Made in VT: Junction Fiber Mill

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. (WCAX) - Even on wintery Vermont days, there’s warmth in the making in White River Junction.

“We take raw wool from New England sheep farms and turn it into absolutely gorgeous yarn,” said Peggy Allen, co-owner of Junction Fiber Mill. Allen knows all the details about wool. “My husband and I have a sheep farm in White River Junction. It’s Savage Heart Farm, we raise Colored Corriedale and I was finding it more and more difficult to find mills where we could process our roughly 230 pounds of wool.”

At the same time, her friend -- and now business partner -- Amanda Kievet, was looking to jump from a career in web development. “And I just was really inspired by the sort of entrepreneurial spirit of Vermont,” Allen said.

With the contents of a fiber mill for sale in Richmond, the tight-knit duo decided to go for it, opening up shop in 2021. Since then, they say things have been going pretty... wool. “Beyond our wildest expectations. It has been amazing,” Allen said.

Junction Fiber Mill does a lot of custom wool processing for area farms but they also have their own, hand-dyed line of yarns called ‘Making Tracks.’

“My favorite color is maybe the Deep End right now, that’s sort of a mix of turquoise with like burgundy, it’s just a nice blues with a little bit of deep red,” Kievet says.

While they’re one of very few options for wool processing in the area, they say their final product is one of high quality. “We’re not producing yarn with a lot of slubs or sort of imperfections in it, it’s very consistent to work with,” Kievet said. She says it has a lot to do with their machines. “Without going in the weeds too much, produces yarn that has the fibers all in alignment, which can really bring out some of the wool’s unique characteristics, like luster.”

A consistent, fine, and semi-worsted yarn is what customers have come to expect from Junction Fiber Mill.

“Because they’ve dropped off this lanolin-soaked, so-so wool, you don’t think much of it,” explained Allen. “And then they see this magnificent wool and they’re just always like, ‘Holy mackerel!’” She says that’s what brings customers in the door time and time again. “They keep coming back, and then the word starts spreading. So, we gotta be doing something right”

You can buy their skeins of yarn online and on their warehouse open house days. Those interested in custom wool processing should reach out directly.

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