Welcome the the Woolshed!
Here at my workshop, in the old high-walled kitchen garden at Cille Bhrìghde (Kilbride), Isle of South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, I make yarns for hand-knitting and crochet using natural materials and traditional hand tools and techniques.
 I generally spin wool from the many breeds of sheep native to the British Isles, which offer an unparalleled range of colour, feel and durability. A speciality - though limited in quantity - is wool from our own pedigree flock of black Hebridean sheep: years of experience, careful and uncompromising selection, and a special spinning process result in a yarn - richly dark and with a wonderful handle - of a quality exceptional for this breed. I also spin Merino wool and occasionally other fibres such as dog hair, alpaca, cashmere, silk.
Most of the natural dyestuffs come from plants native to the islands, naturalized here, or grown in our own walled garden or our croft on the neighbouring island of Eriskay. These include: lichens, flag iris, alder cones, dandelion, blackberry, onion skins, yarrow, marigold, and many others. I use also natural dyestuffs from further afield, such as henna, woad, brazil wood, saffron.
Much of what I make is for family and friends, but in the small shop here at The Big Garden I sell a variety of yarns and garments - all spun, dyed, knitted, crocheted, woven or felted by hand. For sales by mail order I offer a range of quality natural yarns.
Hand-knitted and crocheted garments are made mostly with my own hand-spun yarns.  Some knitted items, and all hand-woven articles are made using highest quality mill-produced yarns such as lambswool and cashmere. A limited number of articles are woven partly or wholly with my own handspun yarns.
If you’d like to have a go at hand spinning, why not try my beginner’s kit? It comes complete with drop-spindle, a generous quantity of wool fibre, and detailed, easy-to-follow illustrated instructions. I sell these in the garden shop and supply them by post at £18 (including UK postage).
For those keen to master the use of a spinning wheel, I provide tuition on a one-to-one basis or for groups of up to four, held here at The Big Garden. These workshops are tailored to your requirements, so please call and ask for details.
Yarns by Mail Order
General information
All the yarns I sell are generally suitable for hand knitting or crocheting, but may also be suitable for weaving, cross-stitch or other crafts - by all means call to discuss. All yarns are 2-ply in construction, plain spun (ie not having slubs, noils etc), and fairly uniform (but hand-made yarns will show some local variation). For knitting, all yarns are approximately equivalent to ‘double-knit’, needles for which are normally in the range of 3.75mm to 4.50mm, though this will also depend on the knitting pattern to be followed: it is a good idea to make a tension square to be sure. A hat will usually use no more than one full skein, an adult’s plain pullover might well use 10 skeins, with Fair Isle or Aran type patterns requiring significantly more again: if you’re unsure, please feel free to call and talk it through.
Currently available from stock -
- Hebridean - mill-spun - £8 per standard 100g skein.
Exceptional quality - soft handle; Consistent dark brown - nearly black with occasional white fibres; Suitable for hard-wearing but fine quality knitwear or hand weaving; Natural colour only; Limited quantities available;
- Cheviot - hand-spun - £13/100g natural, £20/100g natural dyed
Mostly from our close crofting neighbours; Sorted and selected, washed, spun all by hand; Optionally dyed using natural materials; A wool with a soft handle, resilient character; Suitable for a wide variety of uses, but especially hand-knitted pullovers, cardigans and similar. Natural creamy white or grey, or coloured with natural dyes (see photo right - call to discuss other colours)
- Merino - hand-spun - £17/100g
From mill-spun and -coloured wool fibres; Blended and spun by hand to one of (currently) five loosely-defined colour themes (three shown in photo right); Although not especially hard-wearing, Merino is by far the finest and softest of all sheep wools, and thus suitable for garments in direct contact with the skin, including gloves, scarves, shawls, hats.
Available hand-spun to order - natural (un-dyed) wool yarns -
- Masham (white, grey)
A hill/mountain breed, so hard-wearing, but with a soft lustre
- Blue-faced Leicester - (white, grey, oatmeal)
Ideal for scarves, shawls and other items in direct contact with the skin.
Only Merino is finer and softer.
- Shetland (white, black, moorit or grey)
Very soft - ideal for warm knitwear
- Welsh Black:
Similar to a black Shetland, but harder-wearing.
- Jacob’s (piebald - creamy white and warm brown all on one sheep)
Spun either in separate colours, or a variable warm-grey blend.
Weights and Prices
All yarn is sold in skeins priced according to their individual weights and the price per 100g for the type of yarn (as above). Typically, the weight of each skein is in the range 65g to 85g. Mill-spun Hebridean yarn is produced to our specification at a uniform 100g each. Postage & packaging is charged at cost.
Samples
It has proved impossible to accurately represent the colours on a website, and of course impossible to convey the lustre, handle and other characteristics. If you are familar with the kind of wool or other fibre you are interested in, then it may help if I email to you a selection of digital photos of the actual current stock from which I would complete your order. However I do recommend a physical sample: if you call first to discuss what you are interested in, you will then only need to send a self-addressed envelope bearing an ordinary first class stamp. I will then return to you a small sample, sufficient for you to confirm whether it is suitable.
Ordering
When you are ready to order, please phone 01878 700828 to discuss: I will then send an email or letter the details of your the yarns you require, the price for the yarn, P&P (charged at cost) and anticipated delivery time. Currently I can take payment only by cheque or - for small amounts - by PayPal.
See also: [The Big Garden] [South Uist Self-Catering] [iMaps]
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