Here's why Spectrum Yarns is one of the UK’s most respected textile companies

We are based in a mill dating back to 1907 in the village of Slaithwaite near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and have a worldwide reputation for top quality luxury knitwear and knitting wool using only the finest merino wool and lambswool.

Our own brand names include Stylecraft, Glenbrae, Herbert Brown and Slaith.

Glenbrae is sold in more than 90 of the UK’s top 100 golf clubs and its range - mainly sweaters, slipovers and zip-ups - is made from lambswool or merino wool.

Stylecraft offers a huge range of yarns for people who love to knit and crochet and has its own website and online shop at www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk but also sells in 900 retail outlets nationwide.

Our other two brands - Herbert Brown and Slaith – are more recent additions to the range and take luxury knitwear into a new era with modern designs while still using traditional manufacturing methods to ensure quality and longevity. Spectrum products are designed to last for years without losing their shape.

Spectrum managing director Richard Brown began the forerunner to Spectrum Yarns back in 1973 when he was a 19-year-old mechanical engineering student at Imperial College in London. He set up a textile machinery company and over time that involved into spinning yarn and the Spectrum Yarns name appeared in the mid-1980s.

We are a true family business as Richard’s daughter, Danielle, is the operations director and will take over when Richard eventually retires.

Apart from manufacturing our own products, Spectrum is a UK distributor for the Ivanhoe range of eco-friendly outdoor and leisure clothing produced by a family firm in Sweden.

We are also UK and Ireland distributors for the Holderness and Bourne range of world-renowned premium golfing clothing and accessories set up by Americans Alex Holderness and John Bourne with the emphasis on classic styling and tailored fit.

We provide top quality yarns for other manufacturers which means that, as a forward-looking, innovative company, we always stay on top of our game. Richard says:

"Despite the success of our own brands we’ll keep on manufacturing yarns for others as it means we must keep up-to-date with the latest skills and knowledge within the industry. That’s great for our mental agility and the business. “Glenbrae and Stylecraft have become trusted trade names with great reputations and we are so proud they come from a town with a reputation for world-class textile products, Huddersfield.”