The start of creating yarns

The challenge of finding 100% wool yarns in Aotearoa New Zealand that are suitable for weaving with is tricky.

The yarns that The Shetland Tweed Company used in production came from the sheep on the islands, and are blended colours. The blend allows for different colours to be highlighted in the weaving and makes for smoother transitions between colours. Traditional tweeds, such as those in the image above, make use of contrast to create their unique look, the result of which is often stripes or blocks. The Tweed Company wove colours together resulting in subtler transitions, like those in the image below, while retaining the “tweedy” look.

Those types of yarns are not available in Aotearoa, at least not if one is wanting to acquire 100% wool yarns that are made in the country with local sheep’s wool. Most production has gone overseas and what is left in the country is busy and unable to take custom orders for small amounts of yarn. However, the first batch of a shade over 8kgs of raw wool, courtesy of farming friends, has just gone over the mountains to be washed and carded for the studio. This will be spun and dyed in order to find out if all parts of the yarn process can be done in New Zealand for small amounts. The next time wool is sent over it will be washed, and then dyed in batches before being hand-blended for a mix of colours. Carding and spinning will be last in that process. The studio might finally be on the way to suitable yarns for West Coast production…