Ria Burns Knitwear
Knitwear Designer and Educator
Hi, I’m Ria!
I design and make local wool knitwear, grow and work with natural dye plants, and provide educational services in natural dyes and British wool via my workshops, book and research projects.
I make small batch clothing and accessories from local, traceable wool. I hand dye my garments with homegrown and foraged plants, handmaking each piece to create a locally made, long-lasting, and unique product that works with, not against, the environment.
My knitwear is designed for longevity and made to be cherished, looked after, and passed on. I take pride in showcasing the natural hues and qualities of British wool – a soft, warm, and durable textile.
Everything that Ria Burns Knitwear produces is made by me in Bristol. It’s local, and it’s traceable.
What Ria Burns Knitwear is all about
Ria Burns Knitwear is an antidote to fast fashion.
I’m committed to regenerative agricultural practices that go beyond sustainability. For me, it’s all about local, climate beneficial, slow fashion.
Almost everything in my supply chain can be fully traced (except the mordant I currently use to make sure the colours last). Everything is sourced as close to Bristol as I can get it.
I follow the Fibreshed approach of creating soil-to-soil textiles – meaning my knitwear is made from natural fibres and dyes, and totally biodegradable. At the end of its life as a garment, the wool can be composted, returning nutrients to the soil.
I’m always thinking about how I can have the lowest environmental impact, from sourcing the raw materials and making the knitwear, to zero waste manufacturing processes and plastic-free packaging. Everything counts – my yarn ends get used to attach my swing tags, and the tiny scraps go into the compost which feeds next years' dye plants.
The Yarn
The yarn I use is a bespoke Shetland-Romney lambswool. It’s from a single flock reared and sheared by Jen and Andy at Fernhill Farm in the Mendips in Somerset - 18 miles down the road from my Bristol home studio. Fernhill wool is certified regenerative, and Jen and Andy were the Farmer’s Weekly sheep farmers of the year in 2022. (I recommend visiting them on their bi-annual open day).
The farm sends the raw fleece (in bulk) to Halifax to be scoured. It then goes to Curlew Weavers mill in Wales, who turns the cleaned wool into a bouncy, woollen-spun yarn which arrives on cones.
The yarn is woollen spun from the lamb’s first ever clip. This means the yarn is soft and bouncy, but also hard-wearing.
I have two colours of yarn - one is a natural, unbleached white with beautiful heathery tones running throughout, the other is a natural grey made from a special blend of white and dark brown fleece. Sometimes, I let the colour of the wool speak for itself, and other garments are given vibrant flashes of colour using the dye plants that I grow.
What is so amazing about working with local wool/ natural dyes? I made the decision in 2018, when I started out to only work with things that were grown by me and naturally sourced from the land. The connection between soil, plants and garments creates a fantastic narrative and storytelling opportunity. The natural dyes also take so well to the wool and make beautiful colours.
If any/ what have been your challenges with working with these dyes and a local way of working? I think one issue is the level of scalability that you can achieve as natural dye methods require a large amount of dye stuff, so you need the land to be able to grow a sufficient amount of plants. I have just moved into my new house and I am planning a larger dye garden, so I am very excited to see how this will develop.
What gauge of Knitwear do you sell? i.e fine gauge 10-12gg or more chunky knits such as 7-5gg I work mainly on domestic ranging from fine, standard and chunky gauges.
Do you finish onsite? If not is it convenient or what would be your ideal situation? Yes I finish everything on-site in Bristol.
Do you find a lot of push back in the industry in terms of working with natural dyes? I think the most challenging thing it to get the fashion industry to engage with natural dyes as a viable method.
Do you find that customers are becoming more interested in natural dyes? Yes, especially with my brand they love the story about the wool from Fernhill Farm and then the dyes grown by me and that whole process. Narrative and story telling is an amazing aspect and something that customers love to hear about.
On a scale of 1- 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 excellent) how much do you think your business has improved in the below areas as a result of good working practices and environmental standards?
Waste Production - Everything is made from soil-to-soil in Bristol - 10 (off-cuts, production)
Plastic Pollution - I don’t use any plastic in my brand - 10 (packaging)
Water Waste - Natural dyes require a lot of water, but I am trying to reduce my water usage where I can - 6 (dyeing and finishing)
Energy Consumption - My knitting machines don’t require power, the main consumption is shipping - 8 (shipping, machinery etc)
Do you have any hero farmers or people in your supply chain you would like to highlight? Fernhill Farm in Somerset