Instructions for the Usva sweater

Mill

Ruukki Kehräämö only spins fat-free natural fibers: alpaca, angora and silk. Since sheep's wool is not spun on this production line, the spinning mill's yarns are hypoallergenic. These yarns do not contain any traces of lanolin, the fat contained in sheep's wool that causes allergies.

Alpaca and angora yarns

Ruukki Kehräämö's yarn selection includes a variety of alpaca and angora yarns. We only spin yarn from undyed alpaca and angora fibers. Alpaca fiber comes to the spinning mill from Finnish alpaca breeders or our Dutch partners. We only buy Angora fur from Finnish producers.

Some of the threads are spun with a small amount of wild silk. The Kalahari wild silk is the only free-living wild silk butterfly. The cocoons left behind by these butterflies are collected from the Kalahari desert. In Finland, silk is dyed with vegetable and natural dyes.

Born as a result of long-term product development work, Ruukkin Kehräämön's Alpaca/wild silk is a unique product that is not produced by anyone else in the whole world. This product is very exceptional precisely because of its colors.

Let's open it up a little more, because this is where the core of our business lies.
Normally, the yarn is spun from dyed fiber or the finished white yarn is dyed afterwards. With the latter technology, it is possible to produce industrially gradient dyed yarns. Because industrially dyed yarn lacks the organicity brought by chance, hand-dyed yarns have become very popular in the craft market.

Ruukki Kehräämö's Alpaca/wild silk yarn differs from all these production methods. The colors of the threads are naturally created from different colored alpaca and/or angora fibers, as well as dyed wild silk. The fibers are mixed at the beginning of the production process in a way that no one else uses.

This unique production process enables color slides, optical color mixing and the production of a yarn with a very vivid surface. The end result is a thread that is completely impossible to produce by dyeing or in large-scale industrial production.

Our production volumes are small. Our goal is not mass production, but we invest in quality. Each batch of yarn is like a unique work of art that is created as a result of creative work.

Our artisan yarns are the high-end products of the yarn market. The strengths of the yarn qualities in the selections remain in a certain range, but there is no permanent color chart. Each color batch is truly unique.

This makes our products very special. Since product development is an integral part of our operations, the spinning mill's selection of artisan yarns is constantly expanding.

Knitting instructions

So that the charming yarns don't just remain as treasures in the yarn basket gathering dust, we offer our customers knitting instructions designed for Ruukkin Kehräämö yarns.

Our knitting instructions are very adaptable. The same instructions are also suitable for several different yarns. The knitting instructions, written with solid professional skills, are clear and tested. There are always lots of sizes for clothes.

Detailed knitting school instructions and tutorial videos can be found on Piia Maria's blog . Our selection of knitting instructions is constantly expanding and we aim to take into account knitting enthusiasts, from beginners to masters, so that everyone has the opportunity to get excited and succeed.

The instructions can be bought in the shop as printed, beautifully illustrated booklets. An instruction booklet is also included with every Knit Kit order. In addition, the instructions can be ordered digitally from our online store.

The instructions are delivered to you digitally, as a downloadable print version, which you can print if you wish.

You will receive a link to the instructions immediately after payment.

1. Why don't we have any colorful knit wear?

Ruukkin Kehräämö's Alpaca Royal fiber is undyed. Each color is the true color of the original wool producing animal. Altogether, there are 22 basic colors of alpacas. This guarantees a wide and stunningly beautiful color palette.

Non-dyeing is an advantage of fiber, yarn and, above all, the finished knit. Harsh chemical processes; bleaching, dyeing, post-treatments and washing wear down the fibers and break their surface structure. The properties of the natural, minimally processed alpaca fiber are transferred directly to the garment. That's why Ruukkin Kehräämö's knitwear is not dyed.

When the knit reaches the end of its life cycle, the fiber continues its life. Undyed, non-chemically treated alpaca fiber is 100% biodegradable. Knitwear can also be torn back into fibers and recycled for reuse.

2. Why do our products have a delivery fee?

We want you not to make a hasty purchase decision, but to be sure of your choice when ordering the product. In Finland, up to 50% of e-commerce orders are returned. Postage has been found to significantly reduce the number of returns.

On average, the largest emissions of clothes sold in an online store come from the product itself (~83%), but transportation produces 14% of the emissions. If the product is returned, the transport emissions are doubled.

So we want to act responsibly both towards our customers and the environment. When you buy less, carefully and with better quality, the environment and your wallet will thank you.

Piqued your interest? Read more about the effect of transport on the emissions of an online store product.

3. Why don't we have discount campaigns?

We do not support fast fashion and quick purchase decisions. FOMO (Fear of missing out) is a commonly used method in marketing to get a customer to buy products that they don't necessarily need.

By limiting the offer to a certain time, consumers are tempted to make rash purchase decisions. Instead, we want you to be satisfied with your purchases from us and to use our products for a long time. You can always count on us to have the product at the same price, whether you make your purchase on Black Friday or a normal Sunday morning.

3. How can we guarantee that the yarn coming from Peru is responsibly produced?

In the mountains of Peru, alpaca breeding is the main livelihood. Up to 85% of the native population's income comes from selling alpaca wool. By buying wool from certain farms, we can ensure that the owner of the farm receives reasonable compensation for his work. Alpacas play an important role in breaking the cycle of poverty.

Ruukkin Kehräämö only uses high-quality and ethically produced, RAS-marked (Responsible Alpaca Standard) alpaca wool. Breeders belonging to Peruvian indigenous peoples tend their small herds with respect for nature. The organization we support, Quechua Benefit , helps the indigenous population to take care of the well-being of both the alpacas and their families.

For each batch of yarn that arrives at Ruukki Kehräämö, the fibers are collected separately from local small farms. Every fiber can be traced back to the premises and even to the animal. Growers get double the price for Alpaca Royal fiber compared to coarser fibers.

4. How can we guarantee that neither the angora rabbits nor the alpacas suffer during the wool picking?

Alpaca and angora rabbit are wool producing animals. They have been bred to produce wool, like merino sheep. Not shearing a wool-producing animal is harmful to the animal, because the wool does not stop growing at a certain length, but long and tangled wool makes it difficult for the animal to move and worsens hygiene.

We buy wool from angora rabbits only from domestic farms, where the spinning takes place under the conditions of the animals and stress-free. You can watch our partner Villiniity's coiling video and get to know angora rabbits in our blog post .

The Alpaca wool we use for our yarns comes mainly from domestic farms. We buy the black alpaca fiber from the Dutch Tienda Molino alpaca farm .

Alpaca wool must be collected with professional skill and as stress-free as possible for the alpaca and as gently as possible. Australian professional Chris Williams arrives in Finland in the spring and rolls the alpacas quickly and painlessly.