Climate Association Netherlands calls on all Dutch people to turn down the heating on Friday and put on a warm sweater. The so-called Warm Sweater Day. At the Shepherds of Balloo they know everything about warm sweaters, they make and sell woolen sweaters from the sheep that walk on the Balloërveld.
In the wool workshop, Henriëtte Meilof is busy with a number of knitting needles. “You can do that with straight needles, or a circular knitting needle and they are also used for weaving. Everyone should come and see for themselves what can be made with it.” The wool workshop is located behind the sheep shed, just outside Balloo.
From here the sheep herd goes onto the heath. According to shepherd Marianne Dunkirk, the way she shears her flock determines the qualities of the wool.
“Yes, absolutely. Right from the start. Actually, from the moment you mate the ewes. Then you already have an idea of the colors you want and the quality,” Dunkirk explains.
She also thinks it is important that the sheep are outside as much as possible. “During the day you see that the wool inflates. It is getting fuller and rougher. The wind blows through and rain and snow falls on it. And the temperature also does something. So you do notice movement in the wool. “
The wolf poses a threat to the quality of the wool, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to leave the sheep outside at night. But in the stable the fur felted. “You have a deep shed in the sheepfold. And when animals come in with a slightly damp coat and they lie down, you start the felting process. Of course there is also manure, so the coats deteriorate in such a way that I prefer not to do that. “
After the sheep have been sheared, the wool is divided into bags with spinning wool, felt wool and spinning felt wool. They are processed in different ways. In the end, part of it ends up with Henriëtte Meilof, who turns it into a warm sweater, for example. Those sweaters are unique and handmade, and take a lot of time. “Well, 150 hours?” estimate them. “Depending on how fast you are, you will have a cardigan or a sweater after a few weeks.”
According to Marianne Duinkerken, the labor intensity explains why the sweaters are not cheap. “When I first started here and people came in, they just looked at the price tags. And whispered: ‘Psst, how expensive isn’t that’. When you explain how processes work, they still think it’s a lot of money, but at least they dare to say it out loud. You also have to explain it a bit and then there will be more appreciation.”
A real wool sweater is therefore warm, not cheap, but will last for many Warm Sweater Days. “Something made of wool never comes off. Unless the moth gets into it, but if you handle it carefully it is indestructible.”