How Wool Is Processed to Make Yarn | Podcast Episode #62

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Have you ever wondered how wool is processed to make yarn?

You’re not alone! The process of turning wool into yarn is pretty incredible and it’s even something you can do yourself! This week marks the beginning of yarn appreciation month and what better way to appreciate yarn than to follow the process of cleaning, spinning, and dying? I have just the perfect person to share this journey with you.

Special Guest

I’m joined by, Bren, the creative entrepreneur behind, Snerb Yarn. If you have seen her photos on Instagram, no doubt one word comes to mind – talented! Bren taught me so much and I can’t wait for you to hear from her!

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Well, hey there, and welcome to episode number 62 of the BHooked podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. If you haven’t subscribed to this show, then you want to make sure you do that right now. Just go ahead and take your device out of your pocket, hit subscribe really quick because we’re starting a new month. And this month, we’re going to be talking all about yarn.

So I am dedicating each of the episodes here of the BHooked podcast to bring awareness to different fibers and different types of yarn hobbies. And we’re starting off with an episode and a guest that I learned so much from during our chat. And I’m really excited to share with you all of her knowledge about how you process wool into yarn.

Before we get started today, I want to take a quick moment to thank Yarnspirations for sponsoring today’s podcast. Now one thing that I want to let you know is a new project that just became available this week. If you’re looking for a summer project, then you want to listen up. I’m working on the Summer Ripple Afghan project from Yarnspirations. It uses nine balls of Karen Simply Soft, which fortunately I had in my stash.

But I also want to let you know about a sale that they have going on this week. So if you’re listening to this episode right when it airs, you just have a few more days in order to save 25% on your Karen Simply Soft and use it for this project if you’re looking for something new. So this particular project I chose because I know that it’s going to maybe challenge your skills just a little bit, just enough to be productive, but it also gives you a lot of creative freedom to choose your different color palettes.

As you know, Simply Soft comes in somewhere in the ballpark of like 100 colors, so you have a lot of choices there. Now that was probably the hardest part for me was deciding on a color palette, but fortunately you just have to pick three and I used the colors in my living room to help kind of guide that process.

So that video tutorial is now available. I teach you how to do the stitch and you can work right along with me as I’m still working through this project myself and you can find all of the information on that on the show notes page.

Now, aside from that, you know that Yarnspirations is the online destination for incredible inspiration and patterns. Lots and lots of patterns, just like this one. I also want to extend an offer to you as a listener of the Be Hooked podcast, where you can save 20% off your order of $40 or more from Yarnspirations.com. All you have to do is enter the coupon code BEHOOKEDPOD at checkout. That’s 20% off the brands you love like Bernat, Patons, Karen, and Lily Sugar and Cream.

And that coupon code, once again, is BeHookedPod. That’s B-H-O-O-K-E-D-P-O-D. Now, I mentioned the show notes page. You want to be sure that you check those out today, especially if you want to get in on that Summer Ripple Afghan project that I’m working on. You can find today’s show notes at BeHookedCrochet.com slash session062.

All right, so my guest for today, like I said, just knocked my socks off, blew me away, and I wish I could have chatted with her for even longer. So I want to let you know that this is going to be one of the longer episodes, but man, it was just so good. She gave me so much information. I just couldn’t get her off the line. I didn’t want to get her off the line.

Her name is Bryn, and she runs the yarn shop called Snurb Yarn. So she processes her yarn from start to finish. She buys the fleece straight from the herder, cleans it up, processes it, and she’ll kind of go through this process too. She does her own spinning, her own dyeing, and she sells it online. And the story of which she started this is really interesting too. So we talk about that right at the start.

And I don’t want to delay any more. Get ready to have your socks blown off and learn how wool is processed into… Really, my goal and my intent is for people to learn more about the fiber that they’re using. And when I was doing some research and trying to find the right person, the right people to come on the show to talk about this, you were the number one person who came to mind. I’ve been following you on Instagram for a little while now, and you always have some just gorgeous photos of different fibers.

And I know you spin, and you do a lot of things. But the most important thing is that you really know your stuff in terms of fiber, because not only do you play with yarn and make things you crochet and all that, but you actually make yarn too. And there’s no better person to talk about yarn and fiber and what that means for your project than somebody who can physically take the fiber and make it into the yarn that somebody like me uses. So I’m super stoked that you’re here.

