Kata on Wearing Wool…

Continuing on from her post on Working with Wool, here is Kata, writing this time about Wearing Wool – or, perhaps more specifically – her philosophy of mending and repairing the woollen clothes so distinctive and important to Estonian life. In Estonia the Winter is extremely long and extremely cold, so ‘Wearing Wool’ is not… Continue Reading Kata on Wearing Wool…

WOVEMBER WORDS #27

Wool has some amazing qualities, all in one fibre, grown naturally: The first thing to know about wool is that it is hygroscopic – a great trait for clothing and an equally great word for your next crossword puzzle or cocktail party. Hygroscopic means that the fiber is able to absorb up to 30% of… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #27

Deb Robson on Wearing Wool…

Completing the quintet of posts from Deb Robson which so far has included ‘Growing Wool’, ‘Harvesting Wool’, ‘Processing Wool’ and ‘Working with Wool’, we have the final instalment – ‘Wearing Wool’. This wonderful collection of projects shows the versatility of WOOL and how knowing your breeds and being clear about which fibres are better for… Continue Reading Deb Robson on Wearing Wool…

Wearing Wool

We are into the last 5 days of WOVEMBER! This means we are into the last topic of our five phases of WOVEMBER blogposts – ‘Growing Wool’, ‘Harvesting Wool’, ‘Processing Wool’, ‘Working with Wool’ and ‘Wearing Wool’. I hope it is by now clear why we chose this structure for organising all the pieces this… Continue Reading Wearing Wool

WOVEMBER WORDS #26

The first Wovember Words on Wearing Wool come from Elizabeth Zimmermann, believed that you can’t start too early with wearing wool. Here she is on making babies’ things: Although babies rarely, if ever, express their pleasure at being dressed in wool, it is surely manifest when you dote on a small plump person soundly and contentedly… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #26

Amy Twigger Holroyd on Working with Wool…

To round up our “Working with Wool” phase of WOVEMBER and to set the scene for the last and final theme for our month-long celebration – “Wearing Wool” – we have a Q&A with the founder of Keep & Share, Amy Twigger Holroyd. Keep & Share is the umbrella term for Amy’s research, knitting activities… Continue Reading Amy Twigger Holroyd on Working with Wool…

Tom van Deijnen on Working with Wool…

As anyone who reads Tom’s blog will know, this member of TEAM WOVEMBER is a very keen mender of clothes! Tom is interested in textile traditions as well as in the physical characteristics of wool, and his mending practice often utilises wool for both its referential and material properties. For instance in the case of… Continue Reading Tom van Deijnen on Working with Wool…

WOVEMBER WORDS #25

Working with wool, especially breed-specific wool, gives you an incredible choice in each breed’s specific properties and qualities, as Ethel Mairet explains: Every raw material has its own definite expression, its biotechnic quality. This can even be found in the various types of fleece. Each kind of fleece has its own perfect expression – the… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #25

Lou Tonkin on Working with Wool

We hope you have enjoyed this section of WOVEMBER featuring knitwear designers, hand spinners, weavers, knitters, event organisers, mill restorers & co. but no collection of writings on ‘Working with Wool’ would be complete without some words from a felt-maker! This piece has been researched and put together for WOVEMBER by Tom, and features the… Continue Reading Lou Tonkin on Working with Wool

On Working with Wool & Wood

Following on from Cecilia’s accounts of creating her handspun yarn using locally made tools and locally grown materials, we thought you might enjoy this post, previously published on The Domestic Soundscape blog, which celebrates some of the wooden tools employed by hand-spinners, and the wood workers who make them. If you like this story, you… Continue Reading On Working with Wool & Wood