How do I clean my Swans Island blanket?

There are three ways to clean any Swans Island woven product:

• At Home: Click here for home cleaning guidance.
• Professional Dry Cleaning: Use a reputable dry cleaner. The industry claims that their chemicals do not harm woolen products; however, we are unable to vouch for these claims.
• Loom-to-Life Care & Restoration: We are happy to launder and repair your Swans Island wovens for a fee. Click here for more information.

What causes pilling? How can I prevent it?

Pilling is inherent to most woolen goods, formed when individual fibers slide out of the spun yarn. With the friction of general use, the loose ends of these fibers felt together, forming clumps on the surface (commonly known as pills).

The main reason our woven goods pill is because of the very low micron count – or the diameter of each individual fiber – in our custom-spun yarn. Lower micron counts make for incredibly soft wool, but also increases the likelihood of pilling. The majority of our customers love the extremely soft feel of our handwoven goods, which is why we keep the lower micron count in our yarns, and woven and knit goods.

Tugging at pills will likely pull additional fiber out of the spun yarn, just exacerbating the problem. It is best to gently remove the pills from the surface of the blanket with a tool built for the job. This is the one we use in our shop for cleaning and repairs.

Click here for return and exchange instructions.

Where does your wool come from?
Swans Island partners with farmers and spinneries that share our commitment to environmental stewardship. We source fleeces either from the flocks of farmers whom we know, or from sheep that carry GOTS organic certification. Our yarns are all spun in New England mills that share our commitment to high quality standards. Our colors either come off the back of the sheep, or are hand-dyed in our own studios.

Why aren’t all of your products listed as organic?
Many local farms operate at slim profit margins, and cannot afford the organic certification. We purchase our non-certified fleeces from farms that employ healthy pasture and stock practices.

What kinds of dyes do you use?
All of our yarns are hand-dyed here in Northport. We use both natural dyes – derived from materials like indigo, cochineal, and madder root – as well as low-impact synthetics, which impart beautifully saturated hues while using less water. Each process has its own environmental and aesthetic benefits, and we strive for sustainability in all of our practices.

Who makes Swans Island Company products?

We have a dedicated team of dyers, weavers, and finishers in our Northport, Maine studio, talented craftspeople who dye all of our yarn colors, and who produce our signature handwoven blankets, throws, pillows, baby blankets, scarves, and wraps. We’re proud to employ a strong team of local makers, doing our small part to keep manufacturing traditions alive and well on the Maine coast. We also partner with small, U.S. based mills to produce our knitwear and our machine-washable Acadia + Penobscot collections. A rising tide lifts all ships, and we believe that partnerships like these help to ensure that American manufacturing will continue to thrive.

How can I work for Swans Island Company?

If you are interested in joining our team at Swans Island Company, please view our open positions here.

Contact our Northport location with any additional questions:
info@swansislandcompany.com