'merino' by knitting for olive | Wabi Sabi, Ottawa's Local Yarn Store

Our merino wool comes from sheep bred in Patagonia, where mulesing is not practiced. The wool can be traced directly back to the farm it comes from. In this way, we know exactly which farm, farmers, and sheep made our wool.

Merino wool has many excellent properties. It is temperature-regulating. That is, the wool keeps our bodies warm in cold weather, and releases heat in warm weather, keeping our skin cool. At the same time, wool, like silk, can carry moisture away from the skin, and can absorb 30% of its weight without feeling wet. Wool is also dirt-repellent and requires minimal care.

The yarn is STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified

The yarn is produced in Italy. Our spinning mill follows ethical, technical and environmental standards, creating yarns free from harmful chemicals.

The following colours are in the No Waste Wool base, which is identical to the merino except that it contains 50% recycled pre-consumer wool. It is completely compatible with the "merino" base:

chocolate (No Waste Wool)

composition: 100% non-mulesed merino wool, Oeko-Tex Standard 100

meterage: 250 meters / 273 yards

grams: 50 grams / 1.8 oz.

suggested gauge: 28 stitches per 10 cm / 4"
fingering weight

recommended needles: 3.00 mm (US 2.5)

care instructions: hand wash, dry flat

great for: children's garments, shawls, lace, cables, colourwork, hats, mittens & scarves, sweaters & garments

made in Italy

knitting for olive

A family business dedicated to helping provide crafters with the highest quality ethical, responsible yarns and inspiring patterns. Knitting for Olive offers pure natural fibres and respect for their workers and the environment. Their yarns are certified to guarantee that their animals are treated with respect and according to the five freedoms of animal welfare.

oeko-tex standard 100

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 is a label for textiles tested for harmful substances. It sets the benchmark for textile safety, from yarn to finished product. Every item bearing the STANDARD 100 label is certified as having passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances. For our purposes, this is likely to refer to the dyes that are used on fibres and yarns.

merino wool

Merino sheep create a wool with a long, smooth fibre that is lightweight, warm, and soft. Like all wool, it has excellent breathability and does an excellent job regulating temperature in garments. It is a very popular type of wool to use for hand knitting yarn, and is a great choice for socks and garments worn close to the skin.

mulesing free

Mulesing is a controversial farming practice used, predominantly in Australia, to prevent the parasidic infection flystrike. While mulesing prevents infection, it is a very painful procedure for the animal to endure, and more humane alternatives exist. This practice is banned in many areas of the world. If a yarn is marked as mulesing free, that means that no animals were treated this way during the production of the yarn.

responsible wool standard

This certification ensures that animals, farmers and the environment are treated respectfully. The certificates protect the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare; freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress. Farms with this certification protect soil health, biodiversity and native species and the certifications protect social welfare, working conditions and health safety of farmers and workers.

This item is eligible for refund or exchange within 30 days of the purchase date. All returned items must be accompanied by their receipt or order number, and must be unopened, unused, and in salable condition for a return or exchange to be considered. We do not accept full or partial returns on items that were special ordered.