British Breeds 4-Ply Yarn
British Breeds took two years to develop, and the result is a soft, bouncy 4-ply wool yarn with real character. It's worsted-spun in Devon by John Arbon Mill and blended from four British sheep breeds, each adding something different:
- Bluefaced Leicester: beautiful softness
- Exmoor Horn: added softness, plus a white fleece that keeps the blend clean for more successful dyeing
- Romney: strength and a slight lustre
- Zwartbles: bounce and springiness
How it's made: The Bluefaced Leicester, Exmoor Horn, and Romney fibres are blended and dyed into coloured tops. Those tops are blended using a "recipe" to create each of the 26 base colours, and each base is then blended with undyed Zwartbles fibre for a lovely mélange effect. After spinning, the yarn goes to Edward Hill's Ltd in Bradford to be steam relaxed and balled into 25 g balls. The steam finishing opens up the yarn, giving it a full, light appearance and handle.
Perfect for colourwork: The mélange colours make British Breeds an ideal choice for Fair Isle and stranded colourwork, creating the beautiful patterns associated with Marie Wallin designs.
Details
- Fiber: 100% wool
- Plies: 4-ply, worsted-spun
- Put-up: 25 g / 85 meters (93 yards) per ball
- Fair Isle gauge: 6.5 stitches and 7.25 rows per inch on US 3 needles
- Stockinette gauge: 6.5 stitches and 8.5 rows per inch on US 2.5 needles
