I have a rotating stock of regular bases, as well as certain fibres I dye as limited edition one-offs. The fibres listed below are all part of my regular dyeing schedule, occasionally I will dye special edition bases in addition to these fibres.
I try to dye a variety of fibre types, some are super soft for the most delicate of skins, others are more sturdy and are great for garments. I also sell specialist sock fibres. From pure Wool, Wool-Blend, and Wool-Free Fibres, something for everyone, and every project.
I try to dye a variety of fibre types, some are super soft for the most delicate of skins, others are more sturdy and are great for garments. I also sell specialist sock fibres. From pure Wool, Wool-Blend, and Wool-Free Fibres, something for everyone, and every project.
Sock Fibres
Superwash Cheviot, Silk & Nylon Sock Fibre
More eco friendly version for 2022! Superwash treated Cheviot wool is wonderfully bouncey, allowing you to spin socks with greater elasticity. The superwash treatment allows you to safely wash your socks (wash a swatch in your machine to test). A touch of silk allows me to dye this base in super intense shades, and the nylon helps make sure that holes don't appear too quickly. Bio-Nylon is a special kind of synthetic that's specially treated to breakdown in landfill conditions, the synthetic fibres are broken down in anaerobic conditions by the bacteria in the landfill. The production method also uses recycled waste water. 70% Superwash British Cheviot, 15% Tussah Silk, 15% Bio-nylon. |
Superwash BFL & Ramie
Ramie is made from nettles in the same technique as used to make linen. This blend is crisp, with wonderful stitch definition. Hard wearing enough for socks, yet soft enough for lace shawls. Can go in your washing machine. 75% Superwash British BFL, 25% Ramie. |
Softer Wools
Corriedale & Lotus
Corriedale is sourced from New Zealand, and is 25-30microns with a 80-120mm staple length. It has a lovely crimp allowing you to spin lofty yarns. Lotus rayon is a processed cellulose fibre made from Lotus plants that have been chemically processed to create an extruded rayon/viscose. This fibre is completely biodegradable. 70% Corriedale, 30% Lotus Rayon |
Superfine Shetland
Shetland wool, grow on the Shetland Islands. The finest fleeces from the clip each year are selected and turned in to this combed top. If you've written off Shetland as being too coarse I strongly recommend you give this fibre a try, I think you'll be surprised. I try to stock this as regularly as I can, but stocks of the un-dyed fibre are limited. |
BFL & Baby Camel
Bouncey, and Fluffy, develops a slight halo over time. 75% British BFL, 25% Camel |
BFL, Alpaca & Seacell
This is a lovely soft fibre, drapes nicely, and has a real sheen from the sea cell. Seacell is a cellulose fibre made from seaweed, behaves in a similar manner to bamboo. 70% British BFL, 15% Alpaca, 15% Seacell |
Rambouillet
This is like Merino on steroids! A softer version of my popular Southdown top, this is a fibre with bounce and elasticity. The breed is a very old one, dating back to 1786 when the first Spanish Merino sheep were allowed to leave Spain as a gift to the French King. Micron Count 20-23 I love using this yarn for anything that requires stretchiness, and the ability to return to it's original size and shape. |
Polwarth & Yak
Incredibly soft and fluffy. 60% Polwarth, 40% Yak Down |
Sturdier Wools
Cambrian
My local wool.The Cambrian Mountains are the remote upland area in the centre of Wales. This stunningly beautiful landscape is one of the our best kept secrets... Sheep farming is vital to this area. The Cambrian Wool Companyselects the finest fleeces from these farms and has them processed, in the UK, in to Combed Top & Worsted Yarns. The sheep are known as Welsh Mules. A Mule is a cross between a native upland sheep, in this case Welsh Mountain, and a Blue Faced Leicester. These sheep produce wool with beautiful sheen, and incredible bounce, and a long staple length. The wool is a good multi-purpose fibre, will be soft enough for many to wear next to skin, but is a bit more hardwearing than breeds like Merino, or BFL. |
Zwartbles & Silk
Sometimes softness isn't everything... This is a slightly sturdier fibre, but one with a lovely crimp, that feels like proper wool. The silk adds shine, and creates a beautiful glowing effect to the fibre, and finished yarn. It also softens the blend slightly. Great for hats and mittens. Not everyone will be able to wear this around their neck, but it's by no means a prickly monster. |
Romney, Silk & Linen
Something a little bit different. This fibre gives beautiful stitch definition, but a really unusual texture. The linen content might give this fibre the appearance of being scratchy, and it definitely isn't. Those linen fibres simply provide a lovely texture, but aren't prickly. Romney is a long stapled British wool of 28-29 microns. Blending it with the silk it softens the blend, and increases the shine. Will work beautiful for shawls, and lightweight garments. 50% Romney, 25% Linen, 25% Silk |
Textured Blend
