The story of a TOAST garment often begins with a collaboration between human hands and nature: a cotton boll swelling under the sun after sowing; flax ripening toward harvest in a well-tended field.
Our Shetland Wool Graphic Jacquard Sweater starts with a flock of sheep on a cluster of remote Scottish islands, growing a hardy coat to weather the harsh northern elements, watched over by a community of devoted crofters. From fleece to finished garment, the entire journey unfolds on UK soil – guided by skilled craftspeople, passing through time-honoured processes – until it finally reaches our shops, ready to be worn and cherished.
Oliver Henry is among the first to handle the wool after shearing. For 58 years, he has worked as a grader and sorter at Jamieson & Smith, Shetland’s leading wool broker. Though the company handles 80% of the islands’ wool, it is part of a tradition stretching back over a thousand years, when Norse settlers brought Scandinavian sheep to live among the archipelago’s ancient flocks. Today, both species produce the fibre known as Shetland wool, which is harvested by its farmers and crofters.
Fleeces arrive at Jamieson & Smith’s facility in Lerwick, where the team carefully assesses and grades the wool using a system created by the Smith family in 1927. To assign a grade, they judge the fibre by softness, loft, elasticity, staple length, and cleanliness. “It can only be done with the eyes and hands,” explains Oliver. “We often rely on instinct.” Untouched by technology, this tactile craft yields unexpected rewards. “People often ask to feel my hands,” Oliver laughs. “The natural lanolin in the wool keeps them smooth.”
It is clear that for Oliver, the greatest reward is his relationship with local crofters. When the remaining Smiths retired in 2004 and Curtis Wool Direct stepped in, they began digitising company records, including the list of crofters and farmers Jamieson & Smith was working with at the time. The number sat in the six hundreds, but Oliver presented a log of over eight hundred collaborators. He intentionally kept former crofters on the list to preserve their legacy. “That's somebody I worked with in the sixties, and if their name vanishes, I'm worried they’ll be forgotten.”
“My whole life has been spent on a croft,” says Nadine Inkster, a fifth-generation crofter who lives and works in Burra, southwest Shetland. Her land, luscious green thanks to the limestone it sits on, overlooks two voes that stretch out to the sea. “It’s not particularly big, but we can grow our own hay, we can graze sheep, we can grow vegetables. We’re right down at the shore so we have a boat.”
Nadine tends to 30 sheep, and particularly loves the breed’s temperament. “They’re just so hardy - they’re incredibly suited to the climate and their environment. They can lamb outside and they’re light to handle. They’re quite amusing, too. They tend to be tamer, playful and more mischievous.”
Previously a way of life and a means of survival, Nadine - a school teacher by trade - notes that the vocation has evolved over time. “A crofter nowadays is somebody that has a bit of land and needs to look after it. It’s something that’s done in your own time.” Still, she says, crofting is integral to Shetland life and must be celebrated and preserved. “It’s historic - it’s important because it’s cultural.”
Shetland’s crofters cultivate the highest grade fleeces, including undyed Superfine and Grade 1 wool, which make up our sweater. This blend results in an exceptionally soft handle and inimitable durability, warmth, and resilience. Qualities of the sheep, yes, but also of the land itself – woven into the fibre by Shetland's distinctive terrain, climate and nutritionally rich pastures. “The sheep live on peat and heather in natural, fertiliser-free fields,” says Oliver, noting also proximity to the sea, as they supplement their diet by grazing on seaweed.
The symbiosis between field and flock means authentic Shetland wool can only be produced on this archipelago. “There are Shetland sheep elsewhere, but there is a lot of misuse of the word Shetland,” Oliver says.
Mark Lightowlers, who runs Lightowlers Yarns in Yorkshire, echoes this observation. “The environment has a huge impact on the type of wool you get. The natural, varied diet, the wet and windy climate… All of these factors are felt in the wool.” He refers to it as a “big fleece,” explaining how it’s less dense than New Zealand wool, for example, making it softer and loftier in comparison.
