I'm Jillian, a Cashmere Goat Farmer from sunny Lunan Bay in the North East of Scotland. I have a herd of over 250 Cashmere Goats (soon to be 400 when our gorgeous newborns arrive early next year!), which I hand comb every year to ethically harvest their super-soft Cashmere undercoats, which is spun by craft spinners at The Border Mill in the Scottish Borders to make the most silky Scottish Cashmere yarn and garments. It has been shown that Scottish Cashmere grown in Scotland is like no other due to our pure, soft waters combined with expert processing and the highest standard of animal welfare in the world.

This is first time in 30 years that Scottish Cashmere, that's been grown, harvested and spun in Scotland has been produced. Scotland is world renowned for its Cashmere production industry. However, the fibre has not been grown in this country for decades. The finest Cashmere is currently sourced from goats in China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan, then processed in Scotland by our world class mills. Although there are moves for the Cashmere industry to became more sustainable, there are issues about the ethical and environmental impact of Cashmere production in these countries.

As guardians of the largest remaining farmed herd of Cashmere goats in the UK, we believe this unique natural fibre is gift from our goats and they should be treated with the utmost respect.

Cashmere goats only produce approximately 150g of raw Cashmere annually. More than 50% of raw fibre is lost during the dehairing process, require to remove guard hairs from pure Cashmere fibre. Therefore, one goat will yield only 75g pure spinable Cashmere per year.

As only 150g of raw Cashmere is collected annually from each of my goats, I mix my Cashmere with fleece from native Shetland sheep, another Scottish heritage breed with super-soft fibre characteristics to produce a natural fleece yarns with 5, 10 and 20% Cashmere. I also have a very small quantity of 100% Scottish Cashmere yarn, can you imagine how many goats I had to comb to produce our incredibly soft pure Cashmere?

I have teamed up with craft knitter and bonnet specialist, Jenny Petrie of Auchmithie Designs, based 5 miles along the coast from me in the quaint fishing village of Auchmithie, who has expertly handknitted and designed The Lunan Bay Bunnet, with the first every batch of our Scottish Cashmere.

Through my research into homegrown Scottish Cashmere production, I discovered that homegrown Cashmere was last produced by a cooperative of farmers and top mill Johnston's of Elgin in the 1990s. From my studies, I found some of the now retired farmers and academics from this project, the Scottish Cashmere Producers Association (SCPA) who are sharing their pearls of wisdom with me. One of the growers, Doreen Marsh was so delighted to hear of my Scottish Cashmere renaissance project that she is actively collaborating with me, sharing her knowledge and has even handknitted a batch of gloves using our Cashmere yarn.

Furthermore, I have managed to source vintage heirloom Scottish Cashmere scarves made by the SCPA (1984-1999, now defunct), using homegrown Scottish Cashmere and processed and woven by Johnston's of Elgin. An extremely rare find, unlikely to be repeated.

Our Cashmere Shetland yarn and associated handcrafted garments, along with our vintage Scottish Cashmere scarves are available to buy here for free UK delivery, and worldwide shipping.

By purchasing my Scottish Cashmere, you will not only enjoy knitting with an unique handmade product with Scottish provenance but you are helping to secure the future of this heritage breed of goat and support the rennaisance of homegrown Scottish Cashmere.