Description
Get yourself in the mood for some cosy Autumn-inspired crafting with this jewel tone Wensleydale wool top for spinning.
These braids come in taster-size 50 grams (or 1.7 ounces), or half of what I usually sell. Wensleydale is a lovely fibre breed but not as well known as Merino, so I decided to sell them in a smaller size so you can try it at a more affordable price.
I dyed this wool in lovely jewel tones: deep reds, forest greens, mellow yellows and a gorgeous pop of light turquoise blue-green. The dyeing was done so that some of the fibre still retains its natural colour here and there, so your spun yarn will look slightly lighter than the colours that are present.
(If you fancy Autumn Harvest’s colours but would like them in yarn form, here it is.)
Is Wensleydale a good wool for spinning?
Wensleydale is a longer stapled fibre than, say, BFL or Merino. It is, therefore, much shinier and silkier to the touch, but also a little trickier for beginner spinners. It is also not as soft as the other mentioned wools, but it drapes beautifully if spun thin. The shine also shows through really well in yarn format.
Is this Wensleydale a wool top or a roving?
I hope you think this is a good question, because there is definitely a difference between combed wool top and roving. Both expressions are often used to represent the same item, but they are quite different. In fact, I am inserting this explanation here so I can use the expression “wool roving” correctly and still please the search algorithm gods. Sneaky.
Combed wool top such as this one are processed in the mill to remove the short fibre staples, and all the longer remaining fibres have been combed to face the same direction. Wensleydale is a longer fibre, so the process will involve mostly the combing process.
Wool roving, on the other hand, still retains some shorter fibres and not all face the same direction, so it will have a fuzzier appearance.
Both are fantastic types of fibre processing, they’re just different.
Colour disclaimer
I’ve done my very best to ensure colours show true, but please bear in mind your monitor settings might differ from mine.
