Please click for the page listing all WeatherWool Fabric Batches.

28 March 2026 --- Ralph

TESTING! --- In October of 2026, we had a sample of Innes-1 MidWeight Lynx Pattern Fabric tested against the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD by Hohenstein Institute (Germany and America).

OEKO-TEX® sets the rules and regulations of the certifications, and Hohenstein does not own/control them. The methods used to test were the same methods that OEKO-TEX® requires. The OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 test methods test textile products to ensure they are safe from harmful substances.  

We PASSED the test.   Please click for a PDF of the test results.

Part of Batch Innes-1 is being woven on OUR OWN JACQUARD LOOMS, located at and operated by American Woolen.  Owning a loom is a big step for us.

BATCH INNES-1 (Batch 11) is a new approach for us, and for Innes Ranch!

 

This label is sewn into all garments made with Innes Wool.
This label will also be used with Batch Innes-2 (Batch 14) garments.  We purchased some of the Innes-2 fiber in May of 2025.  The label features an Innes Brand, registered with the State of Wyoming.  Thanks to Bob Innes for allowing us to use his brand!

Until 2024, all our Fabric Batches have contained wool from the shearing of a single year and multiple ranches.  But Batch Innes-1 Fabric is 100% from Innes Ranch fiber.  Innes Ranch produces roughly 20,000 pounds (9000 kg) of raw wool per year.  Combining the 2023 and 2024 Innes clips gets us to a total quantity large enough to meet the "custom top minimum" imposed by Chargeurs.

In order to make our own warp (which is worsted) yarn, we need to provide our own "combed top" to Kentwool Yarns, who does the spinning for us.  Annnnnd ... in order to make top from 100% WeatherWool Certified Fine Wool, we need to send to Chargeurs, generally, 40,000 pounds (18,141 kg) of greasy.  This year, though, Diego Paullier, who runs the Chargeurs Plant in South Carolina, let me skate a little on the usual minimum because I'm sending Batch 10 and Batch Innes-1 at the same time, for a total of about 70,000 pounds (31,746 kg).

Bob Innes has been running sheep his whole life, and he is now in his 70s.  (We have a video of Bob and me talking things over at the Innes Ranch in late March, 2024.) Until he began to work with us in 2022, he never knew what happened to his wool after he sold it.  And actually that is the normal case for America's Sheep Ranchers.  But with Batch 9, Bob was able to handle some Fabric made mostly with his fiber.  With this Batch, the Innes Family can wear garments made solely from their own fiber.

Batch Innes-1 is also Batch 11, and there will be the usual small Batch Tags underneath the size tag.  But this time there will also be a large Innes Tag, shown above.  We'll use the same Innes tag on Batch Innes-2 (Batch 14), and we expect to purchase the 2nd half of Innes-2 Fiber in April or May of 2026.

Here are the Fabrics and quantities we originally hoped to make, but I need  to revise this table because we decided to make some Whipcord and, more importantly, we are making Heritage/LightWeight Fabric as well.   The Heritage is very important, even though we might not make any Heritage garments, because we now use Heritage as a structural component (pockets, for example) of other garments.

Here is the array of FullWeight and MidWeight Fabric we will make or have made.  The MidWeight is complete and nearly all sewn into garments already.  The FullWeight weaving began in early 2026.  Ultimately, we also made Heritage and Whipcord Fabrics, so the numbers below are actually very much on the high side.  I'll need to look up the final numbers when we finish.

Fabric Name	Yards
MidWeight Lynx	2580
MidWeight Drab	1260
MidWeight Black	1260
FullWeight Lynx	1590
FullWeight Drab	780
FullWeight Black	780
TOTAL:	8250

 

We are grateful to Bob Innes for permission to use his family's Intellectual Property!!!

Single-Source Fabrics are logistically much more difficult than multiple-source.  Of course, the difficulty translates into a longer timeline and greater expense.  Thanks to everyone who helped me planning this extra level of complexity, particularly Lorelei, also Arthur and Giuseppe.  There are not many cases where all of the fiber in a garment can be traced to a single ranch.

   

PRODUCTION TIMELINE

2026-March ... MidWeight and Whipcord completed.  Heritage nearly completed.  FullWeight being woven now ... some of the FullWeight on our own looms

2025-September ... MidWeight Lynx in tailoring for Anoraks and Hooded Jackets and Whipcord Drab Green in tailoring for Whipcord Shirts

2025-08-06 ... Sent a swatch of Batch Innes-1 Whipcord Fabric to Bob Innes!   And we are now accepting paid pre-orders on MidWeight Lynx Anoraks and Drab Green Whipcord Shirts, the first items we'll be making from this Batch.

2025-July ... Begin weaving MidWeight Lynx

2025-03-26 ... Expect to start weaving MidWeight Lynx in early April

2025-02-26 ... Bollman has finished dyeing the weft.  Kentwool Yarns scheduled to start spinning the warp in mid-March, with first shipments end of March.  We will begin weaving as soon as possible!

2025-01-16 ... Bollman, in Philadelphia, will be dyeing the weft, and they are now in possession of the top.  The warp, which will eventually be dyed (if at all) by American Woolen, is now at Kentwool Yarns for spinning into 2/30.  The "30" means 30 kilometers of the yarn will weight one kilogram.  It's crazy thin.  The "2" means the actual warp yarn used for weaving is 2-ply ... two strands of yarn are twisted around each other, which increases strength.  For our solid color Fabrics, AWC will dye the warp.  Lynx Pattern uses undyed warp.

2024-12-17 ... Shipping TOP for dyeing and spinning

2024-12-16 ... Working on the Fabric Label (see top of page)

2024-11-14 ... Scouring and Combing is complete at Chargeurs!

2024-October ... Begin processing (scouring and combing into top)