A gorgeous fluffy blend with a beautiful texture. Don't try to spin this smoothly, embrace the magic of the Sari Silk and go with the flow. Available in 2 versions, with and without Stellina, depending on your love of sparkle! 28% Manx Loaghtan, 28% Blue Face Leicester (BFL), 28% Sari Silk, 16% Merino |
Tweed Blend
South American Wool with gorgeous crimp and loft, with a viscose tweed nepp. This makes a yarn with a beautiful texture, and amazing flecks of colour. Soft enough for most to wear next to skin, sturdy enough that it won't pill when used for high-wear items. 90% South American Wool, 10% Tweed Nepps |
Cymreig
A mixture of beautiful Welsh wools and Kid Mohair. Black Welsh Mountain grow a fleece that's as close to true black as it's possible to get.Radnor sheep come from central Wales, a crisp wool with a disorganised crimp that's great for trapping air. Lleyn, has a longer staple length and a bit more open and wispy than then other two, with a more defined crimp. Then to all of those, just to add a bit of something special is the addition of some kid mohair. This has a long staple length to match these wool breeds, and just increases the shine. Some also say that you can use mohair as a strengthener in yarns, so you might want to experiment with this durable blend to create a non-nylon, non-superwash sock yarn. 25% Black Welsh Mountain, 25% Lleyn, 25% Radnor, 25% Kid Mohair |
Non-Wool
Cashmere
The softest fibre available. Doesn't have a long staple, but will make the most luxurious yarn. |
Silk & Kid Mohair
Very similar to a Baby Camel/Silk blend. Will develop a halo over time, unless you brush it to create a classic brushed mohair yarn. Best spun as a finer yarn. 65% Mohair, 35% Silk |
Royal Baby Alpaca
The finest grade of alpaca fibre available. At 18-19 microns this fibre is wonderfully soft. Alpaca excels in making soft, fluffy yarns with lovely drape. |
Currently Discontinued
These bases aren't ones that I am dyeing at present... which isn't to say I'll never dye them again.
Merino & Silk
Natural coloured Merino gives this base a great depth of colour, the wool also has a nicer handle than the white form we see used more commonly. It's been thoroughly blended with silk to give a fibre with incredible shine, wonderful softness that spins up beautifully. 50% Merino, 50% Tussah Silk |
Camel, Alpaca & Soyasilk
Soft and fluffy. Soyasilk is made from Soy beans, the protein fibre is broken down and chemical processed to produce a shiny lustrous fibre. Originally used extensively by Henry Ford as an upholstery fabric in his cars. This man-made fibre is biodegradable. 50% Camel Down , 25% Baby Alpaca , 25% Soyasilk |
Silken Yak-Paca/ Llama Yak Silk
An equal parts blend of Tussah Silk, Yak down and either Royal Baby Alpaca or Baby Llama (depending on availability) produced a blend that was luxuriously soft and fluffy with a lovely underlying sheen. The addition of the Alpaca/Llama avoided that pesky problem with blend that are just yak and silk, because you weren't left with a handful of yarn down after you'd drafted out the silk. 33% Tussah Silk, 33% Yark Down, 33% Royal Baby Alpaca/Baby Llama |
Corriedale, Yak & Rose
Great Bounce, Softness, but with a gorgeous sheen. Corriedale, Yak Down and Rose fibre combined to make a wonderfully fluffy combed top that works wonderfully as a fat yarn, and equally well as a thinner yarn. Rose fibre is a cellulose fibre made from the waste from the flower growing industry. Very similar to bamboo in appearance and feel. It is also bio-degradable. 50% Corriedale Wool, 25% Yak Down, 25% Rose Fibre |
Silk Brick
The best quality silk that I can find, its taken trial and error for me to find brick in a quality I'm happy with. Gorgeously shiny, smooth with consistent long fibres. The Silk bricks that are currently available aren't high enough quality... which is why I'm currently dyeing Mulberry Silk Tops. |
Scandi Blend
Drape, Shine, Depth of colour, the blend is fantastic for finer yarns. Gotland, Finn, Soyasilk, and Suri Alpaca have been combined to make a lovely combed top. The slightly high micron counts will make yarn made from this fibre harder wearing, but it's still soft enough for many to wear next to skin. When spinning don't add too much twist to keep the hand soft. 25% Gotland Wool, 25% Finn Wool, 25% Suri Alpaca, 25% Soyasilk |
BFL Pencil Roving
This is the final stage in commercial fibre preparation before yarn is spun. The thin strip of fibre has a small amount of z-twist added to help hold it together. If using for handspinning I've found it works best to spin your singles in the opposite direction to normal (s-twist) as that removes the twist already in the roving, and makes the spinning easier. The thin strip of fibre means you can get lots of colours in a very small amount of yarn. You can also knit with this fibre preparation, just use large needles, and patterns that call for super chunky. It makes particularly fab, speedy, tea pot and cafetiere cosies. You could also knit slippers, and then felt them for warm yet sturdy indoor footwear. |
Hilltop CloudHilltop Cloud- Spin Different
Beautiful fibre you'll love to work with. Established 2011 VAT Reg- 209 4066 19 Dugoed Bach, Mallwyd, Machynlleth,
Powys, SY20 9HR |