Phil Grant

Congratulations to our winners and we look forward to the feedback on the socks given away.
We will let the winners choose sizes and types off the website!

As a thank you to permies members, I have set up a coupon code on our website PERMIES10
Insert this at checkout and you will get a 10% reduction on goods not already on discounts until 31 March 2020 you will get a 5% welcome coupon at opening the site and we give a 5% rebate on all purchases too!

www.nznaturalclothing.co.nz

How about another bonus?
Go in the draw to win 1 of 10 $100 NZD store credits with us! We will draw this the week of the 23rd march 2020

Enter Competition from our home page on our website.

Good Luck and Thanks for having me, Kate reckons we could do a garment Giveaway in a few weeks!!  What do you reckon?
Phil

r ranson wrote:Until Phil of Norsewear Socks shows up, I'll talk a bit about what worsted means.

There are many different ways of transforming wool into yarn.  It's a spectrum with worsted on one end, and woollen on the other.

True worsted yarn is spun from fibres that are combed to keep them aligned the same way.  There is usually very little variation in length, crimp, and other fibre characteristics.  The yarn is spun in a way to prevent as much air as possible from getting trapped in the yarn.  It's a hugely complicated process.  This makes for incredibly durable and strong yarn.  

True woollen yarn, on the other hand, requires easier fibre prep.  I'm tempted to say 'less', but 'different' would be more accurate.  The fibres are carded so that most (but not all) fibres are lined up in a general direction.  Then the yarn is spun in such a way to increase the fluffiness and capture lots of air between the fibres.  This makes a very warm yarn that is a bit squishy.

Most yarns in the world are semi-woollen or semi-worsted.  In hand spinning, the woollen/worsted depends on the drafting.  So I can spin a woollen-prep (carded) fibre with a worsted draft to create a yarn with mostly worsted characteristics but still some air trapped between the fibres.  Some fibres are carded, then combed, or combed then carded, for different effects.  There is an infinite amount of combinations one can use to create yarn.  

Industrial spinning is a bit different so I'm going to leave this for Phil as he knows more in this area than I do.


The key thing to take away is that woollen and worsted yarn require different machines, including different methods of fibre prep.  Most mills I've visited produce woollen or semi-woollen yarn as it seems to require fewer steps and less/more affordable equipment.  

Thanks, r ransom, for the technical information share, I am glad you have as I am a brand owner and knitwear retailer landlord to the manufacturer of Norsewear socks and their biggest sock customer.
You can read about us here

We have access to great technicians and I can reach out to them for some more advice about worsted wools if that is required but your description is great, thank you.
I have been on the road so sorry I have been a bit absent.
I intended answering every welcome but got too much for me, thanks for the warm welcome.

Kate tells me the draw will be done our Saturday so I wish you all good luck!

Kind Regards
Phil Grant
(I have to get used to forums like this, I seem to get a bit lost in the threads to what is current and requires an answer etc! sorry about that)

Carina Hilbert wrote:Hi, Phil!

Your socks look like good ones for my husband.  Thanks for telling us about them!

(While I am a knitter and love to knit socks, my husband has big feet and won't wear the socks I've knitted for him because he doesn't want to wear them out, which is silly but not going to change.  So, I buy him machine-made wool socks.)

Haha that is gold Carina!, We go up to 2XL 13+ UK (14-15 U.S) in our work sock range.

Hi everybody,

Thank you for the warm welcome and good luck with the sock draw! (get it, sock drawer...never mind ;)

I have been thinking I should share the experience we have in cross border online sales that will be good for you to know.

We don't pay the Taxes on your imports as they are an unknown until you know the value, weights, destinations or DHL let you know what is due, but I can tell you Canada, UK and Eu are heavy and you can look to double the price of some imports. The USA and Australia (GST being added back in some cases) are more forgiving for now and our parcels are getting delivered fast as.

Possum fibre has raised alerts at the US border and they ask the genus of the species and when they see it is upcycling a pest problem they are ok I have only had 1 held up 2 days and we ship a lot there.
The costs to me for DHL  shipping are $19.49 Aus, $33 US $$2 Eu countries and Canada. In NZD$
I tell you this so you can see the challenge of shipping 1 pair of socks, so where you can boost the order to multiples or add a garment as we ship free $100+ Australia and $250+ Worldwide. The NZ GST tax of 15% is removed.

We are very proud of our product selections and know the value of durable fit for purpose socks and garments to layer against the risk of chill and illness and to reduce heating power consumption increase comfort by using layering of natural fibres.

Returns are very expensive from offshore back to NZ, we ask customers to consider this when shopping online and it is better to work with our team on chat or email to make sure you are happy with sizes and colours before this becomes a challenge.

My next post will be about our products but in the meantime if you are in colder climates these are our go to socks ! https://nznaturalclothingshop.co.nz/products/everyday-possum-3-pair-pack-socks-durable-economical-nznc.html

Thanks for having me!
Cheers
Phil.

Louis Fish wrote:Hello, Phil, welcome!  Your socks look amazing, they'll be perfect until I build up to knitting my own haha.

One can never have too many socks Louis! get knitting .

April Graf wrote:Hi Phil!!! So nice for you to join us!

Nice to be here, thanks April :)

r ranson wrote:WOW!  did you guys see these on their page?



cutest socks ever!

reminds me of the book Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story Paperback by Leonie Swann.

Thanks for the pictorial sock plug! these have a bit of synthetic in them but are super popular https://nznaturalclothingshop.co.nz/products/sheep-bed-socks-dutie-bull.html these great merino dress sock gifts.

Cheers, Phil

Jay Angler wrote:Hello and welcome! Since r ranson's sheep will get jealous, I'll have to protect them by getting the socks instead!

To be honest, I wear wool socks all winter and well into spring because of our damp climate and my tendency to always have cold feet. I recommend them to anyone who hasn't tried them. I admit, due to my lack of both sheep and knitting skills, I buy commercial ones. r ranson does have *really* cute sheep - particularly those "jumping lambs" she posted.

Thanks for the support Jay, All Summer as well. I wear my merino wool socks all day 30deg c today no sweat! Phil

r ranson wrote:Hello and Welcome!

Those look like cosy socks!  New Zealand grows some of the best wool in the world.  I would say The best, but my sheep are listening and they get jealous.  

Thanks for hanging out with us this week.

Loving the hangout already , thank you and yes we have some great stories on wool too From the Farm to the Garment!
A very cool farm with Tours, Farm to plate produce, Eco warriors, sustainable farming. Proud to be a partner with them.
https://nznaturalclothingshop.co.nz/our-blog/introducing-palliser-ridge/ https://nznaturalclothingshop.co.nz/our-blog/the-nznc-palliser-range/
Cheers, Phil Grant

Gail Jardin wrote:Hi Phil. Welcome to Permies!

Thank you Gail