A Q&A about yarn...

 

A friend asked me some questions on Ravelry about my yarn stash. In particular about Indie dyers.

 

I figured why not answer her questions via a post?

First up: How do I find Indie Dyers? A couple of ways. Most of my yarn acquisitions come from seeing other people's projects. There are times when it is love at first sight and I must get me some of that yarn. This is how I discovered Twist & Twine yarns (new name Sundavia Pearl). I admired this project from Neuroknitter, then when on my way to find some of this beautiful yarn.

 

Being a huge fan of Etsy has helped in finding great dyers. A simple search for self-striping yarn led me to Spinning Fates. It has been love ever since.

Recommendations from other bloggers, Rav members, and friends has also helped build my stash. Case and point ButterflyBush Yarns. I just so happen to be besties with the dyer, so when she opened shop, I was on it. Lucky me as I have quite a few of her lovely creations in my stash.

 

Next question: What has your experience been? Almost one hundred percent of the time, excellent. Out of my large selection of Indie yarns, I have only had one yarn that didn't measure up. It was labeled as a fingering weight merino, but knit up more like a laceweight and was stiff like thread. Needless to say, I didn't visit that shop again. Of course I am not going to name names. :)

One thing I do want to say about my experience with Indie Dyers is that they are all great. The detail and care they put into their packaging and notes, really tilts the scales in their favor when I am yarn shopping.

 

Last question: Do I watch for shop updates? No. My view is that there are way too many wonderful yarns and sellers that are not on the "must have" list. If it is yarn that I really want to try, like Lollipop yarns, I will wait till the frenzy goes away, then buy.

Here are some of my very favorite Indie Dyers, based on customer service, quality and overall beauty-

• Spinning Fates
• Gnome Acres
• Desert Visita Dyeworks
• Butterflybush Yarns
• Sundavia Pearl
• The Woolen Rabbit
• WoolyWonka
• SweetBasilFibre works
• Neighborhood Fiber Co.
• Phydeaux Designs

 

Okay enough rambling for me. Maybe you have some yarn dyers or experiences you would like to share?

 

XO

Andi

Comments

[Amanda]

Oh my gosh hon, why whyyy did you have to post about all these delicious yarns when my budget is zilch?! Haha. So many on my "oooh must try!" wishlist now :) I appreciate your links though and will save them up for later, I hadn't heard of most of these.

[Donna Sand]

Great topic! My local yarn store does some of her own dying and it is just so much fun to see what she comes up with. As much as i love my big named yarn dyers ...i am always on the look out for anything indie and unique! I love that spinning fates blue ...just gorgeous.

[lori]

you really are the sweetest knitter ever. i hope camilla starts up her shop again. jackie of luna grey has beautiful handdyed wool, she's on etsy too andi. love all your beautiful stash. :)

[amanda]

i've had great experiences with indie dyers too and have a bountiful stash thanks to all of the temptation :)

[Audry]

It's so much fun seeing a list of indie dyers. I have a soft spot in my heart for Becoming Art. Her yarn just glows.

[Anna E]

Lovely post- there's definitely something special about knitting with a hand-dyed yarn. One step closer to achieving that 'spin the yarn-dye the yarn-knit the yarn' project that a lot of us yarnies aspire to one day, right? My personal recommendation is http://www.edencottageyarns.co.uk/ She's a UK based dyer but I'm pretty sure she exports. A number of my designs (which you can see on my website) have used her Bowland BFL dk and I also love using her stuff for personal projects.

[mamacharm]

i'm not sure what constitutes an indie dyer, but i'm currently loving sweet georgia, cephalopod yarns, and wullenstudio yarns. so, so good.

[harmony and rosie]

Andi I love your collection, such beautiful colours. And thank you for all those links, I hadn't heard of any of them so I'm going to have a wonderful time browsing. I don't have any recommendations for you I'm afraid, I'm going to take my lead from you, although I did visit Sweet Georgia Yarns the other day which was very exciting. It is a Vancouver based company with a small office/dye shop not too far from where I live. When I went there was a good supply of gorgeous, brightly coloured yarns to look at but no dyeing to see :(

[donaknits]

Thank you for sharing your favorite dyers list! But really Andi, is it reasonable? Your pictures are so beautiful that I want to compulsively buy more yarn, despite my yarn diet! :D

[Christina Lowry]

I love this post and I love trying out new, hand dyed yarns. I have popped this post in my pinterest folder! :)

[Annie @ knitsofacto]

I've been exploring your list and one or two of these are definitely going to be making their way onto my next yarn shop update ... really useful post, thanks Andi :D