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Northwest Yarns

  • Know Your Fiber: Devon Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       On the South West Peninsula of England, Devon county has a history that stretches back to the Neolithic era. Its landscapes are adorned with ancient stone circles, barrows, hillforts, and...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Masham Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Found in North Yorkshire, the town of Masham has a long history of sheep farming and sheep markets. From its Anglo-Saxon roots to Viking invasions, Masham's history is as textured...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Kerry Hill Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       It would be fair to say that most people are not familiar with Kerry, a village in Powys, Wales. A quiet place today, this area is steeped in ancient history....

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  • Know Your Fiber: Shropshire Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Shropshire is a picturesque area of England, just to the east of Wales. Inhabited since the Neolithic era, Shropshire has a millennia of history and legends, including stone circles, Celts,...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Romeldale/CVM Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       The Romeldale/CVM (California Variegated Mutant) sheep is a distinctive breed that originated in California in the early 1900s. Developed to thrive in the Sacramento Valley, these sheep were originally bred...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Herdwick Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       What do Vikings, a base-20 counting system, and Beatrix Potter have in common? Herdwick sheep! These adorable gray sheep with white faces are native to the Lake District in Cumbria,...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Punta Arenas Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       We have been seeing increasing amounts of Punta Arenas wool yarn spun into yarn for the fiber arts market over the last couple of years, and Punta Arenas top...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Lleyn Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Originally found only on the Llŷn Peninsula, Lleyn sheep today are found throughout the UK and around the world. These very handsome, long-legged, white-wooled and white-faced sheep with cute black...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Hebridean Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       The Hebrides are an extensive archipelago in northwestern Scotland, comprising over 130 islands and islets, of which just over 45 are inhabited. Like many populated islands in Scotland, sheep have...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Cormo Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Tasmania, a picturesque island located off the coast of Australia boasts a population of 2.5 million sheep. Even in a country known for its sheep population (3.3 sheep per person...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Faroe Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       The Faroe Islands are in the North Atlantic, a self-governing territory of Denmark. The islands and the people who live there to this day have had their lives shaped not...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Teeswater Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       The Tees River of England has supported human habitation for many, many thousands of years. The river valley supported the many small farms over that time that used the fertile...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Milk Fiber

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Got milk - in your clothing? Absolutely! Milk fiber is a relatively new fiber on the block, tracing its origins back to less than a century ago. Originating from the...

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  • Know Your Fiber: East Friesian Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       While a great deal of the wool we use as fiber artists comes from sheep raised for wool, there are a number of breeds we also use that are...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Hill Radnor

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Hill Radnor sheep, also known simply as Radnor sheep, are a breed that originated in central Wales during the early 1900s. The curly horned rams and polled ewes still roam...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Galway Wool

    Posted on January 06 2025

       Hailing from the lowlands of western Ireland, the Galway sheep breed has recently experienced a resurgence of interest, highlighting the country's rich agricultural heritage. This robust, white-fleeced breed has long...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Carpathian Mountain Sheep Wool

    Posted on March 01 2023

       Carpathian Mountain sheep are a breed of domesticated sheep that are native to the Carpathian Mountains in Central and Eastern Europe. Although this breed is found in the many...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Cashmere & Pashmina

    Posted on March 01 2023

       Just hearing the words cashmere or pashmina conjure up a sense of luxury. Like sheep, there are a number of fiber goat breeds such as Angora, Pygora, and Nigora. However, the fiber from cashmere...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Clun Forest Wool

    Posted on March 01 2023

       Imported to North America in 1970, the Clun Forest sheep is a threatened breed in both Canada and the United States. In complete contrast, Clun Forest sheep in the U.K....

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  • Know Your Fiber: Lonk Wool

    Posted on March 01 2023

       With their curlicue horns on both rams and ewes, black faces and white wool, Lonk sheep are simply striking. Even their name is notable, coming either from the Middle English...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Lotus Fiber

    Posted on October 01 2022

       Folks have made use of a wide variety of plant fibers for spinning throughout history. While flax, cotton, and hemp are among the best known of plants fibers, there...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Exmoor Horn Wool

    Posted on July 01 2022

       As names go, Exmoor Horn sheep have a simple and descriptive name. They are originally from Exmoor, and both females and males are horned. But they are so much...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Florida Cracker Wool

    Posted on May 01 2022

       Two words: swamp sheep. Intrigued? Then get ready to learn all about the Florida Cracker sheep, a lovely breed with an odd little name, whose history sets it among...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Cotswold Wool

    Posted on April 01 2022

       Look at those fluffy forelocks! Cotswold sheep are perhaps the most emo-looking sheep out there. With their lustrous locks and ever-so-slightly golden wool, this rare sheep breed is a...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Himalayan Nettle

    Posted on March 01 2022

       If you are a fiber artist who is familiar with northern European fairy tales, hearing about making clothing out of nettles likely makes your thoughts immediately fly to the...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Gulf Coast Native Wool

