The Ashford Wool Story
Ashford wool sliver is 100% grown and processed in New Zealand. Because we want to provide our customers with the best quality fibre, we now manage the whole process from farm to fibre artist.
From sheep farms across the South Island of New Zealand we only accept wool from grass-fed sheep, free from mulesing.
To ensure a consistent high-quality sliver, we only select wool with good length, free from breaks, high bulk, brightness, very low vegetable matter and within the correct micron range.
New Zealand has a temperate climate, so the sheep spend all year in grassy pastures resulting in wool that is free of dust, dirt, and thistles.
Milton Woollen Mill
In 2011 Ashford bought a line of machinery that was previously part of the 117 year old Milton Woollen Mill.
The mill is responsible for transforming our wool into sliver for spinners, weavers and felters worldwide.
Our Milton team are part of the Ashford family and are passionate about wool. They understand the needs of our customers and are committed to producing top-quality sliver.
The wool is washed (scoured) using a standard aqueous treatment at 60-70 degrees with an eco-friendly detergent that is biodegradable and breaks down quickly in water.
It is then dyed using Oeko-Tex 100 compliant dyes, carded, gilled and combed to align and remove any short fibres.
Our auto-leveller ensures the sliver is a standard thickness or kilotex (grams per metre) before being wound into 1kg (2.2lbs) balls.
Ashford sliver is then ready to spin, weave or felt without waste or further preparation. It is available in 100gm, 500gm and 1kg (3½ozs, 17½ozs and 2¼lbs) bags.
Choose from our range of Corriedale, Merino, Silk/Merino and Alpaca/Merino blends with confidence, knowing the wool is 100% NZ grown and prepared by a team that understands the needs of the fibre artist.
Take the Milton Mill Tour – See the video how our fibre is processed.