Very suddenly it feels like autumn in London. My studio is chilly and I even turned on my little heater the other night! I usually only have that going in deep winter so my feet don’t get cold while I’m weaving.
With this fresh weather, I’m inspired to weave warm shawls and snuggly wraps for walking through crunchy leaves in the woods, and to work with materials and weaving yarns that feel soft and warm in my hands.
You may know that I’m a big fan of being cost effective with warps and using more luxurious yarns as wefts. So for shawls or wraps, do consider a warp such as Supima cotton or Tencel. We also have heavier versions of both yarns for a more thick and blankety feel. A spun mulberry silk would also be a great option, or even lond staple cototn / hemp. Really the choices are endless.
Let’s get to the list.
When I think of autumn weaving this is the first thing that comes to mind. Royal Alpaca has an exceptionally fine micron count. It’s the finest shear of the best alpaca. And it shows. It’s heavenly – warp, and with a slinky drap.
Since it’s blended with spun mulberry silk it’s strong and has an eye-catching sheen as well.
Alpaca is a beautiful choice for a shawl or a cowl, because it has no memory, so it has excellent drape. It also holds warmth like cashmere. Since it has such a fine micron count, it feels a lot like cashmere too. It comes in skeins, so it’s perfect to try out for smaller projects too.
This yarn is brand new to the shop and a limited edition run. A luxurious blend of British Bowmont merino, Bluefaced Leicester, and tussah silk, it’s soft, snuggly, woolly perfection.
It has a gentle bite from the tussah silk and the most spectacular softness from the 50% Bowmont wool. This is a seriously fine fibre.
This is non-superwash so for people wishing to make a fulled (lightly felted) shawl this is a really good option for an ultra high quality wool weaving yarn.
This is an extremely luxurious wool blend, with two varieties of British wool as well as tussah silk.
This might not be your first thought for autumn weaving, but go with me here.
Textured, earthy, dyes up in the richness that silk is known for. I think this is a serious contender for an excellent autumn yarn. I can imagine this in bold true autumn colours and the glow from the silk shining through. Silk weaving yarn is a classic choice, and the heavily slubbed texture adds an earthy richness to your work, perfect for autumn weaving.
That’s it! What do you think? Please share on social media if you found this helpful and tag us @saltwaterrosethreads. I’d love to hear what you think!