Noro Haunui Silk

• Yarn Notes
• Yarn Specs
• The Brand

• Our newest limited edition yarn by Noro is completely gorgeous!
  
  Haunui Silk is a natural blend of raw mulberry silk and unique mixed-breed Haunui merino wool from the Taranui farm in New Zealand.
  
  Packed with texture, this yarn has a slight thick and thin quality to the silky single ply. It knits and handles like a beautiful, slightly rustic, dye-free hand-spun yarn.
  
  No two sheep are exactly the same colour, but their fleeces fall into colour categories, which are blended to create rich shades of oatmeal, brown, grey, and black.
  
  NORO was enchanted by this unique mixed-breed Haunui merino stock from the Taranui farm in New Zealand.
  
  The non-mulesed sheep are raised ethically and have their fleece gently harvested while a layer of protection behind.
  
  This yarn combines the natural colours and texture of the fleece harvested.
  
  Presented in 150g (330m) skeins, Haunui Silk is a heavy worsted-weight yarn is PERFECT for hard wearing (outerwear) garments with a touch of sheen and luxury.

  Located in the rolling green foothills of South Island, New Zealand, Taranui is a small family-owned and operated sheep farm owned by several generations of the Gardner family. ”Our family history makes this farm a lot more special. It is not just about lamb and wool, it’s home,” claims chief shepherd, Harriet Gardner.
  
  “I have a real passion for the product we create,” she adds.
  
  Since 1982, the family has been producing highly sought-after wool of the highest caliber by carefully breeding a special flock of sheep featuring only natural-coloured animals, mostly black, brown and grey.
  
  While their merino wool is used to make exquisite Italian suits in and high-end fabric for furnishing luxurious super yachts, their unique flock of HAUNUI, is bred for fibre enthusiasts the world over. 
  
  HAUNUI, (pronounced Hoo-noo-ee and translated as “place of the winds,”) is a fusion of New Zealand Halfbred and Fine Romney stock, line-bred for generations to ensure the very highest quality.
  
  HAUNUI carries a micron count of 22-24. Each fleece is meticulously checked, tracked and graded to ensure the best selection of quality and colour. Animal welfare is of chief importance here.
  
  The sheep are never mulesed. “We are of the understanding that in order to preserve these coloured sheep, their wool has to be something to be loved and enjoyed,”adds Gardner.
  
  From New Zealand, the fleece is exported to NORO, in Japan, where it is lovingly carded and spun. With great respect for the wool’s natural qualities and as per Noro’s exacting standards, fleece is never over processed.
  
  According to Noro, “Natural fibres have great features that humans can not mimic. I want to leave these features as much as possible in my yarns. These natural states are intentionally left by using human hands and old machinery so that natural fibers are not over processed. All of this is so knitters can feel nature more closely when knitting with Noro yarns.”
  
  
  
  For over 40 years Noro has produced the most beautiful, inimitable Organic, ecologically responsible, hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns. We encourage you to read more about Noro under "The Brand" tab above.
  
  

• Ingredients: 65% Organic Hainui Wool 35% Raw Mulberry Silk

  Length: 330m (361yds)

  Weight: 150g

  Gauge: Worsted - Heavy Worsted 16 - 18 sts per 4" / 10cm on 4.5 - 5mm (US 7-8) needles

• "I have come to believe that these yarns are as close to art as we have in the industry. The man behind them is an artist himself, and these yarns are an expression of his spirit rather than just a commercial product." Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton

  
  
  The World of Nature

  In recent years, the yarn industry has been actively promoting awareness of ecological sustainability, but this concept has been part of the Noro philosophy from the very beginning. The preservation of nature is such an important concept of his business that Mr Noro leaves nothing to chance, personally overseeing every aspect of production from sheep to yarn ball, including all machinery, labelling, yarn bags, boxes and even the garbage that the company produces.

  All the animal fibres used in Noro yarns are Organic. Most of the wool comes from a special breed of sheep called Polwarth, raised especially for Noro on a non-mulesing farm in Australia. Other fibres from the Falkland Islands and South Africa, from Organic Farms.

  
  The Production Process

  "Friction, rubbing and heat during processing weaken the fibres in direct proportion to the length of time they are processed. By dramatically shortening this process, we are preventing damage to the enzymes in the fibres and simultaneously profiting the environment." Mr Eisaku Noro

  Environmental considerations are at the forefront of the dyeing process, with each step being carefully controlled. The natural fibres are dyed using a pH balance that is compatible with the fibres.
  
  Noro's modifications to the blowing, carding and spinning processes reap a total energy savings of 46% as compared to typical yarn industry standards.
  
  The unique manufacturing process that results in the exceptional colourways and textures have always been closely guarded secret in Japan.
  
  

  Brand Concept

• Harmonise natural unevenness, asymmetric pattern and complex colour to portray the beauty of the nature.
• Taking sufficient time to dye yarn
• Tenderness of materials to preserve their original characters and deliver them into the hands of the crafter
• “BE FREE FROM EXISTING CONCEPTS AND LIMITATIONS”
• “PURSUE THE IMAGE IN OUR MINDS”
  
  

Noro yarns have longer spans of colour in the runs than many other yarns, causing distinctive striping patterns, as well as being spun by hand versus being produced completely by machines.

There have been plenty of attempts to imitate the magic of Noro, but in the world of self-striping yarn, nothing compares with Noro.