Bren: 6:03
I am really excited to be here, and hopefully I can help your listeners learn something new about fiber.

Brittany: 6:11
Well, I am absolutely sure you can. No reservations there, but before we get into all of that, I always like to start with your story because I want people to have an opportunity to connect with you and learn see and hear your story. And even for me, like I said, I’ve been following you for a while on Instagram, but I don’t really know your story. And I would love to learn how you came about with Snurb Yarn and just the passion behind it all. So let’s start with the beginning. When did it become a thought or an idea to you to have a yarn business?

Bren: 6:51
Well, it sort of happened by accident.

Brittany: 6:56
But those are the best kind.

Bren: 6:59
I was always a knitter, but because I am a military wife, my husband is in the army, usually where we live, there isn’t a yarn shop. There’s just the big box stores, and usually they didn’t carry the types of… yarns I was looking for.

And when I did go to, you know, out of town usually, you know, an hour, two hours away for a special trip to go to a yarn shop, a lot of times I wasn’t finding specifically what I was looking for. I tend to be kind of picky. I have control issues, you know, but I wanted to look a certain way, you know, what my projects to look a certain way so I wasn’t really necessarily finding what I was looking for when I would take my trips.

So I decided that I’ll just learn how to do it for myself that way I can make exactly what I want the way I envision it in my own head. Yeah. It just kind of started from there. I would buy either, it started with just combed top and I would dye it or either undyed yarn and I would dye it and just really learning how to do it and really experimenting with blends and learning how certain breeds behaved versus other blends.

Mixing plant fibers with protein or animal fibers. You know, there’s just so much you can do with it. And then you can buy things that are commercially processed. And then you can buy it straight off of the animal, which I’m always really fascinated with. And it just kind of morphed into… you know, being something more than what I was expecting it to be.

You know, I love to share my work and, you know, people were interested in it, you know, in what I was doing. And I was actually really surprised at the response I was getting. I mean, delightfully, you know, surprised, but wow. So I said, well, maybe I should just give it a shot as a business and see where it goes.

And, you know, I really didn’t want to do anything too big because, you know, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. So it’s just slowly, very slowly grown over time and to what it is now.

Brittany: 9:52
Yeah, I love how you started a business to solve a problem that you had. For me, I’m just really passionate about business and entrepreneurship and everything that comes with those things. And I have always heard and always believed that the best businesses are the ones that solve problems.

Bren: 10:14
Yes. I had, and I still, right now, there’s nowhere for me to go to purchase, you know, the types of yarns I would like to buy. And so, you know, that’s not a problem for me anymore. I just make it.

Brittany: 10:30
Yeah. And it’s gorgeous, too. Now, you did mention a couple of names. And I’ll be honest, I know a little bit about fibers, natural fibers, but I am far from an expert. But I know you mentioned a couple of breeds. And can you maybe just give us a little bit of back information on that? Like why is it important for somebody to even understand that the wool that they’re using comes from this breed or that breed?

Bren: 11:03
It’s really important because every breed behaves differently. Every single one. And even sometimes within a breed like a really popular breed like merino for instance, it really ranges. You know, you can have a merino fleece that is just kind of soft but then you can buy a merino fleece that is softer than cashmere. It just depends on where you get it from.

It also depends on how the animal is fed, you know, the type of diet they have, the type of lifestyle they live, environment — everything plays. Whether the animal gets sick, all these things, all these little factors, all these little variables that will change the way the animal’s fleece feels.

So you might, yes, you might get just a general statement, “This is Merino.” But really, that can be really big, depending on where it comes from. And I just find that so fascinating.

And what a lot of people don’t realize is that when they buy yarn commercially, usually there’s just a few breeds that are available on the market commercially. There’s Merino, of course. That’s always the first one.

I’m starting to see Targhee, like with Brooklyn Tweed. They use Targhee in their Loft and Shelter lines. I’ve seen Cormo and just a few others. Polworth, but literally hundreds, hundreds of different breeds that you can use. This is just wool.

There’s also camelids, which are animals like alpaca, camels, llamas, and then you also have your goat breeds. There’s cashmere, there’s mohair, there’s pygora. There are just so many, so many different animals that produce fiber, even bunnies, angora. There’s just so many options out there.

And when you take the time to learn and then make it yourself, you can really play around with how you blend these things using your knowledge about each characteristic of each fleece to really make exactly the type of yarn you want for the project that you are wanting to make with it.

