When I started hand dying yarn, I basically dyed any skein of yarn I could get my hands on! It didn’t matter! As long as it was yarn and it had been treated well, I was going to dye it!
After a lot of experimenting with colors and their application, I began to realize that there was more to dying yarn than just an idea and the right amount of citric acid. The fiber you were dying also had a lot to say when it came to how the colorway turned out.
With the help of this Eureka moment, I began testing yarn bases with just that hypothesis in mind. Conclusion: the type of fiber you use decides how color is absorbed and how the speckles take to the yarn. As a result, my choice of bases narrowed itself down to our Soft Sock Bulky Fingering and TEMPEST bases. I feel that our TEMPEST base really supports our tonal colorways the best and our Soft Sock Bulky Fingering base is better when dying our speckled colorways.
Next stop was finding a yarn mill that had just the right yarn for our Yarn Base Selection! It was a rather exciting endeavor and boy did I get to cuddle with a lot of yarn! Ha! The yarn I envisioned didn’t just have to turn out pretty, it also had to give me that warm and fuzzy feeling when knitting with it. Being that and I am a sock set junkie, this yarn had to feel great on my feet (granted it was already a pair of socks ;) ).
Last but certainly not least, what also was very important when adding bases to the shop, was the feedback of my customers. What did they think about the yarn? Do they enjoy knitting with it? Do they like the way it feels, and more importantly does it make them happy?
Did you know....
Our Soft Sock Bulky Fingering base is our most popular base. This 75% SW Merino 25% Nylon sock yarn is a 4ply yarn that has a little bit more volume to it than your typical 425 meter sock yarn! That is why its I call it "bulky". It is like knitting with a cloud!