Ministry of Knits starts with the sheep. Which breed, which farmer, which region, which season. That determines what the yarn will be.
The research
The raw material - wool
Most wool on the Dutch market comes from far away. From Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Transported to China and processed there in factories you cannot simply walk into.
The Netherlands has over a million sheep. Their wool is sometimes processed into felt or fertilizer pellets, exported for very little money, or thrown away. That is where my research begins.
Ministry of Knits works with fleeces from Dutch sheep. By breed, by
farmer, by flock. I am investigating the differences in fiber, quality, and character.
Whatever the sheep produced that year, that is what becomes the yarn.
From fleece to yarn
5 breeds - 3 yarns
Ministry of Knits travels all over the country to collect wool.
Nathalie works together with sheep farmers all over the Netherlands. When shearing takes place, she is there.
Then the real work begins. She sorts the fleeces, lays them side by side, chooses. Which breed provides softness, which breed provides firmness?
Her compositions emerge from those choices. Sometimes she blends the colors based on what the sheep wear, sometimes the yarn is colored in an OEKO-TEX®-certified dye house.
No two batches are the same
The Texel sheep
Iconic Dutch wool.
On Texel, the Texel sheep was
kept for wool, milk, and meat. Wool was once very profitable, but nowadays
it is primarily about meat. As a result, there is still plenty of Texel wool
available, even though its economic value has faded into the background.
Classically, the Texel has a white coat, but the breed also features two special color variants:
Blue Texel:
Black and white wool fibers blend into a naturally mottled gray. Depending on the ratio, the wool ranges from light to dark gray, sometimes
with a characteristic bluish-gray sheen.
Badger-faced (Dassenkop):
Naturally dark, often deep black wool with white areas on the belly and underside.
This strong contrast creates the recognizable pattern.
Robust & characterful
The Texel sheep produces a large amount of wool with strong, long fibers. Its coarse, natural crimp provides exceptional resilience, elasticity, and volume. This makes it the ideal choice for sturdy, warm sweaters that perfectly hold their shape.
The Flevolander
Developed for meat production, but with surprisingly fine wool.
The Flevolander owes its name to the province where this Dutch sheep breed originated in the 1970s. The breed was developed for meat production and is known for its high fertility. A sheep that excels in producing lambs, with wool that is worth discovering.
The Flevolander provides relatively fine, long fibers with a beautiful natural crimp and luster. The wool can feel soft, although quality varies per animal and herd. The white color forms a light, neutral base for soft, supple yarns.
(photo by Manon Hees)
Poll Dorset
The Poll Dorset is a sheep breed originally from Australia that is also kept in the Netherlands. The breed is primarily kept for meat production and belongs to the so-called Down breeds, which are known for their specific type of wool.
Resilience with volume
The Poll Dorset produces typical Down wool: generally soft, resilient, and voluminous. The fibers are relatively short with a finer crimp than many coarser wool types. This makes the wool extremely suitable for comfortable clothing, such as warm sweaters and knitwear that excellently retain their volume and shape.
Dutch Merino
The Merino does not originally come from
the Netherlands, but feels completely at home in the Zeeland polders. Since 2005, people in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen have been working with passion on a flock where wool truly comes first. You can see that in everything: herb-rich meadows, precisely timed and professional shearing, and the careful sorting of the wool.
The finest wool is spun into
smooth and supple worsted yarn. The shorter fibers are carded into a full, airy carded yarn (like our Trix yarn) with a warm, natural character.
Dutch Merino wool is the finest wool of all sheep breeds. The bright white fibers have a clear, regular crimp that provides elasticity and shape retention. The result is extremely soft, supple clothing that is wonderfully itch-free to wear.
Dutch Alpaca
Nature provides the color palette.
Originally, the alpaca comes from the South American Andes mountains, but this animal also feels perfectly at home in Dutch pastures. In the Netherlands, the Huacaya breed in particular is kept as a hobby by enthusiasts who focus on breeding.
Natural colors.
What truly makes the alpaca unique is the richness of its
natural shades. With no fewer than 22 recognized color variations — from
bright white and warm biscuit to bay black and true black — dyeing
is not even necessary.
Featherlight & hypoallergenic
Alpaca fiber is one of the most luxurious natural fibers in the world. Due to its hollow structure, the wool is feather-light yet extremely warm. Because alpaca wool naturally contains no wool grease (lanolin), it feels silky soft and is itch-free and hypoallergenic.
Slideshow
Shaving:
In the past, a sheep was shorn once a year. Now it happens more often. When, how, and by whom makes a difference.
Sort by:
Not all wool from a single sheep is the same. Through careful sorting, each quality finds its purpose, resulting in less ending up in the bin.
Washing and spinning:
A laundry in Italy, a dye house in Spain, sometimes a small traditional spinning mill nearby. For each batch, we choose what fits.
Painting:
Sometimes dyeing is not necessary. And if it is? Then in an OEKO-TEX®-certified dye house, as close as possible to the rest of the process.
