Originally posted back in September 22, 2023
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I’ve been having a lot of fun, winding skeins of yarn into mini skeins!
There’s something oddly meditative with winding yarn, despite the noise that the yarn winder makes. I got a kitchen scale on hand, and that’s what I have been using in measuring out the weight accurately (I’m a bit particular about measurements and stuff).
Single-ply yarns are wonderful in giving projects that rustic and organic look. Stitches will not be perfectly consistent which I find meaningful in handmade items.
I had to take a moment and admire this yarn cake. Despite the lack of any other color, this yarn is beautiful.
Here are more photos I took of the yarn before working with them. I admittedly spent a lot of time folding these, and added some more ties around the skeins so that the yarn would not get tangled through the process, but it was worth it. These mini skeins are just oh so adorable!
On the left: 100% Wool | On the right: 80% Wool, 20% Nylon
Washed white vs. Natural
The Project
The idea is to make color samples that I can work with in developing color palettes, and they do make wonderful studio décor!
I used small jars to do color samplings. These are easy to manage and clean - and a big bonus is that you can clearly see what's inside.
After some trial and error, I finished applying all the colors and cleaned my workspace.
I washed all the yarn with wool wash before hanging them to dry.
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Project Results
I am very happy with how the mini skeins turned out! Here are some photos before I folded the yarn back into mini skeins.
The color developed at such a beautiful depth.
My favorite orange-brown shade!
I also did some fun, short videos of when I combined three shades of the same color into a dynamic skein. These are all available on all my YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram pages.
Three shades of gentle, earthy-brown folded into one skein.
My top three picks from this batch.
Yarn Information
The yarn I used for this dye session is from Briggs and Little Woolen Mill, a fiber mill based in New Brunswick, Canada. They were first known as York Woolen Mills that was started by George Lister in 1857, and then established as Briggs and Little Woolen Mills in 1916.
They also source their wool from a lovely seaside ranch called Maritime Family Fiber based in Maine, where Lacie (the owner) and her family have been fishing, shepherding, and knitting for at least 409 years!
It is truly an honor to work with wool steeped in history.