Our yarn isn’t just for knitting!
Hello everyone and welcome to September - again - 1 year later!
Apologies for the unacceptably long time between Tasting Notes. We have been ever so busy, and we’re currently in the lead up to the Autumn Unravel Yarn Festival - our' ‘local’ yarn show. The one that helped launch wool decanted 2 years ago! But, I just had to write these notes to bring you up to date on an exciting new collaboration we’ve been working on.
Let me give you a bit of background. At last Autumn’s Unravel show, a chance meeting with another exhibitor has resulted in a friendship and collaboration between weavers TabbyandTweed and ourselves wool decanted. TabbyandTweed is run by weavers Emma Baker and Gillian Siggers and together they design, develop and make weaving kits from entry level bookmark and square loom weaving kits to more advanced rigid heddle weaving loom kits. With our love of yarn a common ground between us our friendship has resulted in a collaboration to produce a rigid heddle loom weaving kit which includes our wool decanted Cellar Blends yarn with a pattern and instructions. As weaving is new to us we thought we’d interview TabbyandTweed about their work. I’ve shared the notes below and you, too, might be interested in their answers and how our yarn is now not just for knitting!
How did the collaboration between TabbyandTweed and wool decanted start ?
We first met last September as exhibitors at Unravel Festival at Farnham. We had an event space opposite Linda and Lisa and as we were both new businesses there was a lot to chat about. All four of us love yarn, using yarn for either knitting or weaving so the common ground was vast. We were immediately drawn to their gorgeous yarn and loved their link with the wine industry. Wool was purchased and woven and we were delighted with the results. We met Linda and Lisa again at Yarndale and Wonderwool Wales and plans for a collaboration developed with the design of a couple of scarf patterns which could be woven with wool decanted Cellar Blends yarns using one of our new rigid heddle looms.
What is the TabbyandTweed rigid heddle loom?
The loom is a small, compact loom which is perfect for a beginning weaver. The loom is ideal for weaving scarves using doubleknit yarn as the reed has slots and holes at a spacing of 8 ends per inch, which is a perfect sett to weave a scarf with a perfect drape.
Currently the loom is sold as either a scarf or cowl weaving kit with all the accessories, instructions, yarn and a pattern. At Unravel this year one of the options will be for the kit to be sold with a couple of special Wool Decanted scarf patterns with the yarn included in the kit.
How long does it take to weave a scarf?
This is a common question and is not that simple to answer. It depends on how fine the yarn is as this determines the number of warp threads (ends per inch). The more warp threads you have the longer the setting up time. The complexity of the design will also have an impact as this will determine the number of shuttle changes. For a beginner, using the Wool Decanted yarn, pattern, weaving instructions and a TabbyandTweed rigid heddle loom we would imagine that a new weaver could weave a scarf in about a day and a half. Warping the loom is the part of weaving that new weavers find challenging and for a new weaver it could take about 3 hours to warp the loom on the first attempt. The weaving is then likely to take another 4 or 5 hours before the fabric is removed from the loom, fulled and finished.
How do you decide on weaving colour combinations?
That is such a good question….. The first thing to say is that a different approach to colour and colour combinations needs to be considered as a weaver compared to a knitter. When weaving, the warp and weft the colours mix together. If you aren’t careful, two beautiful colours individually can be woven to produce a very mediocre or even unpleasant colour. One temptation as a weaver is to weave different shades of the same colour but we prefer to weave with the inclusion of what we call a ‘pop of colour’. This pop of colour will be provided by a yarn in quite a different colour or shade and it is often this pop of colour that the eye is drawn to in the final woven fabric creating something quite exciting. We worked closely with Linda and Lisa when choosing the yarns for our two scarves to make sure that we felt there would be sufficient contrast between the three yarn colours in each design.
What is the joy in weaving?
Wow, what an amazing question. How long have we got? We process local fleeces, we spin yarn, we knit, we crochet but our passion is weaving. Why is that? Such a complex question to answer but I think it is the mixing of the colours and textures on the loom which is appealing. I also think that it can be a little more experimental than knitting and there is something quite magical in weaving with new yarns, new colours and not really knowing how it will turn out. Whilst weaving is a slow textile because the setting up of the loom can be very time consuming the production of a scarf or fabric for dressmaking is quicker than knitting or crocheting once you start to weave. Like knitting and crochet I suppose there are endless designs and patterns and a bucket list of weaving will never be achieved by a weaver!
How does the woven fabric feel?
The feel of the final fabric depends on two things, first the yarn that is woven and the design. Much like knitting, a yarn that feels nice will feel nice when knitted or woven. A simple tabby weave creates a fabric with a flat surface which means that a scarf woven with a tabby weave will have lots of areas which will interact with the wearer. A more airy design such as one woven with pick up patterns has more texture so a scarf will touch the skin less often. We like to use British wool but we recognise that the breed of sheep that the yarn is derived from has a huge impact on the feel of the yarn and this is why some breeds of sheep fleeces are used in knitwear whilst others are used for carpets. wool decanted select their fleeces knowing that the yarn will be soft and perfect for knitting and now weaving.
Which is your favourite of the two wool decanted scarf designs?
We have designed two scarf patterns. One has two shades of blue and an undyed cream yarn and the other a green and pink scarf. I don’t think we could choose between the two. The blue scarf compliments any outfit, looking perfect with jeans. The green and passion pink scarf is I think fair to say more exciting producing an accessory which is vibrant and a real colour lift to a wardrobe. We would enjoy wearing both depending on our mood or outfit but we are excited to know what others think! Of course, whilst each of the designs suggest different yarns any of the DK wool decanted yarns can be substituted into the patterns so there is no need for someone to feel constrained by our colour choices!
The bluer scarf is made with the specially commissioned Cellar Blends colours, Navy (Vitis), Mid blue (Sunbelt), and Cream in a colour block design.
Special commission Cellar Blends colours drying in the breeze!
The green and pink scarf is made with Cellar Blends colours, Pistachio, Olive and Passion Pink yarns with a smaller pattern design than the blue scarf.
So there it is - we’re in the weaving way now and well as knitting!
I do hope you enjoyed reading about this new venture for us - we love it!
If you are attending Unravel do come and visit us both or alternatively if you are interested in either of our work then sign up to our newsletters using the links below.