Mark receives the fleeces after they have been graded by Jamieson & Smith and travelled south to be scoured by Haworth Scouring in Bradford, another important contributor to the British wool industry. Here, the fleeces are machine-washed using biodegradable detergent to remove debris and grease, transforming the lanolin-rich wool into clean, usable fibres. At Lightowlers, these fibres are spun into yarns that make up the finished garment.
The grandson of Lightowlers’ founder, Mark officially joined the company as an apprentice carding engineer in 1978. “I started as a sweeper-upper and bale runner,” he recalls. “Since then, my father, my uncle Michael, and I have grown it from a commissioned spinning business into a bespoke yarn company.” While Mark remains deeply involved, his son has taken on more responsibility over time, upholding Lightowlers' identity as a family-run endeavour. “We know the machinery, we know how to make a good yarn, and we take it from there.”
Most of Lightowlers’ machinery pre-dates the 1970s, and much of the original equipment that outfitted the factory when it opened in 1960 still stands. This is a deliberate choice, steered by the company’s broader approach. “Modern machinery might be more productive for bigger runs,” says Mark. “But it's not as flexible as the machinery we use. It suits us perfectly, and always has.”
Most of the wool waste produced during the carding and spinning processes is fed back into the machines and reused. Fibres deemed too short or damaged to be recycled are sent to farms across the UK and ploughed into the fields as natural fertiliser. “Wool is protein-based, so it naturally biodegrades and helps nourish the soil,” Mark explains. “And unlike chicken or cattle manure, it doesn’t pose the same risk of phosphate pollution in our rivers.”
The yarns journey on to Corah Textiles in Nottingham, where they are knitted into our sweater. In February, Corah proudly earned GOTS certification, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing journey to refine and expand its sustainability efforts. Known for working exclusively with noble fibres, the company has garnered a strong reputation for delivering outstanding quality, while prioritising the livelihoods of workers and the integrity of its yarns.
For this collaboration with TOAST, Corah designer and knitwear programmer, Charlotte Johnson, worked closely with our team, experimenting with different yarns and techniques to find the ideal combination for our vision. “We drew inspiration from vintage museum tiles,” says TOAST Menswear Designer Catie Palmer. “Using the undyed and natural shades of the wool made the intricate jacquard pattern feel contemporary and graphic.” The design also lends itself to the wool’s origin. “We’ve used a classic float jacquard technique, which reflects the rich heritage of knitwear that is ingrained in Shetland yarn.”
Charlotte selected an appropriate gauge to achieve the desired drape. She then led wash tests to make sure the wool feels soft against the skin. Then each sweater is knitted in five parts: two sleeves, a front piece, a back piece, and the crew neck. The individual components are linked together by hand before being washed, pressed, and finished. A single sweater passes through twelve people over approximately six hours, making the resulting garment a testament to time, skill, and care.
“Usually, when someone buys a garment like this, they don’t know how much goes into making it – how much work and expertise is involved,” says Paul Sharp, who oversees sales, production, and logistics at Corah Textiles. “And it’s all done here in the UK. The sheep are reared here, the yarn is spun here and the sweaters are knitted here, which keeps the carbon footprint comparatively low.” Not only that, but it also helps sustain a homegrown industry that has supported generations of British makers. “Being a brand that celebrates craft, it feels potent to celebrate the craft that we have locally to us,” says Catie. “Knitwear is one of the few industries left in the UK that we can follow from fibre to garment.“
The story of our Shetland Wool Graphic Jacquard Sweater is shaped by the human hands that have sorted, scoured, spun, and knitted it into being. These are lives defined by and dedicated to their craft, enduring wavering demand and the everyday hardships that challenge long-honed skills. “For years, I would sit and write out the payment to a crofter, and they would tell me their story,” Jamieson & Smith’s trusted grader, Oliver, reflects. “And it wasn't just folklore stories, it was about a life of survival. I don't want us to lose it.”
Discover the Shetland Wool Graphic Jacquard Sweater
Words by Bébhinn Campbell.
Photography by James Bannister.
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