In our Ebay retail store we have 25% off all single cones of yarn during July! We are clearing space for our new Fall stock, and have slashed our already low prices. The sale lasts all July, and more cones will go up as the month progresses!

At Yarn Workshop, we are always delighted to show the hand dyed yarns created with our base yarns. Knotanotherknitter is a client of ours who purchased Grafton, our yak/wool blend. The colourway above is Velvet, while the colourway below is Forest.

While Knotanotherknitter is based in the UK, she ships worldwide.  The yarns are really gorgeous!

Grafton

This hat was knit from hand dyed Grafton (Yak/Wool blend), in my very own pattern. If there is any demand for a basic hat pattern, I’ll write it up for our customers.  The yarn was kettle dyed using Ashford acid dyes (brown and green), and plenty of vinegar.  The yak fiber does not take up the dye quite as quickly as the wool does, and seems to require more vinegar in the dyeing process to exhaust the dye. The colours are somewhat more muted than would be achieved with pure wool, and after a rinse with some fabric softener, my husband pronounces it to be “without itch”.

Here is a shot showing the fit of the hat.

Killara

The samples of the Killara (silk/wool blend) were dyed in the  same batch as the Grafton yarn above.  You will notice the gorgeous saturated colours, and the very silky hand.  Bigger swatches will be posted in the forthcoming days.  The Killara took the dye beautifully – I think that this colourway looks like a chocolate mint. I tried to balance the colours in this yarn to make the pale green more dominant than in the hat (which was intended to resemble camouflage).

Grafton

Please welcome Grafton, our 50% yak/ 50% wool sport weight blend (14 wraps per inch, 3/15nM, 500 metres per 100 gram skein).  Grafton is super soft, and the loft of the yak hair makes for super soft, warm garments. The yarn is still in its spinning oil, and we recommend that it be washed in a tap water hot (60 degrees celsius) bath with a good squirt of hand dish washing detergent.  It can be left to soak for up to half an hour, and then rinsed and treated with a fabric  softener (eg Cuddly). It can be spun dry on a spin only cycle in a washing machine.

Here is a photo of the yarn where the unwashed skein is on the right, and the washed skein is on the left.

Dyed skeins and swatches will be posted in the next day.

Killara

Killara is our premium lace weight 55%  silk/ 45 % superwash wool blend (28 wraps per inch after washing, 3/28 nM, 933 metres per 100 gram skein).  It has a tremendous drape, and sheen, and is silky smooth with no itch whatsoever.  It will knit to the same gauge as Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18, and it blocks like a dream.  The superwash wool will be forgiving in the dyeing process, but we do not recommend machine washing or drying for any finished garments. The yarn is lightly oiled on the cone, and will bloom very lightly after a soak in a bath of 60 degree celsious water with the addition of normal dish washing liquid.  Below you can see a photo of the yarn before washing (on the left) and after washing (on the right).

Once again, dyed skeins and swatches will be posted within the next day.

We have large quantities of both yarns, and have been able to source special air freight prices for orders of more than 35 kilos.  Unfortunately, the new sock yarns, merino yarns, and bamboo blends have been delayed, and we will not be able to ship orders of those yarns until mid April. Please contact me for wholesale prices.  Our wholesale prices apply for all orders over 5 kilos in total.