Have you ever wondered how the yarn you love to knit found its way to your needles? Follow along on the path that a skein of wool takes from the farm to your hands—and fall even deeper in love with your knitting.
Knitters dream of yarn: soft, warm, robust, or colorful, we can’t get enough. How does a skein of yarn make its way to your needles? What path does yarn take? For natural fiber, it all begins on a farm.
“I think it's an exciting time to be a farmer and to share our experience of raising the animals and collecting their fiber and figuring out what to do with it.” - Tammy White, Wing & A Prayer Farm
The new series The Yarn Chronicles traces the path of unique small-batch yarns from the shepherd and sheep who grow the fiber, through the hands of the shearer who gently harvests the wool, to the mill that twists the fiber into yarn, into the hands of knitters and fiber artists. Along the way, you’ll learn about the dedication and skill that drive every part of the process of yarn-making—and how knitters can support a more sustainable, local, and meaningful craft world. Join us for four inspiring, thought-provoking episodes that follow yarn from flock to fabric.
“Fiber is such a joining thing. It brings people together because people have memories connected to fiber.” - Tegan Frisino, Comfortcloth Weaving
Included in this course:
Featuring:
Sponsors:
Eucalan
Eucalan is an eco-friendly, no-rinse laundry solution, ideal for natural and delicate fibers. Our gentle, lanolin-enriched formula preserves the softness and longevity of hand-knit garments, ensuring they last longer with every wash.
Lessons
If you love wool and want to deepen your understanding of the inner workings of a local production farm and their small-batch yarns, you’ll love this video, the first episode in the Yarn Chronicles series.
Length: 29 min
Sponsors
Wing & A Prayer Farm
Wing & A Prayer Farm, owned by Tammy White since 2001, raises breed specific fiber from beloved flocks, processed locally and regionally, and dyed with pigment foraged and grown in Shaftsbury, Vermont.
Get an up-close look at a vital but often misunderstood part of yarn-making: shearing.
Length: 23 min
If you’ve ever wanted to see yarn being made and understand how fiber makes its way to you, you’ll love peeking inside the mill in this episode.
Length: 37 min
Sponsors
Battenkill Fibers
Battenkill Fibers Carding & Spinning Mill was founded in 2009 to provide custom carding and spinning services for fiber farms and makers; and to manufacture yarn and fiber products for wholesale and retail markets. Located in Washington County, NY, the mill produces 100-150 lbs of artisan quality natural-colored and dyed semi-worsted yarn daily using refurbished traditional milling machinery.
The journey of small-batch skeins continues as you hear from artisans about their creative process and their connection to farmers and their local communities.
Length: 24 min