Botanical Yarns
We buy in quality and luxury undyed yarns which fit standard gauges of knitting yarns. All our suppliers provide traceable yarns, with the welfare of the animals a priority.
Yarns are dyed in small batches as our process is very much of a “domestic” nature. Laurence is a meticulous note-taker and all our colours are carefully recorded with samples and batch numbers so that they can be reproduced with a fair amount of accuracy.Creating our botanically hand-dyed yarns is not a speedy process - beauty and reliability take time!
Many customers comment on the softness of our yarns and the ease with which they glide over the needles. The stitch definition is also well appreciated.
Raw Skeins
On arrival, each skein of yarn is carefully checked and re-tied appropriately for our dyeing process. The yarn is then soaked in our soft Highland water so that the fibres are ready to soak up the dye materials to come.
Dyeing
Yarns are dyed in small batches on our home range using either live plant material or plant extracts. To make our yarns as light-fast as possible, it may have to soak for 24 hours or more to absorb all the available dye.
Drying
Once the dyeing process is complete, we then leave the yarn to dry in the open air for 2 – 3 days before washing and rinsing thoroughly in our soft Highland water.
Skeins
When the yarn is dry, we hand-skein it using a swift.