Brittany: 13:54
So where did you start? I’m assuming you probably started at the place where most of us are now, where we kind of have an idea of these things, but we don’t have really the knowledge. So where would somebody start? I know for me, when I was really interested in learning more about fibers, there was, I don’t know if it still is, a free class on Craftsy that kind of ran through some of the breeds and a little bit of how it’s processed. And I found that to be a great resource. If it still is free and available, I’ll link to it in the show notes. Know your wool. Yes, know your wool. Thank you. So where did you start when you wanted to just dive in a little bit more than what you already knew?

Bren: 14:41
Well, I started with commercially processed fiber. You know, merino… just what was available commercially but I realized that once I realized that there were so many more, I started buying directly from herders, from growers. And a great resource at least for me is Facebook. I’ve met some really amazing people and people who are passionate about their animals, and I buy directly from them.

And sometimes I didn’t really know what I was buying, but I was okay with that because it was more about learning how all of these different breeds behaved versus me getting something that was extremely soft or extremely coarse. I really didn’t care because I really do feel that there is a use for every single kind of fiber available. There’s a use for everything, so that wasn’t my concern.

So really, when you take the time to just, you know, Google is wonderful. If you just go to Google and just start looking up wool breeds or animal breeds, you’ll find a lot of really useful information. And there’s a lot of people on Instagram also that share their work with their animals. And these are people that are wonderful. They’re passionate. They know their stuff.

And when you buy directly from the source, you are truly getting fiber from somebody who loves and cares about these animals and takes really exceptional care of them. So, you know, and it might be dirty but that’s okay because it’s an animal. It lives outside.

Brittany: 16:39
Yeah.

Bren: 16:41
You just have to take the time to wash it and care for it but that’s how you really learn how that animal’s fleece in particular will behave is when you put your hands on it. You feel it, you feel the texture. You really start to learn, oh, okay, well, it’s kind of springy. This one is a little bit more springier than this one.

And, I mean, you learn what you think you might want to do with it. And then also, you know, just making small samples and really playing around with different techniques, you’re going to learn what you think might be the best use for it.

Brittany: 17:21
It sounded like it was a lot of trial by fire, just trying it out, seeing what characteristics you were able to associate with that fiber. And was there any way that you organized that information? Or did you kind of just memorize it and you used it enough that you began to just commit some of these things to memory?

Bren: 17:45
At first, I kept, and I still have it, a big scrapbook.

Brittany: 17:51
Oh, cool.

Bren: 17:52
And it’s my breed study book. And what I would do is whenever I would get a new breed, I would take a sample of it that’s unwashed, nothing done to it, and put it in a bag. And then I would wash a fleece and I would take out a sample. So I could compare the washed versus unwashed because, you know, with wool particularly and also with mohair, they have either for wool, there’s always lanolin on the fleece.

So when you wash it, a lot of that weight that the fleece has is going to go away. I mean, even as much as 50% of the weight. Yes. And with mohair, there’s a wax, kind of a gummy wax on their fleece that keeps it protected from the environment. And you can lose a lot of the weight of the fiber that way too.

So it’s good to kind of know how much loss you’re going to have just from washing it. And then I would process it either by combing it, because there’s two different ways of processing it by hand. You can either comb it or you can card it. It just depends on how you want the yarn to look.

And combing is exactly what it sounds like. It’s just combing with wool combs. And what happens with combing is that you will get what’s called comb top. It is a really smooth, dense preparation. And when you spin yarn from combed top using a combed spinning technique which is called worsted technique or a short forward draft or short backwards draft, you’re going to get a really smooth dense yarn with really clean stitch definition.

But you could also card it and carding is basically brushing. So the fibers aren’t nearly as aligned. They kind of go this way and that way. And the preparation is more airy, more open, more lofty. And depending on how you spin that, you’re going to have more of a textured, airy look in your yarn. So it just depends on how you want it to look.

But I would do a sample for both of those just to see how it would look and then kind of go from there and decide which one I liked best. And I would put all of this into my scrapbook and then I would take a small sample and you usually knit it, sometimes I would crochet it, just you know a little square just so I could see how it looks.

And it would all go onto this page for that particular breed. And every new breed I got I would do the same thing for each one. And it kind of helped me decide what was the best way to spin it because sometimes you don’t know. So you have to make samples.

