From sheep to sweater

Shepherd and designer Katie Allen produces beautiful knitwear using wool from her own flock, as Janine Sterland discovers

- Janine Sterland

LOOPY EWES, the brand run by Katie Allen, offers fully traceable knitwear - literally from sheep to sweater! As well as designing and making her hand-crafted product range, Katie also farms the sheep whose wool is used to make each product.

Katie's flock of rare-breed sheep graze on an organic farm in the Cotswolds. She and her husband farm with a regenerative philosophy, where they aim to encourage wildlife habitats and improve soil health as well as looking after the environment. The wool is spun by the Natural Fibre Company, then it is dyed organically before being used to produce machine-knitted garments, homewares and accessories which Katie designs and makes herself. We chatted with Katie to find out what life is like as a shepherd, and why she is so committed to promoting British wool.

How did you first come to be involved in wool production?

"I bought my first sheep about ten or eleven years ago; I was starting an organic smallholding and really wanted sheep to be part of that story - both for their meat and wool. After speaking to local farmers, I was really shocked to hear that there wasn't a value to their wool, and they would bury or burn it that didn't make sense to me with my entrepreneurial head on. I couldn't believe that after all the effort in growing this beautiful fleece, it wasn't worth anything, so I was really determined to do something different with my flock, and to add value to their wool clip."

How difficult did you find the process of learning to be a shepherd?