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Falkland Islands Wool
Jo Turner
I met Jo on a trip to the Falkland Islands in 2002. She was the with the Falkland Islands Tourism Board and traveled with us during most of our trip. She, like many islanders, is also a spinner. This is her step-by-step description of the process -- enjoy!!! -- Jane Townsend
The raw material for my yarn is merino wool from Dunnose Head Farm on West Falkland.
This is processed into tops in three natural colours, a lovely creamy white, soft grey and rich chocolate brown.
The dyeing process starts by soaking the wool thoroughly. After soaking the wool is added to a dye pot, which contains a dilute mixture of white vinegar and hot water, at a temperature of around 88 degrees. When the wool is in the pot, the dye is added and the pot is kept at 88 degrees for about 45 minutes. The heat is then removed and the wool is left to cool in the pan for at least two hours or sometimes overnight if I want a very strong colour. The wool is then gently rinsed, to remove and residual dye and vinegar traces, and dried outside ready for spinning.
Once dry the coloured tops is then spun to produce bobbins of 'singles'
which are then plied into soft and lustrous yarn.
This yarn is then washed again very gently in hot soapy water, followed by a plunge into icy cold water, followed by yet another plunge into hot water. This process tightens the fibres in the yarn making the yarn easier to knit with, and also makes the yarn even softer. Ready for knitting
or weaving.
The yarn is bulky in weight and has a high loft, that is it has a lot of air in the fibres. This makes the yarn extremely soft and cosy and is so soft it can be worn next to the skin and is even suitable for new born babies. It also means that it is very light in weight and an adult sweater can be knitted with as little as 400g of yarn, depending on the size and pattern detail.
The yarn can be knitted with any size needles, although I personally don't like to use anything smaller than 8mm and have had good results knitting with needles as large as 20mm.
The yarn can pill and care should be taken when washing to prevent felting. I find that pure soap flakes or dishwashing liquid are the best things to use, followed by either fabric or hair conditioner to return the pH to normal.
Jo Turner
Stanley, Falkland Islands
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©2009 Jo Turner
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