And over time, you know, I’ve got such a thick book. I kind of know now. I don’t necessarily do it nearly as much as I did when I first started. You kind of will know, okay, well, this one will probably look best this way, and this one will probably look best that way.

Brittany: 21:11
Yeah. How long was this process for you? I’m curious. Is this something that someone can learn in a short amount of time, or is this like years and years of practice and learning?

Bren: 21:24
It took me a few years. I’m not going to lie. It’s still a learning process for me. Still is because I might still get a fleece in the mail where it’s just completely unique.

Brittany: 21:37
Yeah.

Bren: 21:39
Oh, well, I’ve got to put this in the book because… You haven’t used it because it’s so interesting. So I’ll put it in my book because who knows when I might run across it again. Might not ever run across it again.

So, yes, you know, that’s the wonderful thing about this industry is that I really feel like you can never stop learning. I mean, even people who are experts, and I would never consider myself to be an expert because there’s still so much to learn.

Brittany: 22:16
Yeah, I completely relate with that. I feel, well, I’m a passionate learner. My audience knows that I used this resource several years ago called StrengthsFinder. It’s a book, but it’s also a… I’m going to say personality test, but I’m going to say it loosely because it is the most intricate personality test that I have ever taken.

And it was positioned in such a way that I didn’t even realize what was going on. So through this test and through tons and tons of research that went behind it, I was able to find out that my number one strength is learning. And it put my life into perspective at that point because I really, I felt like I was nuts because I felt like I was never satisfied with anything.

And anytime I tried something new and even like getting into fiber arts, I kind of just bounced around because I just wanted to learn. I craved learning.

And, well, and you were saying that’s the great thing about the industry too. And I think that’s, that really is a great thing about fiber arts is you can pick up a skill. Like for me, I started, well, I started knitting first and did not do well with that and transitioned to crocheting, which I actually did pick up much easier.

I went back to knitting and along the way, I dabbled in other things too. Like I went through a phase where I was really interested in fibers and how yarn comes together, how to dye, how to card, spinning. I actually got a drop spindle and I spun my first tiny little hank of yarn that it’s kind of like a trophy for me. I haven’t used it. I haven’t made it into anything because I just thought it’s this perfect pretty little hank and it just needs to be what it is because that was a real feat for me to drop spindle this like it was it was a mess.

Bren: 24:23
I know the feeling. I still have the very first yarn I have ever made; it’s in a shadow box and it is hanging on my wall.

Brittany: 24:36
I’ll have to go back and look for it.

Bren: 24:37
I’m supposed to know, but I think I’m pretty sure I do. But yes, I have. I still have it. And every once in a while, I’ll just turn around and look at it because I’ve really come a long way.

Brittany: 24:51
Yeah, it is cool. It’s really great to see that progression. I think it really puts things into perspective, but also motivates you to continue moving, to always move forward because it’s easy to get stuck in a rut or become stagnant with where you are. And if you look back at the first thing you made, like the first thing I ever crocheted was this bumpy little mug cozy and it was ugly and I missed a few stitches and it was like the tension was all crazy. But when I look at that, then I can, and look at something that I’ve made recently, there’s just a tremendous amount of progression there and that’s motivation that fuels me to continue moving forward because, like you said, there’s so much to learn in this industry and really your only limitation is your level of interest.

Bren: 25:48
Right. And people are always coming up with new techniques and new stitch patterns. And even in the wool industry, they’re breeding different things together to make completely new. I mean, a lot of breeds right now come from mixing different breeds. So there’s always something new and there’s always something new to learn — always, always, always. And I hope to never be in a position where there’s just nothing new for me to learn. And I don’t really think that will ever happen. And I just get so excited about it. And then I just want to show it to everybody. Oh, look at—

Brittany: 26:35
this. Yeah, it’s a serious accomplishment too. And I’m sure looking back through that book that you said has hundreds of pages in it, and the fact that you are still adding to that even after so many years is just fascinating to me. So you’ve worked with a ton of different fibers, like way more than I could probably ever even say.

Bren: 27:01
And there’s still some — there’s plenty that I still haven’t worked with yet and hope to one day, you know, whenever the opportunity presents itself, I’m going to jump on it.

