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Why Do We Only Use 100% Merino Wool
Merino Ewes
Half Sheared
Half Sheared
The Merino sheep are strong and hardy animals best known for their superior and highly outranking wool. They are found all over the world and adapted well to almost all climates.
Half Sheared
Half Sheared
Half Sheared
Merinos need to be sheared at least once a year because their wool does not stop growing. If allowed to grow, it can cause heat stress, mobility issues, and blindness.
Merino Rams
Half Sheared
Hand-spun Merino
As far as sheep go, Merinos are medium in size: Ewes (Female), 125-180 lbs.; Rams (Male), 175-235 lbs. Typically one Merino sheep grows 7 - 10 pounds of wool per year.
Hand-spun Merino
Hand-spun Merino
Hand-spun Merino
Merino wool is world-renowned for providing the softest and highest quality fiber of any sheep. The thinness of the Merino fiber is what makes it so soft. Even the thickest Merino wool is less than half the thickness of a single human hair.
Merino Roving
Hand-spun Merino
Merino Batting
Merino wool is predominantly made of interlocking protein molecules, the same protein in our skin and hair, individual wool fibers can be bent, flexed, and stretched in any direction 30,000 times or more without damage!
Merino Batting
Hand-spun Merino
Merino Batting
A Merino wool fiber can absorb and retain up to 30% of its weight in moisture and still feel dry to the touch. It is this absorption and wicking power that makes Merino wool comfortable to wear or use in both warm and cool climates.
Merino Sheep Grow The World's Best Wool
Why We Only Use 100% Merino Wool - Always!
ANYONE THAT KNOWS Merino wool knows that it is unfortunately expensive, but they also know it is always well worth it for the comfort and performance it provides.
Merino wool has been the choice of wool since the lands were ruled by Kings. No matter how the wool is used, it is super lightweight, extremely soft, non-itchy, non-clammy, warm in the cold and cool in the heat; and has a miraculous ability to resist odor via its incredible wicking capability that eliminates the build-up of bacteria. And, because it is grown by sheep it is naturally renewable, recyclable, and compostable.
Synthetics on the other hand, which became popular in the 1970s, appeared to have an advantage over wool, even to this day, but unlike wool, they leave you feeling wet and clammy. Unlike wool, synthetics are unable to regulate temperature and moisture. Synthetics also do not move moisture like Merino wool easily leaving you sweaty and the material smelly from bacteria build-up.
Synthetics are also made out of petroleum-based materials that are highly flammable, and horrible for your health and the environment. They leave micro-shards in the water every time they are washed which cannot be filtered out. These micro-shards are now being found in our food supply.
What about other types of woolwool you ask? Even though it is traditional to use and wear wool outdoors in cool climates because wool is warm, other wools, outside of Merino, are heavy, bulky, and take forever to dry out and, cause you to itch like crazy.
How We Process Our Wool
Merinos Grazing
Merinos Grazing
Merinos Grazing
It all starts with the Merino sheep. Cared for in the most loving and greenest way here in Michigan.
Not That Dirty
Merinos Grazing
Merinos Grazing
On raw fleece, you will find lanolin. Sheep secrete lanolin to protect their skin and wool from the effects of sun, wind, and rain.
Shorning Day
Merinos Grazing
Three Bags Full
The ranchers shorn or shear the sheep by hand with no stress or harm done to the animal.
Three Bags Full
Three Bags Full
Three Bags Full
We wash our wool using only organic soap, boiling water, and a lot of elbow grease. We also save and use its lanolin, LanoSkin, to heal dry skin.
Carding Machine
Three Bags Full
Carding Machine
When carding, we don't spray our wool with synthetic oils used by most mills during this process, as many people are allergic to these oils.
Clean Wool
Three Bags Full
Carding Machine
Our wool mill makes our wool into lots of roving and batting for pillows. Our Merino wool and lanolin products are incredible! You'll love using both.
Chickapea Farms for Natural Home Products
The wilderness of northern Michigan and the nightly blanket of the Milky Way continue to inspire our dedication to creating honest, handcrafted products. With each product, we embrace time-honored artisan traditions, use sustainable, locally sourced materials, and design with eco-friendly practices that honor each product's full lifecycle.
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