    Posted on February 01 2022

       Woods sheep, Pineywoods sheep, Scrub sheep, Louisiana Native, Florida Native – all names for what we today call the Gulf Coast or Gulf Coast Native sheep. This landrace breed...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Hog Island Wool

    Posted on January 01 2022

      Hog Island sheep, descended from the sheep brought by English settlers to Virginia in the early 1700s, are remarkably rare. They are a fascinating breed frozen in time, thanks...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Nylon

    Posted on October 01 2021

       We are pretty big on natural fibers here at Northwest Yarns. Wool? All the wool and all the breeds, please. Alpaca, yak, angora, mohair? Why, yes, don’t mind if we...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Eri Silk

    Posted on July 02 2021

       Eri silk comes from the ailanthus moth (Samia cynthia ricini), a native to South Asia, and is one of only two domesticated species of silk moths in the world. It...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Tussah Silk

    Posted on July 02 2021

       Tussah, tussar, tusar, tasar, and more… so many names for just one type of silk! Produced in only a few countries, tussah silk is perhaps best known as a wild...

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  • Know Your Fiber: American Karakul Wool

    Posted on March 01 2021

       Named for a village in what is today Turkmenistan, Karakul sheep originated in Central Asia and only arrived relatively recently on North American shores. North American farmers in early...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Tunis Wool

    Posted on December 01 2020

       Tunis sheep are one of a handful of the oldest sheep breeds in the United States and were a particularly popular breed right up through the mid-1800s. Today they...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Fineness and Fiber Fiber is not just fiber – the specific qualities of various fibers make some more suitable for some projects than for others.  Of particular interest to crafters who work with wool and other fibers is how fine or how coarse their fiber is.  So, what exactly makes a fine fiber fine, a coarse fiber coarse, and how do we determine fineness or coarseness?

    Know Your Fiber: Fineness and Fiber

    Posted on November 11 2020

       Fiber is not just fiber – the specific qualities of various fibers make some more suitable for some projects than for others.  Of particular interest to crafters who work...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Swaledale Wool

    Posted on October 01 2020

       Curving horns, elegant black faces with white muzzles, and a woolen coat perfectly adapted to a rainy environment – meet the Swaledale! These adorable sheep can be found around...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Suffolk Wool

    Posted on September 01 2020

       With their long black faces and white wool, Suffolk sheep are easy to spot and are also one of the most common breeds in the United States. The Suffolk...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Finnsheep Wool

    Posted on August 01 2020

       Native to Finland, Finnsheep (also called Finnish Landrace or just Finnish) are a part of Finland’s national identity and an important part of their cultural heritage. This breed has...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Cheviot Wool

    Posted on July 01 2020

       The Cheviot Hills are located in English Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. Home to a variety of livestock since Neolithic times, it is these hills from which the white...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Perendale Wool

    Posted on May 01 2020

       It is time for another New Zealand sheep breed – the Perendale! This sheep is a relatively recent addition to the flocks of the world, only appearing on breed...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Whitefaced Woodland Wool

    Posted on April 01 2020

       The Whitefaced Woodland is a rare sheep breed that was once very popular in Northern England, but now is among the threatened breeds of sheep. It is hard to...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Corriedale Wool

    Posted on March 01 2020

       Corriedale is lovely and popular wool that is a wonderful all-purpose fiber loved by spinners, weavers, felters, knitters and crocheters around the world. Frequently referred to as “New Zealand’s...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Zwartbles Wool

    Posted on February 01 2020

       Undyed, black wool is always a treat to work with, but there are relatively few breeds of sheep that can reliably produce good, spinnable black wool in large quantities....

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  • Know Your Fiber: Polwarth Wool

    Posted on December 01 2019

       An extremely popular wool breed in many parts of the world, the Polwarth began its development into the fixed breed we know today the 1880s in southeastern Australia, in...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Falklands Wool

    Posted on November 01 2019

       There exists a land where sheep and penguins live together in harmony – the Falkland Islands. A beautiful group of islands in the southern hemisphere about 300 miles off...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Dorset Horn Wool

    Posted on September 30 2019

       Known for their rams’ dramatically spiraled horns and their close, springy fleece, Dorset Horn sheep are originally from the verdant hills and valleys of southwestern England. Although they have...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Southdown Wool

    Posted on September 01 2019

       Friendly and easy to manage, the broad-backed and adorable Southdown sheep are a heritage breed of sheep that originated in southern England. These short-wooled sheep have been regaining their...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Lincoln Wool

    Posted on August 01 2019

       Located in eastern England, Lincolnshire has been renowned throughout history for their namesake breed, Lincoln sheep. Once the largest known breed of sheep in the western hemisphere, Lincoln wool...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Shave 'Em to Save 'Em

    Posted on July 01 2019

       Let’s take a look at the The Livestock Conservancy and their brand-new Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em initiative! The Livestock Conservancy has played an important role in heritage livestock...

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  • Know Your Fiber: Eider Wool

    Posted on June 01 2019

       One of the amazing things about sheep isn’t just the wool, milk and meat they produce, it is also how they affect the surrounding environment.  Now, when flocks are...

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