Description
Fibre Content: 100% British Leicester Longwool
Specification: Sport weight / heavy 4 Ply – 300m / 100g
Fibre: Sourced from Astcote, Northamptonshire, UK
Processing: Spun in Yorkshire, dyed in the UK
We’re delighted to introduce you to our most local wool yet: from flocks in Northamptonshire. This comes from a single flock of Leicester Longwool sheep in Astcote, just down the A5 from our studio. Flock owners Chris and Barry favour black Leicesters, which is why the yarn has a natural grey heathered appearance, as all the shades of black, grey, silver, and white have gone into this delightfully local spin.
The yarn is similar to other longwools, like our Aysgarth (Wensleydale) with an attractive fuzzy halo. It has been spun semi-worsted, which gives it a light and airy feel in the hand. We recommend using it for lightweight garments and accessories, although it will also perform well in socks worked at a tighter gauge. The stitches will shine best in lace, colourwork, and plain knit or crochet. This yarn hasn’t been superwash-treated, so it will felt if you want it to. This also makes it an excellent candidate for steeking, if you’re brave enough!
We hand dye all our yarn in our studio in the Royal Ordnance Depot, Weedon, by the Grand Union Canal. Our yarn has been hand dyed in small batches, and the colour consistency between batches is very good but can’t be guaranteed, so we recommend that you buy enough skeins for your project. If your project uses more than one skein, we also recommend that you alternate / stripe the skeins throughout.
Caring for your yarn:
When it comes to blocking or washing your project, use lukewarm water with your favourite wool wash, and lay flat to dry. We take great care to thoroughly set the dye and rinse the yarn afterwards, but differing water temperatures and chemicals can cause some dye to bleed. If you’re using it in a multicoloured project, we recommend washing a swatch first to test for colour-fastness.
Karen Hawkey (verified owner) –
Amazing service, quality, so looking forward too knitting it up, Christmas socks here I come.
Louise (verified owner) –
Julia B. (verified owner) –
Excellent service as ever, and a lovely way to celebrate Boris’ resignation that will stay with me for years to come!