Leon Martin purchased a herd of charmac merino sheep in 2007 whose wool has now been turned into a crepe weave, chiffon-style fabric with soft handle and good draping properties.

As reported by ABC Local, Martin’s wife Sandra, an image consultant, planted the idea of using wool from their charmac merinos to create a new fabric.

"With shopping trips we took clients on into the Northern Hemisphere, I took time to get feedback from people down in the retail level of their attitude towards Australian wool and mulesing.

"Seriously, it was just a conversation stopper."

A South-African breed with infused Australian merino genetics, the Charmac breed has minimal wrinkles and a clean breech, negating the need for mulesing, or removing the skin from the sheep's rear to prevent flystrike.

The Martins used a wool industry consultant to help them come up with the right style of fabric for dressmakers and designers who work with wool.

The result is a new weave known as Wool Charné.

"Charné McNaughton, it was her family who produced the sheep flocks for two or three generations, prior to Henri and Charné.

"So we've named it in honour of her family, by using her Christian name."

Martin suggested the wool offered niche opportunities to the market.

“At this point in time I don’t think it will be a major article in wool sales, but it’ll be for people who are looking for fabrics or garments that are made with a point of difference.”

While the fabric isn’t yet ready for commercial production, feedback from designers including Alex Perry has been good.

Once the product is ready, Martin plans to approach industry to see if he can secure orders, then commission the production of his stockpiled wool.