Wool Decanted - vintage 23

Dyed as blended tops, the light grey 4-ply base has allowed for colour of a special richness in their 8-colour palette. You can create some stunning colour combinations, and the natural grey works with all of them! 

How did they produce such a soft British yarn?

They chose their fibres carefully.  Starting first with the white of Falklands Polwarth with its long staple length which produces a strong, smooth, and silky yarn. It’s soft enough to be worn next to the skin. Then they added some white Romney fibre from Kent, with a long and lustrous staple, and well-defined crimp, adding a bit of depth and strength to the blend. They knew, from creating their vintage 20 yarn, that adding a small amount of coloured fleece to the white would create a uniquely coloured base.  They added just a touch of black Shetland fibre to the white.  Rich black Scottish Shetland locks, from the softest part of the Shetland fleece, mixed with the pure white of the Polwarth and Romney created a beautiful, natural, light heathery grey base.

How was it spun?

Worsted-spun in West Yorkshire to their own specification, vintage 23 has excellent stitch definition, perfect for texture and colour work, and it blooms beautifully when blocked. The 4-ply light fingering yarn has a meterage of 225m per 50g skein.  

About Wool Decanted

Linda and Lisa set up their business in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. They heard the news reports of the huge number of British sheep fleeces going to waste as one of the impacts of the pandemic. That gave them the seed of an idea. Linda has always loved knitting, but most often with soft imported Merino yarn - yet here on our doorstep was an abundance of beautiful fleece! And so began their mission to encourage more crafters to make with British wool.  They deliberately concentrated on the softer end of the wool scale to show that British wool can be next-to-skin soft.  Knowing the amount of precious time and love you put into your projects, they set about creating unique yarns that are beautifully soft to touch, knit up a dream and are a joy to wear, so that we could truly add value to your efforts.

A little over 6 months later, vintage 20, their first small British batch, was launched. Cheers! Celebrating the provenance of the wool is important to them too.  They have  designed labels that emulate good wine labels, giving you lots of information about the wool’s journey.  They have named their yarns, like good wines, by the year the unique blends were created – vintage 20, vintage 21.  This is where the wool journey becomes better than the wine journey – once the wine is gone, it’s gone.  But the wool journey goes on and on in your beautiful creations!  Don’t you just love that thought?

They are lucky enough to live on a small houseboat on the river Thames. Surrounded by nature and inspiration every day. They are the proud pet owners of Barney Rubble, a 10 year old tabby. Named after a character in a famous TV cartoon - if your old enough to remember! And Pooch, a gorgeous golden 16 year old mix breed terrier - who rules their houseboat.

They believe in honesty, integrity, truthfulness and fairness in everything they do. Through their yarn business, they are supporting British farmers. Helping to save essential skills in processing, and promoting UK craftsmanship. They are overflowing with gratitude for the feedback they have received from their customers, and they will continue to develop their British wool blends and colour palette for your delight. 

Yarn Details

Weight - Fingering/4-ply

Meterage - 225 meters/246 yards per 50g

Gauge 27-32 stitiche per 4 inches/10cm

Needle Size 2.25mm - 3.25mm

Care - Hand Wash

Pattern Ideas 

Seli Cardigan by Aleks Byrd

Growing Ivy by Alan Tanaka 

Anthe by Natasja Hornby

Nasrin Pullover by Isabell Kraemer