Mill Review #1

I'll be visiting 2 woollen mills in the space of 2 weeks - purely as a test of Jerms' patience.

1st one is Nundle of course.


Mill shop was smaller than I thought but has a good selection of hand and machine knits. Several observations...

1. They stock machine knits in a material called Sheer Bliss. The fibers are stretched in the processing to create a finer fabric (higher micron). It feels softer than cashmere (price tag to match) - I had to pull myself away from touching it.

2. Handknits by Minx and Nundle Woollen Mills sold there. Some funky hats like the Bindy Bonnet (left) and this ear flap thing (below right).

3. Nundle's main line of yarns is a 100% wool that comes in 8ply, 12ply and 20ply. Main plus is the massive colour range and the availability of 20ply. I must say compared to Bendigo Woollen Mills, Nundle's yarns are inferior both in terms of quality (quite stiff) and price ($4.50/50g balls plus p&h compared to Bendigo's $10.80/200g balls and free p&h for orders >$30).

4. Other brands of yarns also sold. They have mainly novelty yarns from Filatura Di Crosa, Kid Seta (equivalent of Rowan Kid Silk Haze) and other bulky yarns.

5. Tours were not available over the long weekend, which was a minor disappointment but the shop is built on an observation deck anyway so there's a pretty good view of the mill floor and machinery.


I had a lovely time and even Jerms managed to engross himself in a book about the history of yarn manufacturing in Australia.

I got 10 balls of pink 8ply in the 2nds bin for $30, 10 balls of 12ply in a grey to make a jumper in Rebecca 28 and 4 skeins of the 20ply in a chocolate brown to make the cardigan on the cover of the 1st issue of Knitscene.

Here's me holding the bag of 8ply in the backroom of the shop...


Review #2 will be Waverley in Launceston, Tassie. Wait for it...