Knitter’s world
This year marks a new chapter for Wendy and Peter Pan yarns as James C Brett takes the reins of these iconic brands…
How yarn business, James C Brett, has saved two favourite UK knitting brands
Do your mum or your nan remember Peter Pan and Wendy yarns? If they are knitters, we bet they do! Perhaps you were lucky enough to wear a Peter Pan or Wendy cardigan as a baby – the chances are you probably did as they were the go-to baby yarns for decades. It’s quite a feat when a company has been around for almost 100 years – but that’s what makes iconic British yarn brands Peter Pan and Wendy so loved, having produced premium quality yarns for almost a century.
In 1928, Arthur Carter, owner of Carter and Parker, a well-known institution in the wool trade, introduced two new yarns. Arthur was an acquaintance of J M Barrie, author of the Peter Pan novel. Due to this friendship, Arthur was granted use of the names Wendy and Peter Pan for the yarn – the only other organisation ever to have been given permission to these rights was Great Ormond Street Hospital!
Sadly, Peter Pan and Wendy fell into administration at the beginning of the global pandemic in March 2020, but have since been rescued by new owners and fellow yarn manufacturers, James C Brett. We took the opportunity to speak with new MD Jamie Brett and delve into the history of the brands.
Since taking over the brand last year, Jamie and his team have retained the original premises in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, and have fortunately been able to save the jobs of many of the original employees. Jamie has worked in the yarn business for around 35 years: “As an industry, UK yarn is probably the nicest industry to work in,” he says. “Although we have many competitors, we genuinely regard most of them as friends. As such, we have both received and given lots of help to our fellow UK brands. As for our
"We want to produce yarns for the customer who crafts regularly, providing them with first class results, but at prices they can afford project after project"
customers, we see many of them as our extended work colleagues and have worked with some for 40 plus years – what’s not to like about that?”
The brand’s o ering is one of the biggest of the yarn market, producing yarns of the highest quality, many with added value such as wool content, but at a ordable everyday pricing. “We want to produce yarns for the customer who crafts regularly, providing them with first class results, but at prices they can a ord project after project,” says Jamie.
The Peter Pan design and yarn collection is the epitome of stylish and fashionable handknitting and crochet – this makes it perfect for making for babies and children. The Peter Pan DK o ers a beautiful rainbow of shades from delicate pastels for newborns through to trendy brights for kids and uses only the very best of fibres and the most advanced spinning technology to produce the world’s finest yarn.
The Wendy collection is renowned for its outstanding value and has established long lasting classic yarns, consisting of a mix of blends and pure natural fibres. These are classic weights and traditional twists, ideal for making heirloom pieces that knitters enjoy creating for themselves. “We o er premium quality, but with a family business behind it all that cares about the product, our retail partners and our in-house team, without whom none of this would be possible,” Jamie says. “In a strange world that sees yarn companies being bought and sold by investment companies, we remain fiercely independent, doing what is right by our stockists and sta . We’re just a family business with a very, very big yarn stash.”
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Peter Pan and Wendy!
If you would like more information on these two historic brands, visit www.wendywools.com and www.jamescbrett.co.uk