Yarn Reviews

We look at some of the new yarns, and companies, available this summer

Artisan Threads
100% wool, uncarded and naturally dyed

Artisan Threads is a new business set up by Penny and Gill who met in 2005 when they were both at college completing their City and Guilds courses in Creative Textiles and Embroidery. They discovered a mutual interest in fibres, textures and colour and also found they had an ability to bounce ideas off each other thereby creating pieces of work that don't always follow the "rules".

Following a trip to India with their husbands in  2007 Artisan Threads was born. Their "family conferences" became the basis for who they are today. Penny and Gill are committed to everything that is natural and organic, their fleeces are sourced locally, while their silk threads and fibres are imported from India. Their wish now is for people to use their naturally dyed yarns and fibres in innovative ways thus producing unique garments and textile art.

Leaving the yarn uncarded gives the fibre a truly organic almost living texture. Teamed with exquisite dyeing, these yarns are some of the most covetable around.

We worked our swatch using 5mm needles and a simple open lace stitch to really show the depth and texture of the yarns. An absolute delight, just like Penny and Gill.

www.artisanthreads.co.uk

See Penny and Gill's hairpin crochet necklaces in this issue

High Fibre

felted yarns from Fiona Henderson

Fiona has worked in the yarn industry for many year after studying Fashion/Constructed Textile Design at Middlesex Poly (now University). After graduating in 1985 she worked for Inge Cordsen at Livingstone Studio, London.

For the past fourteen years she also taught Fashion and Textile Design at both Kingston and Buckinghamshire Universities. Since 1993 continued to work on a consultancy basis for fabric agencies and individual studios developing directional knitted fabrics for companies in New York and Japan.

We asked Fiona what made her decide to branch into production for herself:

"About four years ago I had a real desire to try something new, more personal and a real change to the commercial projects I was used to working on. I have always had a 'hands on' approach and so I decided to go back to basics and started to research the qualities and construction of yarn itself.

Through my work I have always been involved with the technical aspects of machine knitting and the traditional craft of hand knitting and became inspired by the idea of trying to combine the two together. My main focus has been to develop textured and coloured effects which are knitted in rather than dyed or applied. This led to the creation of unique chunky machine knitted yarns, which I then hand knitted into simple scarves. I wear one myself every winter and it always attracts attention. But the question I am most frequently asked when wearing it is 'where did you get the yarn?' That was the beginning of 'High Fibre'.

Moving to the inspiring Fenland countryside eighteen months ago and the setting up of a more spacious studio has allowed the idea of yarn making to develop further and become a reality.

The felted yarns making up the current collection are made from 100% lambswool spun in Scotland. My love of playing with colour influenced the choice of colour palette. It was chosen so that colours could be used on their own or mixed with each other to create exciting new shades. I am already developing other knitted yarn ranges concentrating on natural fibres such as silk, mohair, alpaca and cashmere.

The yarns are knitted at the studio on two industrial machines one of which has been specially adapted for my purposes. The process itself still requires a certain amount of hand finishing, the intention being that the yarns remain unique and they never become a mass produced product.

Originally the yarn was created with just hand knitting in mind. I find it such an enjoyable experience to knit on a large scale! Further experimentation has opened up endless possibilities for its use as a material for weaving, dyeing, appliqué, jewellery making etc. I love the idea that people will choose to interpret the yarn in so many different ways creating their own individual projects from it.

Having a stand at Woolfest was such a good experience. It has such a good spirit and I am full of admiration for the members of the Wool Clip Co-operative for their work in promoting and supporting the use of natural fibres by individual makers".

Seeing Fiona's stand at Woolfest, Cumbria was one of those momentous moments when you see something really new. Fiona's background working for directional Japanese knitting companies really shines through as you study her yarn.

The yarns are created by Fiona machine knitting tubes of pure wool, sometimes joining in different colours as she goes. The tubes are felted and then wound into balls for handknitting. It is available in a range of different colours

Fiona is currently working on her website but in the meantime can be contacted by email: fiona@highfibredesign.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)1354 610685

Knitshop.co.uk

online shop for knitting, felting & more

Julieta of knitshop, the online yarn company, tells us about her business and what you can find instore.

