Marie Wallin is a knitter and crocheter, a knitwear designer, and the entrepreneur behind Marie Wallin Designs, producer of British Breeds yarn.

We chatted with Marie about her journey through the fiber world and about her gorgeous yarn. Read on to learn more!

How did you fall in love with fiber?

I’ve always loved wool, since my earliest memories! I particularly remember loving the smell of some wool yarn my mother had, she was knitting an Aran sweater at the time!

Please tell us how you started out as a knitter and crocheter, became a designer, and then went on to create your own line of yarn.

I did a degree in textile and knitted textiles at Leicester Polytechnic – now DeMontfort University from 1982 – 1986. Once I graduated I worked for a small knitwear manufacturer in Nottingham and then in 1988 I started my own business designing and making hand-framed and handknitted garments for retail. After 3 years I met my husband and decided to ‘settle down’ so I decided to go back into commercial design and I worked at another knitwear manufacture in Leicestershire as a designer until I joined Rowan in 2005. From then until 2013 I was head designer at Rowan and then in 2013 I started my current business – Marie Wallin Designs.

What has surprised you about your career in fiber?

I’ve loved every aspect for my career, particularly the people…the knitting community either hand or commercial are generally very nice! 

Please describe your yarn and the process of making it. What breeds of sheep do you use, and what characteristic does each provide in the composition of the yarn?

British Breeds took two years to develop into the beautiful, soft, bouncy 4 ply yarn that it is today. Worsted spun in Devon by John Arbon Mill, British Breeds is currently available in 26 glorious colours.

British Breeds is made from four different British sheep breeds. The wool fibre from each breed adds a certain characteristic to the yarn; Bluefaced Leicester adds the beautiful softness, Exmoor Horn adds the softness too but this sheep produces a white fleece therefore adding a ‘cleaness’ to the blended tops making for more successful dyeing. Romney adds the strength and slight lustre and Zwartbles adds the bounce or springiness. To produce the yarn, the Bluefaced Leicester, Exmoor Horn and Romney wool fibres are first blended together and then dyed into various coloured tops. These coloured tops are then blended together using a ‘recipe’ to create each of the 26 base colours. Each colour base is then blended with the undyed Zwartbles fibre creating the amazing mélange effect. Once the yarn is spun it is sent to Edward Hill’s Ltd in Bradford to be steam relaxed and balled into 25g balls. The steam finishing ‘opens up’ the yarn creating the full, light appearance and handle. 

What is your favorite knitting technique, and why?

Fairisle knitting, of course! I use the word ‘Fairisle’ as a generic term to describe stranded colour work as my designs are mainly not traditional Fairisle patterns.

If you could sit and knit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

High up near the ruins of Crackpot Hall, in Swaledale, in the Yorkshire Dales. The walk from the village of Keld to Muker via Crackpot Hall is my most favourite! It’s simply beautiful.

What’s on your needles right now?

The new Fairisle Club 10 project, the ‘Tree of Life Throw’.

What do you get up to when you’re not at work?

I walk a lot… with the dogs! We moved to the Yorkshire Dales 3 years ago and so I’m currently designing and planning my garden at Park House…work starts next month! I also love to bake and cook!

Where is the best place for folks to keep up to date with everything Marie Wallin?

I publicise everything I do via my newsletter. I try and write one every month but now it’s every two months! Anyone can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking on the link at the bottom of any page on my website www.mariewallin.com.

The Endless Skein now carries Marie Wallin's British Breeds yarn and British Breeds Aran!