Who Is Johnstons of Elgin? The Scottish Mill Explained

Johnstons of Elgin is a Scottish textile mill, founded in 1797 in Elgin by Alexander Johnston, that still turns raw fibre into finished cloth on one site and knits its cashmere in Hawick. Coveti carries 433 pieces of Johnstons of Elgin cashmere and cloth, from women’s cashmere jumpers to the men’s Rory Grey Classic Cashmere Crew Jumper.

So who makes it, and where? Johnstons of Elgin makes its own cloth and knitwear in two Scottish mills: Newmill in Elgin for woven goods, and a mill in Hawick, in the Scottish Borders, for knitwear. It has worked this way since 1797, it has passed between only two owning families, and the house says the business employs more than 1,000 people.

The name on the label and the name on the mill gate are the same, and the house puts it plainly: “We make what we sell and have proudly been Made in Scotland for over two centuries,” the house says on its heritage page. At Coveti, 381 of the 433 product pages carry a Made, Knitted and Woven in Scotland line, depending on the piece.

Newmill: the vertical mill on the River Lossie

Alexander Johnston was 23 when he started the business in Elgin. Wikipedia dates him 1774 to 1864. The mill is Newmill, on the banks of the River Lossie, and the house says it has operated there for 225 years. The soft water of the Lossie is still used to wash the fibre.

By 1811 Newmill was a fully vertical weaving mill, taking work from raw fibre to finished product on a single site, and the house says it still holds that status today. In practice, according to Wikipedia, that means carding, dyeing, spinning, weaving and finishing all happen at Elgin.

In more than two centuries the business has passed between only two owning families. Wikipedia records that it was sold in 1920 to Edward Stroud Harrison, who had joined in 1904 as a designer. Wikipedia also credits E.S. Harrison with the house marque in the 1930s: a letter J, a thistle and a bee.

Hawick and the knitwear

For its first 183 years Johnstons was a weaving business. That changed in 1980, when the house moved into knitwear manufacturing with a mill in Hawick. Wikipedia adds the detail: the company bought Eastfield Mill, built in 1882, and it knits on Shima Seiki machines.

The split between the two mills is simple, and the brand FAQ states it in one line: “Our woven goods are crafted at our mill in Elgin, while our knitwear is produced at our Hawick mill.” So a scarf, a stole and a throw come from Elgin, while a crew neck jumper, a cardigan and a polo come from Hawick. If you want to go further into the yarns themselves, our guide to Johnstons of Elgin cashmere, ply and superfine covers the knitwear side in detail.

Estate Tweed and the Balmoral cloth

Tweed came before cashmere at Newmill. In the 1840s the house created its first tweed as a form of camouflage for estate workers.

In 1853 the mill wove the Super Balmoral Tweed for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Balmoral Estate. Wikipedia says the company now holds three royal warrants, for Estate Tweeds, Knitwear and Woven Accessories, the tweed warrant dating from 2013 and the other two granted in 2024.

You can see that tweed history at Coveti in the coats. The women’s Balmacaan Peregrine Glen Urquhart Coat, in lambswool, is $3,370 at Coveti, and the men’s Balmacaan Moorland Glen Urquhart Check Coat, in wool, is also $3,370 at Coveti. The Glen Urquhart check is a woollen twill with small and large checks, named after the Glenurquhart Estate in Inverness-shire, where the Countess of Seafield first used it in the 1840s for her gamekeepers. Our guide to the Balmacaan coat and its Scottish cloths explains the cut.

1851: the first Scottish company to weave cashmere

The 1840s and 1850s were a busy time at Newmill for new fibres. Alpaca arrived in 1842. In 1849 the mill made its first import of vicuna from Peru. Merino followed in 1851, and camelhair in 1861.

The fibre that defines the house today came in 1851, the year the family visited the Great Exhibition in London. That year Johnstons bought a bale of cashmere fibre in London and became, the house says, the first Scottish company to weave with it. Knitwear followed in 1980, at Hawick.