Knitshop.co.uk was founded in June 2004 by Julieta and Vladimir. At first the business began as selling yarn and hand Knitted Baby Fashion. With the uniqueness of the yarn it quickly became the core focus of the business where it remains today. During the first few months of developing the company Julieta had great support from her partner Vladimir - he developed the website and is still the leading force in the technological side of the company. Julieta also has a great helping hand from her daughter (4.5 years old). She has been on shows, the market, most days she is with Julieta while she is working with the yarn, preparing customer orders or getting ready for exhibitions and shows. She likes to help and shows a great interest in the yarn and wool. She loves felting, and knitting with the giant knitting Nelly. Her most recent favorite is finger knitting.

Julieta says: "I would like to thank everyone who has shown great interest in our products, I'm trying to bring new and different yarns to the knitting market all the time. I know that a lot of my regular customers appreciate the quality and exuberance of products available from my store".

"I would also like to thank those people, suppliers, helpers and supporters who have been behind knitshop.co.uk from the start and of course the ones who came aboard during the years and still giving their support today. I hope to continue great relationships, and find and build up new ones".

Julieta has developed her skills, taking a course in Fashion Knitwear Design and now using those skills to write her own patterns with the knitshop.co.uk yarn. She also developed her skills in feltmaking and recently started to experiment with Nuno felting and cloth making. She enjoys many crafts although today she does not have the time for most of them. One of her first childhood craft Christmas presents was a spinning wheel, which she very much enjoyed. Later she took refresher courses in spinning and also learned how to work the drop spindle. The first silk yarns she sold on the knitshop.co.uk site, she dyed herself - they looked very variegated in colour, but that was what made them really unique and special.

This year Julieta has moved into a new studio, where she is able to further expand her creativity in the crafts. She is also running workshops in knitting and felting. Anyone interested in seeing her work can visit her at any of the shows and exhibitions that she participates in or arrange an appointment to see her in the studio in Woolwich (Greater London). Currently she is working on a book for felted bags alongside editor and author Susie Johns, who has already published around 22 books to date. This is Julieta's first book publication and will definitely not be the last. The book is planned to be in the shops and available from knitshop.co.uk in early 2009.

knitshop.co.uk offers many categories of products aiming to satisfy the taste and needs of those knitters and felters looking for yarns new and refreshing. Every item on sale is carefully selected and tested in our workshop.

The knitshop.co.uk branded yarns are made mainly from natural fibers and processed by nature preserving methods. The aim is to ensure a natural touch and softness to your knitwear.

The selection of knitting and crochet yarns stand out with the high quality and abundance of choice. The range varies from pure Chinese silk, blends of cotton and linen, wools in alpaca and mohair and the famous feather and fashion yarns.

For the felters and spinners there is a wide range of wool tops, fleece and rovings which are available in more than 100 colours.

To accessorise the knitting and felting experience, knitshop.co.uk offers a full list of supplies, ranging from the main sizes of knitting needles, through dry felting punching tools and pads to soaps for wet felting.

If one wanted to do some craft & felt - even to just try it out knitshop.co.uk offers a variety of kits - ideal to start with or as a gift. For those looking for ideas, there are patterns for knitting, crochet and felting to download free or to purchase. Look for it on the website www.knitshop.co.uk/pattern.html

knitshop.co.uk features monthly web offers and for those keen readers subscribing to the shop's newsletter there are regular updates. Subscribe to the newsletter or visit www.knitshop.co.uk/specials.html

knitshop.co.uk has supplied a number of stockists through out the UK. Products from the shop have been used for local schools and workshops, Adult education institutes and The Greenwich market, to name a few.

...shop online for yarn, wool & more at www.knitshop.co.uk.

See our free pattern, Tropicana by Just call me Ruby, using knitshop's beautiful Mulberry Silk

Knitshop - Cotton plyed wool yarn

Knitshop's latest yarn is this lovely double knit weight cotton/wool mix. It is 60% cotton and 40% wool and comes in 100gm balls with a 225 gram meterage. It is best knitted on a 4mm needle. It comes in a wide range of variegated and plain colours and has a crisp yet soft texture with beautifully defined stitch detail. The yarn retails at £6.88 per 100gms.

We did our swatch using 4mm needles and found the yarn an absolute pleasure to knit with. It drapes beautifully whilst still holding its shape. A perfect all year round yarn.

See the website for ordering information.