New Shetland 4ply gradient packs are here!

Gradient packs seem to have taken the knitting world by storm recently. I thought it would be interesting to explore the possibilities of gradients, but with a little twist.  My gradients are created by over-dyeing four natural shades of Shetland 4ply with natural dye extracts. Here’s how they start out.

Undyed natural shades of Shetland yarn.

The yarn

The yarn I chose to work with for my gradients is of course British. It’s a Shetland 4ply, processed by Blacker Yarns in Cornwall.   The fibre is woollen spun to give it a really light and airy handle, it really is very bouncy.  (The postman delivering the parcel lobbed it over our six foot high gate into the back garden, I’m surprised it didn’t bounce straight back at him!) . Blacker take the natural shades of the Shetland fleeces and blend them together to create a range of natural shades.

Copyright Blacker Yarns

The fibre that makes the yarn

I asked Blacker Yarns about the Shetland fibre that is processed into their yarn and Sue replied that most of the Shetland fibre comes from one farm in Somerset, Fernhill Farm. Andrew and Jen are working hard to be self-sufficient on their farm, with the livestock being part of their holistic approach to land management. Hopefully I’ll have an interview with Jen soon, so she can tell their story more fully.

The gradient packs

So, let’s introduce the gradient packs more closely!

Chocolate Orange

Each 100g pack contains four ~25g mini skeins with 350m/380yds per 100g.

Bumblebee

There are currently six different colours to choose from.

Grass Green

The packs would make great shawls, hats, gloves or scarves.

Baltic

They can be used one their own, to really show off the gradient.

Dilly Dilly

Or, they could be used alongside a plain white, or even dark brown, background.

Raspberry Ganache

The possibilities are endless!  Have fun, play around.  I’m working with local knitwear designer Gwen Wagner-Adair to bring you some patterns specifically for these packs. The patterns should be ready for release early in May in time for Wharfe Wool Fair.  In the meantime, the gradient packs are available now in my Sylvan Tiger Yarn Etsy shop, go have a look!