Know Your Bases
Fiber content, weight, yardage and care for every yarn and spinning fiber base we dye.
Every colorway is dyed on the bases below. Here is what each one is, how it behaves on the needles or the wheel, and how to look after it.
Sock Classic — Fingering weight sock yarn
The workhorse. A round, hard-wearing sock yarn with enough recycled nylon to survive a heel.
- Fiber content
- 75% superwash merino wool, 25% recycled nylon
- Ply
- 4
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Socks, shawls, hard-wearing colorwork
Care instructions
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, or hand wash. Lay flat to dry, since superwash wool stretches while it is wet. Never tumble dry.
The recycled nylon is what lets this survive heels and cuffs. It is the most hard-wearing base we carry.
Sock Lux Cashmere — Fingering weight sock yarn
Sock weight with cashmere folded in. Softer and more haloed than Sock Classic, but still backed by nylon.
- Fiber content
- 80% superwash wool (19 micron), 10% cashmere, 10% recycled nylon
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Next-to-skin shawls and cowls, luxury socks
Care instructions
Hand wash cold and lay flat to dry. The cashmere blooms and softens after the first wash.
Cashmere pills more than plain merino. That is the fibre behaving normally, not a fault. There is nylon in this base, so it still holds up for socks, but expect more halo than Sock Classic.
Sock Lux Silk — Fingering weight sock yarn
Yak and mulberry silk against extra fine merino. The shiniest base we dye, and the one color sinks into most deeply.
- Fiber content
- 80% extra fine superwash merino wool, 10% white yak, 10% mulberry silk
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Drapey shawls and cowls, anything you want to catch the light
Care instructions
Hand wash cold and lay flat to dry. The sheen comes from the silk and yak, and it dulls with hot water or agitation.
No nylon in this one. Despite the sock weight it suits shawls, cowls and anything worn rather than walked on. If you do knit socks with it, reinforce the heels and toes with a nylon-backed base like Sock Classic.
Sock Sparkle — Fingering weight sock yarn
Sock Classic's flashier accomplice. The same springy superwash merino and nylon backbone, with gold Stellina spun through so it catches the light.
- Fiber content
- 75% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon, 5% gold Stellina
- Ply
- 2
- WPI
- 24
- Gauge
- 31 sts & 46 rows; 36 sts & 46 rounds in the round
- Needles
- 2.5 mm flat, US 1 in the round
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Socks, shawls, anything that should catch the light
Care instructions
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, or hand wash. Lay flat to dry. Never tumble dry.
Stellina is a non-metal fiber, so it has none of the scratchiness of metallic sparkle yarns and the glint will not wash out. Keep it away from high heat, which dulls the shine.
With 20% nylon it wears as hard as Sock Classic, so it is a genuine sock yarn rather than a decorative one.
DK Classic — Fingering weight sock yarn
Sock Classic's sturdier sibling. Same blend, more of it, for garments that take a beating.
- Fiber content
- 75% superwash merino wool, 25% recycled nylon
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Sweaters, mittens, hard-wearing accessories
Care instructions
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, or hand wash. Lay flat to dry. Never tumble dry.
The nylon makes this hard-wearing enough for sweater elbows and mitten palms.
DK Lux Cashmere — Fingering weight sock yarn
Extra fine merino with cashmere and a little nylon. Soft enough for a next-to-skin sweater without going fragile.
- Fiber content
- 80% extra fine merino wool, 10% cashmere, 10% recycled nylon
- Best for
- Soft sweaters and cowls worn against the skin
Care instructions
Hand wash cold and lay flat to dry.
Softer and more haloed than DK Classic, and it will pill where it rubs. Best for garments worn next to the skin rather than outerwear.
DK Sparkle — Fingering weight sock yarn
The same gold-flecked blend at DK weight, plied four ways for a rounder, plumper stitch.
- Fiber content
- 75% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon, 5% gold Stellina
- Ply
- 4
- WPI
- 14
- Gauge
- 19 sts & 36 rows
- Needles
- US 5
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Sweaters, hats and accessories with a glint
Care instructions
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, or hand wash. Lay flat to dry. Never tumble dry.
Stellina is a non-metal fiber, so it has none of the scratchiness of metallic sparkle yarns and the glint will not wash out. Keep it away from high heat, which dulls the shine.
Four plies make this rounder and more hard-wearing than DK Lux Cashmere, and the nylon takes the abrasion.
Worsted / Aran Pure — Fingering weight sock yarn
Straight merino, nothing else. Soft, plump, and the fastest thing here to knit.
- Fiber content
- 100% superwash merino wool
- Superwash
- Yes
- Best for
- Hats, blankets, quick sweaters
Care instructions
Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, or hand wash. Lay flat to dry. Never tumble dry.
No nylon in this base, so it is softer but less abrasion-resistant than the Classic bases. Lovely for anything that is not taking constant friction.
Polwarth — Combed top for spinning
75% Merino, 25% Lincoln, fixed as a breed in Victoria, Australia by 1880. Merino softness on a longer, springier staple. Easy to draft for a fine wool, which makes it forgiving on the wheel.
- Crimp
- Blocky staples, well defined and even, springy
- Luster
- Soft sheen from the Lincoln side
- Next to skin
- Yes, second only to Merino for fineness
- Felting
- Felts readily with heat and agitation
- Best for
- Smooth worsted singles, stitch definition, drape
Spinning difficulty
Beginner friendly
Care instructions
Let the braid relax overnight before you spin. If it has compacted in storage, pre-draft gently along the length rather than forcing it through the drafting zone.
Not superwash. The soft sheen dulls and fuzzes if you wash it hot or agitate it. Soak 15 minutes in warm water with a drop of wool wash, rinse at the same temperature, squeeze without wringing, roll in a towel and press, then dry flat.
Less elastic than Targhee, so finished pieces relax and grow slightly with wear. Wash your swatch and measure that, not the unwashed gauge.
Targhee — Combed top for spinning
An American breed, developed at the Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho in 1926 by crossing Rambouillet rams onto Lincoln/Rambouillet or Corriedale ewes. Springy, elastic, and grippier than Merino, so it stays put while you draft.
- Crimp
- High crimp, 6 to 15 per inch, dense uniform locks
- Luster
- None, matte and chalky
- Next to skin
- Yes, softness rivals Merino
- Felting
- Felts very readily, fine and high crimp
- Best for
- Bouncy woolen yarns, socks, sweaters that hold shape
Spinning difficulty
Easy to draft
Care instructions
Not superwash, and fine with very high crimp, which makes it the quickest thing we sell to felt. Keep your water temperature steady and handle it as little as possible while wet.
Soak 15 minutes in warm water with a drop of wool wash, rinse at the same temperature, squeeze without wringing, roll in a towel and press, then dry flat.
It blooms noticeably when finished, gaining loft and losing a little length. Spin slightly finer than your target grist and measure yardage after washing, not before.
Applies to everything
Our yarn bases are superwash, so they will survive a gentle machine cycle. Hand washing in cool water still makes hand-dyed color last longer, and superwash wool stretches while wet, so lay finished pieces flat rather than hanging them. Never tumble dry.
Spinning fiber is not superwash. Heat, moisture and agitation together will felt it, so keep your water temperature steady and handle it as little as possible while wet.
Store everything cool, dry and out of direct sun. Hand-dyed color fades in a sunny window, and a little dye may rinse out on the first wash. That is normal, not a defect.