Years before the company was called Sirdar, the original spinning company, Messrs Harrap Bros. Ltd, was established in 1880 by Tom and Henry Harrap in Ossett – part of the market town of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.

In 1890, the firm moved to Alverthorpe, also in Wakefield and remain there to this day.

Fred Harrap, son of Tom Harrap, was running the company by 1934. He chose a direction for the company, one still followed to this day, of spinning hand-knitting yarns and selling the yarn to independent wool shops.

Fred wanted a strong name for the company and chose “Sirdar”. The word comes from the title assigned to the British controller of the Egyptian army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Jean Tyrell ran Sirdar in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s turning the firm into a respected international brand. She doubled profits in the first year by adding patterns to the company’s product line.

Mrs Tyrell developed many connections and relationships in the fashion industry, she was good friends with Estee Lauder, and used her knowledge and experience to grow the range of Sirdar patterns and yarns. Jean was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her contribution to the industry. Jean, also known as “Miss Harrap”, passed away in 2010.

A management buyout in 2007 saw three directors purchase the company to further grow the range of yarns and patterns.

In 2017, Sirdar was acquired by private equity firm Blue Gem and joins a collection of companies to form the world’s largest needle-craft company; DMC.

If you would like to see what is like to tour the Sirdar offices in modern times (well, 2016 to be exact) please read this lovely blog post by Christine on her Winwick Mum website.