Lofn Sport: Non-superwash US grown 90% Shaniko RWS certified fine wool blend 10% Romney 3 ply approx. 370 yards/100g ($32 - Dyed) ($27 - natural undyed)
This is the softest non-superwash wool we’ve ever worked with. Lofn is a lesser-known Norse goddess. Her name in old Norse translates to “comforter” or “the mild one”; two descriptions that work wonderfully to represent the feel of this new base. Lofn is also the goddess of contrasting or forbidden love.
While nothing about this new fiber blend is “forbidden,” taking pure natural white wool and blending in a small amount of dark wool makes for a beautiful and mild contrast. The result is yarn with a light grey tone, which looks amazing on its own, but also adds a lovely undertone to any colors applied to it.
While working with Battenkill Fibers, the creators of our Nornir base, we were introduced to an amazing fine wool blend from Shaniko Wool Company, headquartered in Oregon. Shaniko Wool consists of ten ranches who are all certified to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) and located in Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, and six ranches here in Colorado. When hearing their story, we just had to have it! So Battenkill blended this soft and lofty fiber with a small amount of natural dark Romney from the farm just up the road from Kyle’s childhood home. Combining light and dark wool while also combining the places Kyle has called home makes us feel that Lofn has truly blessed us with this perfect contrast.
We’re honored to be working with the Shaniko Wool Company. Jeanne and her late husband Dan are true stewards of the Earth. Theirs was the first ranch in the world to achieve RWS certification, and with Shaniko, they have scaled into the first US Farm Group to supply certified wool under the Responsible Wool Standard. Their wool is fully traceable while third-party audits ensure they not only take the best care of their flock, but the best care of the land, and the workers on their ranches. All along with paying their farmers a premium for their wool.
Jeanne has been at the leading edge of a Ranch-to-Retail “slow fashion” movement since 1999, that connects people to the origins of their fiber as well as the process and people who produce their textiles. One of the many accolades for Jeanne is that her wool has been used in the past three Winter Olympics by none other than Ralph Lauren, for the Team USA uniforms.
The Shaniko fiber that we’re using for Lofn is a fine wool blend of Merino and Merino/Rambouillet sheep. Lofn is a blend of 90% of this fine wool and 10% Romney from Crazy Legs Farm in Fort Edward, NY. There’s something very special about knowing the names of the sheep your fiber comes from. We’re so thankful for Norma at Crazy Legs and her girls that supply us with this lovely dark wool, Lady GG, FoxyLady, and Fuschia.
Lofn will start with a new sport weight yarn, approximately 370 yards per 100g. And with an Aran weight yarn, approximately 185 yards per 100g. This new yarn is so soft, has a lovely luster, great stitch definition, and the most perfect tiny halo to bring life to any new project you choose to make with it. Lofn is the perfect contrast to the slightly more rustic feel of our Nornir non-superwash, and we hope you love it as much as we do.