wool runs deep. As members ourselves, the Anderson family have long believed in the importance of supporting our national wool board — from the clip on the farm to the final product that lands in your hands.
Neil’s family have farmed in the Scottish Borders for generations — from his grandfather Bill and wife Madge, passed down to Syd and Gill, (Neil’s parents), and onto their sons Ross, Neil and Scott. Their farming knowledge lives on generation after generation, with the south country Cheviot sheep at the heart of it all.
So when this collaboration opportunity arose with British Wool, it felt less like a collaboration and more like a celebration of continuation! Another chapter in a family and farming story that’s been unfolding for decades.
Scottish Borders to Hollywood
While sorting through some old family photographs recently, we came across one that stopped me in my tracks. It was a picture of Neil’s late grandmother Madge working at Lyle & Scott Ltd, carefully packaging a sweater destined for none other than Marilyn Monroe.
It’s such a beautiful reminder of how fibre connects us — from the Scottish Borders to Hollywood, from shepherds on the hills to the skilled makers and hands behind every loop. That same care, tradition, and pride in material still loops through everything we do today. It’s why I’m so passionate about manufacturing in the UK and in particular in Hawick.
Made in Hawick
Hawick has had decades of manufacturing success, it’s famously known as “the town of cashmere” but to me, it should be famously known as “the town of craftsmanship” above all else. If it weren’t for the skilled artisans born and bred in the Scottish Borders, the knitwear and fashion industry would simply collapse. We’re incredibly lucky to have a breadth of skill and knowledge here in my home town.
I’m so proud to have been able to work alongside the men and women in Teviot Knitwear Ltd Hawick — without whom I wouldn’t be able to take on such a collaborative project. It is with great confidence in Allan and Kevin’s team that I brought my design to life. I was on hand at every stage of production, and it is such a privilege to be able to go from my studio straight down to the mill to check on the progress of the cardigan in real time.
75 Years of British Wool
Since 1950, British Wool has represented the backbone of the UK’s sheep industry — collecting, grading, and promoting the fibre that grows from our fields and flocks.
Their 75th anniversary marks not just a milestone of time, but a celebration of the people and places that keep this story alive: the farmers, graders, spinners, designers, and everyone who believes that wool still has a place in the modern world.
Yesterday, as the unveiling of the project I visited my local British Wool depots as part of the anniversary celebrations. Watching the bales arrive to the grading table after being carefully stacked with precision, I was struck by the sheer skill and rhythm of the work. Every fleece tells a story; every bundle represents hours, in fact years, of care and commitment from the farmers and graders. It was grounding to see the scale of the system and realise that even from our small corner of the UK, our wool joins a vast network that stretches the length and breadth of the country. It was encouraging to hear of the increase in demand at the sales just past for the bales of wool.
With Thanks
I’d also like to extend my thanks to the Campaign for Wool for all their incredible work promoting the versatility and importance of wool, and to His Majesty The King for his ongoing support of the wool industry. Initiatives like these ensure that British Wool and the people who produce it continue to be recognised and celebrated, helping to sustain farming, heritage, and craft for future generations.
Our Collaboration: Crafting with Purpose
This project brings together everything I care most about — heritage, craftsmanship, and sustainability. Each design decision in the collaboration was made with my waste-not ethos, working with the new collection from Shepley yarns, a British wool source, to create a limited-edition garment that honours tradition while embracing conscious design.
The 75th anniversary design began with a single cone of British Wool and my passion for the heritage of shepherds who have cared for sheep for centuries. Inspired by the knowledge of my in-laws, and the skills I’ve been learning alongside my husband, I wanted to honour this craft through my own skill and knowledge in the knitwear industry.
What started as a classic design evolved into a collaboration with British Wool, leading me to create a heritage collection using their Shepley yarn card. British Wool has chosen to license one of my designs for their anniversary, which I’m proud to have showcased at my local depot day this Wool Month.
As designer, creative director, and consultant, I’ve guided the project at every stage, and I’m proud to work with Teviot Knitwear in Hawick, whose local expertise has helped bring my vision to life.
Independent, collaborative, and sustainably crafted — that’s Loops of Colour.
The Design: Every Loop Tells a Story
This 75th anniversary cardigan began as a deeply personal concept — a celebration of British Wool’s heritage and our family’s connection to the farming and fibre community.
Every design detail tells a story: a ribbed waistband in sunburst yellow glows like the rising sun, while Wimbledon-green and blue front panels echo the fields and British Wool logo. A rainbow Nepp pocket adds my playful, colourful signature, and a ‘1950’ hand intarsia on the sleeve commemorates 75 years of British Wool’s heritage, crafted using traditional artisan skill.
Hand intarsia manufactured with thanks, by Teviot Knitwear Ltd. Hawick.
Cherry-red strapping with neutral buttons runs down the centre, symbolising the shepherd’s crook, while the back panel of white rainbow Nepp celebrates the sheep and farmers behind the wool. It won’t be long before you start to see all the ewes in the field covered in different colours across the farms, it’s tupping season which marks the start of the next season. That’s once everyone has secured their rams this Monday…Designed as a non-gendered piece, it combines bold colour, craftsmanship, and heritage — a wearable tribute to British farming and timeless, evolving knitwear design.
I hope this piece of history in British manufacturing brings warmth, joy, and pride to everyone who wears it.
This collaboration celebrates:
• Provenance – It tells it’s story, tracing the journey from hill to hand here in Hawick.
• Heritage – A nod to the craft and care of generations before us.
• Sustainability – Ensuring nothing goes to waste.
It’s a natural continuation of my design philosophy — working with what we have, respecting where it comes from, and creating something that lasts.
A Shared Story
This partnership with British Wool feels incredibly personal. It’s rooted not only in my creative practice but in the landscape outside our door, in the Cheviot flock grazing our hills, and in the generations who have lived and worked this land before us.
It feels like a full-circle moment: from the clip on the farm to the cardigan in my hands, from the depot floor to the studio table, all connected by this extraordinary fibre.
Looking Ahead
The limited-edition British Wool 75th Anniversary Cardigan will be available for pre-order, with limited quantities released in small, considered batches. A piece that marks both our heritage and the future of sustainable knitwear, made to order — slow fashion, done the right way.
If you’d like to be first to know when pre-orders open, you can join my mailing list via my website and keep an eye on my social channels for the announcement.
It’s been such a privilege to create something that feels like a bridge — between generations, between design and farming, between local roots and national heritage.
I can’t wait to share it with you — and to invite you, as always, behind the wool.
With love and loops,
