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April 2023 Newsletter
It's a glorious Easter weekend with the daffodils out and spring lambs gambolling in the fields. This month's newsletter features a number of new products, and there is also an exclusive spring offer on our 100% wool yarns.
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Contents
- Valley Yarns Tencel™
- Valley Yarns Mercerised Cotton
- Garnhuset Chenille
- Brassard Cotton Bouclé
- Test Weaving Alpaca
- Garnhuset Wool Discount Code
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Valley Yarns Tencel™
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Lots of people asked us if we could stock Valley Yarns Tencel™ - and now we do!
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It wasn't an easy decision; this yarn is only available on 454g cones, which is a bit big for most handweavers, so we took the plunge and invested in a winding machine so that we can wind it down to a more convenient 100g cone.
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Tencel™ is a form of lyocell made by dissolving cellulose from sustainably harvested eucalyptus trees and spinning and folding it into a yarn. The resulting yarn is 50% more absorbent than cotton, has a lovely sheen and drapes well.
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Our Tencel™ is dyed in three styles:
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- Solid, with 40 colours plus natural.
- Tonal, where lighter and darker tones of the same colour are dyed in sections along the length of the yarn. Seven tonals are available.
- Variegated, where different colours are dyed in sections along the length of the yarn. Nine variegated colours are available.
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Valley Yarns Mercerised Cotton
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Another yarn that many of you asked for was Valley Yarns Mercerised Cotton. We have decided to stock the full range of 44 colours (including natural) of the 5/2 NeC count. We were also able to purchase a more limited range of the thicker 3/2 NeC count; we have 25 colours at the moment but will expand this if there is enough demand. Let us know what you would weave with these yarns!
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Garnhuset Chenille
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Have you tried weaving with chenille? This cotton yarn is ideal for weaving towels and throws, making a super soft fabric. The colour tone changes depending on the angle of light falling on it, similar to a velvet or a velour.
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Tufts of cotton are twisted between two ends of cotton and dyed in solid colours. It is important to control the twist when weaving with chenille otherwise the appearance of the finished fabric will vary. Although usually a weft yarn it can also be used for warp, with a suggested 10dpi or 12.5dpi reed.
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There are sixteen colours, which are selling fast! We already have more on order and we will expand the colour range as soon as they are available.
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Brassard Cotton Bouclé
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If you are a Jane Stafford subscriber you will have seen her cotton bouclé tea towel weaves - they are popular as a beginner's project, and a relatively easy weave.
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This is the Brassard bouclé she uses: 100% cotton, with two ends twisted around a third end which loops in and out between twists. The extra surface area of the looped cotton makes the yarn much more absorbent.
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This cotton bouclé weaving yarn can be used as warp or weft, or teamed it up with a 8/2 cotton warp for projects such as table runners, towels or clothing fabric.
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Available in 44 colours, and also in kits to suit the Jane Stafford tea towel patterns.
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Test Weaving Alpaca
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What's on the loom this week? Alpaca! We have been asked to evaluate Rooster 100% alpaca for inclusion in our catalogue, so we've done a test plain weave to establish how well it weaves, wet finishes and to measure shrinkage.
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It's a lovely soft yarn, as you would expect, and has long protruding fibres. These fibres contribute to the softness and also trap air making the cloth warm in use, but the downside is that they tend to tangle between the warp and weft making weaving feel "sticky". This is less likely to be a problem on a countermarch or jack loom with a big shed, but on a rigid heddle loom it does slow down production and leads to a lot of fibre shedding! One of our Instagram followers recommended combing the fibres between picks, which certainly seems to help.
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Alpaca fibres are stronger and softer than sheep's wool and contain no lanolin, so people with sensitivities to wool or lanolin may find alpaca easier on the skin.
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The sample we tested is called "Sienna", part of a range of 31 colours, and is approximately an 11/3Nm count.
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Would you weave with alpaca? If so please let us know, to help us decide if we should stock this yarn.
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Garnhuset Wool Discount Code
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We love our Garnhuset wool range; 20/2Nm in 50 colours and 6/2Nm in 34 tonal colours. You can get some super results weaving it with our silk, on a cotton or Tencel™ warp, or with itself.
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You can get 10% off all of our wool using discount code SPRINGWOOL at the checkout. Code is valid until 31st May. Not valid with any other offer or discount code.
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Thank you for reading
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If you would like to get in touch you can send us email, phone, message us through social media or complete the contact form on our website. See you again soon!
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