Trade followed the cloth. The first export consignment went to Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1813, then to Jamaica. By 1880 France was the mill’s main European market, with more than 20 customers, mostly in Paris. The house won the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1978, 1994 and 2002, and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for sustainability in April 2021. It now sells in 65 countries.

Where the cashmere comes from

The brand FAQ says its cashmere comes primarily from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, all from farms certified by the Sustainable Fibre Alliance. The house helped found that alliance in 2015. It is a non-profit that works along the cashmere supply chain, from herders to retailers.

The scale is worth knowing. The house says it takes fibre from the equivalent of around one million goats a year, and that a herder typically looks after around 200 goats. Fibres from Mongolia and China are blended to balance durability with hand feel. In 2019 the house set up its first course in sustainable pasture management, called Haraacai, the Mongolian word for swallow. Its merino is Responsible Wool Standard certified and comes from Australian farmers, the house says.

The house also works with Cashmere Circle, a Scottish aftercare company, on a repair, revive and recycling service for its knitwear.

How many hands make a jumper

On its craftsmanship page the house says that as many as 33 people work on a single scarf, rug and stole, and that between 32 and 37 people might touch a jumper before it is ready to wear. That is the plain case for a mill that does its own work: a great many people see each piece before you do.

Six pieces at Coveti are marked as traditionally linked by hand. Knitwear pages also print a garment measurement table in centimetres, with chest width measured flat, body length and underarm sleeve length. Our Johnstons of Elgin size guide walks through how to read those numbers against a jumper you already own.

What Coveti carries

The edit at Coveti is 433 pieces, 246 women’s and 187 men’s, all at full price. Knitwear is the heart of it. Men’s knitwear alone is 156 pieces, which is 156 of the 327 pieces in Coveti’s whole men’s knitwear category, so about half of everything in that department is from this one Scottish mill. On the women’s side there are 115 jumpers and 62 cardigans, with smaller groups of sleeveless knits, T-shirts and shirts. The table below gives the count and price range for each group.

Beyond knitwear there are coats, trousers and loungewear. Women’s coats run from The Great Coat in Brown at $2,910 at Coveti to the Camel Cashmere Wrap Coat at $6,440 at Coveti. Men will find Balmacaans, car coats and men’s trousers, among them the Kirk Natural Cashmere Sweatpants at $1,510 at Coveti. For women there are cashmere sweatpants and wide leg trousers.

Product pages use the house’s own language. The house labels 2-ply yarn as lightweight and 3-ply as midweight, the finer line reads 100% Superfine Cashmere, and the flecked yarn reads 100% Donegal Cashmere. Fit lines run from Regular and Relaxed to Oversized, Tailored, Cropped and Longline. More ply is a different weight of knit, not a mark of better quality. Our explainer on cashmere gauge covers the related question of stitch density.

How to start: three first pieces

First, a 2-ply crew neck. This is the lightweight jumper that fits under a jacket and over a shirt, and it is the clearest expression of the Hawick mill. For women, the Lunan Classic Crew Neck Navy Cashmere Jumper is $1,030 at Coveti. For men, the Rory crew linked above is $1,090 at Coveti, and for a finer 3-ply hand the Fin Grey Superfine Cashmere Jumper is $1,180 at Coveti.

Second, a Donegal jumper. Donegal is a cloth with small flecks of coloured yarn worked in at irregular intervals, giving a heathered look; the name comes from tweed woven in County Donegal, Ireland, and Johnstons uses it for its flecked cashmere yarn. The women’s Cairn Grey Donegal Cashmere Jumper is $1,220 at Coveti, and the men’s Tiree Grey Donegal Cashmere Jumper is $1,320 at Coveti. Our guide to Donegal cashmere and how to wear the fleck goes further.

Third, a coat. A Balmacaan in Glen Urquhart check shows the tweed side of the house, the cloth tradition it began with in the 1840s. Browse the full range of women’s wool coats and men’s coats to compare cuts.

