About Us

MacAusland's Woollen Mill is a name synonymous on Prince Edward Island with quality craftsmanship.

Family owned and operated, the business began operations as a sawmill and rollmill in 1870. In 1902, the company began producing woolen yarn and in 1932 they began producing woollen blankets. Since then, this quaint and proud family business has become known as the producer of the MacAusland Blanket.

Located in the western part of Prince Edward Island, they operate the only mill in Atlantic Canada producing quality, 100% pure virgin wool blankets. The Mill has retained much of the charm and heritage of years past, together with the tradition of quality craftsmanship which characterized those years.

Visitors to the Mill are extended a warm and courteous welcome and the opportunity to select the blankets and yarns of choice.

History

MacAusland's Woollen Mills is one of the Island's oldest businesses.

The mill started as a sawmill and gristmill back in 1870.

The business was founded by Archibald MacAusland, who had to convince the locals he wasn't crazy for starting up a mill and wanting to weave blankets. Business operations were later assumed by Archibald's son, Fred MacAusland. The business is now the only mill in Atlantic Canada still producing traditional blankets of 100% virgin wool.

The original operation included a carding machine to convert raw fleece to batts which the mill sold by the roll for handspinning. The MacAuslands realized the woollen products were their best seller and in 1932 the mill produced its first blanket, now the staple of the operation.

Fred MacAuslands sons, Eddie and Reg, inherited the business. They handed it down to their sons, Harry and Allan. Harry's son, Dale was at the mill until Spring 2021, now Allan's son Alex and Dale's daughter Monica run the mill today. Making it a fifth & sixth generation family business.

There haven't been a lot of changes over the decades. The mill suffered a major fire in 1949, with only one piece of equipment surviving, an extractor made of cast iron and a copper basket. Another major change was one in 1976, where the entire mill converted to electric motors to run the machines. The mill had, until then, operated by water turbines and diesel.

That isn't to say, though, with the fire and introduction of electricity, that the mill is operated by new machinery. A machine to wash the wool was purchased in the last few years to replace the conventional "oversized" washing machine they had been using. Built in 1949, the machine works better than the washing machines they had to continually replace.

The mill still uses old fashioned machinery to produce a top quality product woven with old fashioned charm.

The only mill in Atlantic Canada still producing traditional blankets of 100% virgin wool.

The Process

The products start as raw wool, purchased in the Atlantic provinces.

First the wool is put through a washing machine that was built in 1949 and washed with liquid soap and hot water. After the wool is washed, it weighs almost forty percent less, now that the dirt and grease are out. The wool is then dried in the wool dryer.

The carding machines which combs and brushes the wool, is made of more than a dozen wire bristled rollers through which the wool is fed.

The wool is then spun into thread on a 128-bobbin spinning frame. The wool is twisted into various plies, 2- and 3-ply are most popular. The mill will also fill orders for 1-5 ply yarn.

If the wool is to become yarn, it is wrapped into four-ounce skeins. If the wool is becoming someone’s blanket, it is warped onto a loom. Sixteen hundred warp threads make up a blanket, and each one is fed through a loom.

After the blankets are preshrunk in steaming hot soap and water, they are hung to dry in the dry house, and brushed again to make them fluffy, then hemmed, folded and packaged for sale or shipping.

The MacAusland Blanket

The MacAusland Blanket is a truly authentic handcrafted gift item of Atlantic Canada, made on P.E.I. from raw wool produced throughout the Atlantic region. The making of the blanket is an intricate and skilled craft.

It begins with a washing of the raw wool, which is subsequently dried and picked to remove grit and open up fibers. The cleaned wool is then carded (combed) and spun into thread.

The thread is warped (woven over a loom), fulled (preshrunk), washed once again and dyed. Finally, the woven wool is dried, "napped" or brushed to make it fluffy and warm, cut into blankets, hemmed and folded.

The result is the unique MacAusland Blanket...warm, soft, durable and beautiful.

MacAusland's Woollen Mills is a family business built on the traditional values of quality craftsmanship, beauty and durability.

Now in its 3rd century of operation, it's still family owned and operated and proudly produces the MacAusland Blanket

Carefully crafted from start to finish...the "Mill" still uses some equipment that was "state of the art" over a century ago. Today's MacAusland Blanket is still beautiful, warm and cuddle soft.

Made from 100% virgin wool, our blankets come in a variety of sizes, beautiful colours and limited edition patterns. They're also environmentally friendly in more ways than one.

The mill, located a short 1 hour drive west of Summerside and only two minutes from Mill River Golf Course, is the only mill in Atlantic Canada and one of the few in North America that makes only 100% pure, virgin wool blankets.