NZ Merino - The best fibre in the world!

Well that's in our opinion anyway.  At Christina Perriam our fibre of choice is New Zealand merino wool.  The bulk of our ranges are made from this gorgeous natural fibre.

Christina grew up on Bendigo Station in Central Otago and the merino has been part of her heritage and upbringing for her entire life.

The images to your left give an overview of the life of a merino at Bendigo Station.  It is a very carefree and peaceful existance.   

The life of a merino sheep

The merino sheep roam freely on our high country hills.  They are a hardy breed who love dry and hilly conditions.

Once of year they are mustered off the hill blocks and brought in to be shorn.

At shearing time their beautiful superfine fleeces are taken from their backs and sorted into different categories by the sheep classer.  The classer determines how strong and  elastic the fibre is and how  fine (micron) the wool is, the length of the staple and so forth and then sorts it ready to be sold.

Once the merino's are shorn they are put back out onto the hills to roam free for another year.

From Fleece to Fashion

So what happens to the merino wool once it is shorn from the sheeps back?

The wool is either sold at auction or sold through contracts.  It is then cleaned, carded and combed ready for the process of spinning into yarn.  Merino can be used in chunky sweaters as well as superfine Italian worsted merino cloth.  Depending on it's end use it is spun into yarn and prepared for the next stage.

Much of the yarn is bought from Italian worsted mills to make into beautiful superfine cloth for the world suit market.

It is also made into lovely fine knit fabric which we use here at Christina Perriam.

Why is NZ merino such a fantastic fibre?

New Zealand merino wool has many characteristics that make it the best fibre in the world.

It is sustainable,  eco-friendly and renewable.

It keeps you warm when it is cool and cool when it is warm. 

Merino is a breathable fibre so it allows your body's moisture and perspiration to flow to and from the body making it super comfortable to wear.

It hasn't been made up of nasty chemicals, like  synthetics, it is totally natural.

The great thing about what we do here at Christina Perriam is  we use New Zealand merino, we use New Zealand knitted fabric and all of our garments are  New Zealand made!.  Beat that!

We believe you have a choice as a consumer to look after your well-being as well as your planet so choose to wear New Zealand merino and look damn hot in the process.