It's not just people that like to peel back the layers when the weather heats up. There are flocks of sheep up on the hills of England's green and pleasant land, who are ready for a good seasonal hair cut. July, a month of sunshine (hopefully),  summer holidays and sheep shearing.

Here on a farm up in Lancashire, live some very special sheep. Owned by farmer Raymond, we joined him and his brothers to document the shearing of their Bluefaced Leicester - often referred to as the 'British Merino.' 

It's a beautiful breed of sheep with a distinctive head and a high-lustre fleece that can be spun into an incredible soft wool. 

It's the shearing of this wool that marks the start of two new Navygrey jumpers for this coming autumn - building on the success of the two jumpers - the HARDY and the HAND-ME-DOWN that you loved so much last year. 

Made exclusively from this Bluefaced Leicester wool sourced solely from the north-west of England, this is our second collection crafted from 100% fully traceable British wool. 

Locally sourced natural fibres significantly help reduce the environmental impact of garment production and we're so excited to finally be working with this wool. 

Before we began Navygrey, we always knew we wanted to work with British wool, yet we could not find a yarn that had the exact quality, softness and full traceability we were after.

While there are lots of beautiful hand-knitted British wools on the market, we require a wool that can be used in special knitting machines to produce our jumpers. 

Once sheared, this stunning Bluefaced Leicester wool travels across to Baildon, Shipley in Yorkshire to Laxtons, where it is spun into yarn using just water and organic detergents. Nothing else. From field to fibre in 150 miles. 

Behind every jumper we create, there are a host of grandmasters who have a lifetime of experience honing their skills and craft - and it begins with these farmers like Raymond and their flock. 

This particular wool draws on the rich resource of scouring, dyeing and spinning expertise in the heartland of wool, the north of England. 

It champions two and half centuries of connection between England's farming community, their sheep and their land.

Thank you to farmer Raymond and his brothers, for letting us learn more about their farm, the beauty of the English-raised Bluefaced Leicester sheep and that vital connection between the farming community, their sheep and their land.

We're honoured to play a small part in celebrating this heritage. Born, raised and made in England.

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The wool that we are using this year is from the supplier Upland Yarns and we are thrilled to be working with them again this year.