Duvet and pillow covers: Made from 100% natural Merino wool

Norwegian company Lillelam has pioneered the development of 100% Merino wool duvet covers and pillowcases.

When people think of wool bedding they tend to think of duvets and blankets. However, Norwegian company Lillelam has launched a world-first commercially available duvet cover and a pillowcase made from 100% Merino wool.

Norwegian company and Woolmark licensee Lillelam was launched in 2004 and pioneered children’s apparel made from pure Merino wool, which at that time was an unknown natural material for most people in the Scandinavian country.

Today, Lillelam is a market leader in Norway for children’s premium clothing. Always committed to using 100% Merino wool, the company has recently diversified into bedding products for adults, developing of a unique duvet cover and pillowcase made from the fibre.

The new products are machine washable and are available in a range of colours and two sizes. The products are made from 100% Extra Fine Merino wool, making them soft and comfortable against the skin.

“It has been a long process. It has taken almost four years to develop the bedding,” said Lillelam founder Pernille Baylon Siem.

“It has been challenging technically to produce such thin and large panels with long wool fibres. It has never been done before. We are pleased that we are finally ready to launch pillowcases and duvet covers in 100% Merino.”

The products were recently unveiled as part of Lillelam’s ‘Baylon’ brand, a family name that has a long history in the wool industry at Mazamet in the South of France. Pernille’s mother is from Mazamet and the family’s wool business flourished there for several hundred years until synthetics entered the market in the 1960s.

“This was before my time, but the love for natural fibres and emphasis on quality is a part of my upbringing and my family’s passion,” Pernille said. “I started Lillelam in 2004 based upon this inspiration, and I am very proud of the brand named Baylon that is a direct link to the younger days of the wool industry in my family.”

Now the heritage lives on in Norway, where Lillelam combines French traditions for exquisite craftsmanship and finesse with the Norwegian passion for wool.

“We proudly display the Woolmark logo to show customers that we are serious about quality,” Pernille said.

In her early years Pernille studied and worked in the arts, and it was only when she had children that her idea for a Merino wool apparel business developed.

“I searched for Merino clothes for my children – as that is what I was used to from my childhood. But this turned out to be a challenge as the market in Norway was dominated by either synthetic fibres or lambswool. I felt a strong urge to bring Merino wool to Norway so I spent two years doing thorough research to prepare for business.”

The Lillelam brand and the business has grown steadily to become a dominant supplier in the Norwegian childrenswear market. Today, Lillelam has an annual turnover of about NOK30 million (AU$4.5 million) and 230 retailers selling the company’s products throughout Norway. The company also sells worldwide via its own online store at www.lillelam.com.

Now entering the bedding market, Pernille believes that Merino wool is nature’s finest fibre for this sector too.

“Wool has been used to sleep in since the dawn of time – before cotton, synthetics and before the washing machine. Merino wool is a natural fibre with unique characteristics and health and environmental benefits that these other materials cannot match.”

More information: www.lillelam.com

This article appeared in the December 2020 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged, however prior permission must be obtained from the Editor.