On care, the house is specific. Hand wash knitted cashmere with a shampoo made for cashmere, reshape it after rinsing and let it dry naturally, never in a tumble dryer. Always fold knitwear, never hang it. Woven cashmere such as scarves and stoles should be dry cleaned. Hang tailored outerwear on a sturdy shaped hanger in a breathable garment bag, never plastic. Our guide on how to wash cashmere has the step by step.

Johnstons of Elgin around the world

In the UK, a 2-ply jumper is the year-round layer, and a Balmacaan is a coat for wet autumns and cold, damp winters. UK buyers say jumper; US buyers say sweater, and the pieces are the same. In the US the coats suit the Northeast and the Midwest best, while the 2-ply knits cover milder states for most of the year. In the EU it is the same logic: a lighter knit for spring and autumn, a 3-ply and a coat for deep winter. In the GCC, a 2-ply cashmere crew is the piece that works in heavily air-conditioned rooms in summer and on cooler desert evenings in winter, and a coat earns its place on trips to London and Europe.

Sizing is in letters, XS to XXL, with some styles in XXS and some in double sizes such as XS / S. Women’s models on the brand pages are 177 to 180 cm and men’s 178 to 187 cm. Prices at Coveti are shown in US dollars, every piece is 100% authentic, and Coveti is London-based and ships worldwide. To see the full edit in one place, visit the Johnstons of Elgin brand page at Coveti.

The Johnstons of Elgin edit at Coveti in numbers

How we measured: a count of the 433 Johnstons of Elgin pieces live on Coveti on 1 November 2026 (246 women’s, 187 men’s), grouped by Coveti category, with the lowest and highest US dollar list price in each group. Groups with fewer than three pieces are left out. 381 of the 433 product pages carry one of three lines: ‘Made in Scotland’, ‘Knitted in Scotland’, ‘Woven in Scotland’.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Johnstons of Elgin?

Johnstons of Elgin is a family business that has passed between only two owning families since 1797. Alexander Johnston founded it in Elgin at the age of 23. Wikipedia records that it was sold in 1920 to Edward Stroud Harrison, who had joined in 1904 as a designer. The house says the business employs more than 1,000 people today.

Where is Johnstons of Elgin made?

Johnstons of Elgin is made in two Scottish mills. Woven goods such as scarves, stoles and throws come from Newmill in Elgin, on the River Lossie. Knitwear comes from the Hawick mill in the Scottish Borders, which the house set up in 1980. At Coveti, 381 of 433 product pages carry a Scotland line.

Is Johnstons of Elgin cashmere good quality?

You can judge it by what the house controls. Newmill has been a fully vertical mill since 1811, taking raw fibre to finished cloth on one site, and the house says up to 37 people might touch a jumper before it is ready. Its cashmere comes from farms certified by the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, which the house helped found.

When did Johnstons start making cashmere?

The house bought its first bale of cashmere fibre in London in 1851 and says it became the first Scottish company to weave with it. That was the same year the family visited the Great Exhibition. Weaving came first. The house moved into knitwear manufacturing in 1980, when it established its mill in Hawick in the Scottish Borders.

How many Johnstons of Elgin pieces does Coveti stock?

Coveti stocks 433 Johnstons of Elgin pieces, 246 women’s and 187 men’s, all at full price. Men’s knitwear is the largest group at 156 pieces, followed by 115 women’s jumpers and 62 women’s cardigans. There are also coats, shirts, trousers and sweatpants. The table in this guide lists every group with its price range in US dollars.

How should I care for a Johnstons cashmere jumper?

Hand wash it with a shampoo made for cashmere, reshape it after rinsing and dry it naturally, never in a tumble dryer. Comb the surface gently to lift small balls of fibre. Fold it rather than hanging it, and store it in a drawer, box and breathable bag with cedar wood balls, as the house advises.