Brittany: 27:12
Yeah, yeah. Well, one thing that I can truly appreciate is working with a natural, not just a natural fiber, but something that, a fiber that I know or a yarn that I know that somebody has processed by hand. For me, it really just, it gets me back to my focus and my purpose for what I’m doing. I love to design with yarns that are easily available, big box yarn companies, because people have access to it. It’s harder to be a designer and publish online for basically the entire world to see when maybe I’ve just used a yarn that I got at my local yarn shop, because that’s probably not something that they can have access to.

But when it comes to my hobby and that’s what I want to use and to work with, I want to work with yarns that are different and pretty. And I love hand dyed. I love the look of it. I love the way the fibers take up the dye differently and it kind of maybe gives it a textured look. And so that’s what I find myself being drawn to when I’m just knitting or crocheting for me or for a gift for somebody.

Do you have a favorite fiber? If you had to pinpoint just one, would it even be possible?

Bren: 28:42
I don’t think possible because, oh, that’s a hard question to answer. I love everything. Even the stuff that some people think is not the best. It’s too coarse. It’s uncomfortable to work with. Well, that might not be a good fleece for you to wear next to your skin, but it will make an amazing rug or amazing placemats for your dining room table or table runner on your weaving loom. You know, there’s always something you can do with it.

And, oh, it’s—oh gosh, it’s really hard to decide. I use Polworth a lot.

Brittany: 29:26
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve tried that, to be honest with you. I think probably the most common, I don’t know, I could be wrong with this, but Merino just is like everywhere. And it seems like that’s what I use a lot of. And I really do love it. It’s great, nice and soft. Actually, I’m knitting with, I recently started a Knit Crate subscription. And this month we are working with a superwash merino that was hand dyed in like an ombre and I’m knitting up a shawl and it’s just, it’s so incredibly soft. I can’t wait to have the shawl finished because I know that that’s something that I won’t mind touching my arms, my shoulders, my neck. I’m kind of an itch-a-phobe if we’re going to be honest. And if I’m going to put a wool or an animal fiber or an acrylic next to my skin, it has to be soft.

Bren: 30:21
Yes, I understand that. I love Polworth because it is next to your skin soft. I like the way it takes up dye. With me being a dyer, I like to have a product that’s going to be consistent every time. I know what to expect from it when I dye with it. Plus, it’s really, really soft. The Polworth that I get is organic, meaning that the animals are fed an all-natural diet. It’s all organic food. It’s just really, really soft to work with. It’s blended with silk. It’s just amazing. I love working with that most.

But I do like for next to skin for things that I know that I’m going to be wearing I tend to use springier crimpier yarns like merino, like Polworth, cormo because number one they’re, like I said, they’re crimpy. So if you look at a fleece especially within the different breeds, some are real, you’ve got these little crinkle curls, some are more loose and wavy. Usually the crimpier ones, the ones that have those really tight, crinkly, crimpy, you know, they’re usually better for wearing next to your skin.

Usually the tighter the crimp of a fleece, the softer it is. And they also have what’s called memory. So because of that crimp, when you knit with them, they have a lot of elasticity and they’re really good for wearing next to your skin because, you know, you’re pulling your hat on, you’re pulling it off your sweaters, you’re pulling them on, you’re pulling them off and they’ll stretch out. But when you have a yarn that is naturally very bouncy, it’s just going to bounce right back. And that’s why they’re really good for wearing next to your skin.

So for wearing next to my skin, Polworth, Merino, Cormo, I think are my top.

Brittany: 32:56
That’s so fascinating. I mean, gosh, these are some things that I seriously don’t even know. I feel like I could go in so many different directions with this because you’re a wealth of knowledge. Seriously.

Bren: 33:07
Thank you. I’m obsessed.

Brittany: 33:11
That’s great. I think when you have a mild obsession with something, that’s the real ticket right there. It’s a resource for people like me to tap into.

Bren: 33:26
I’m always here and always happy to help because sometimes it’s really difficult to find the right thing for the right project. And I know people struggle with that. And for shawls, even though I wear them next to my skin, I usually tend to like my shawls depending on the type of shawl I’m making.

You know, if I’m making something that’s more blanket-like, which I really like—that cozy and warm and that I wrap around myself—I’m going to go with something that has a crimpier yarn in it, like merino or like cormo. But if I want something that’s lacier, you know, that’s got a lot of open work in the stitch pattern, then you want to be able to see those holes really cleanly.

And blocking a crimpy yarn is not necessarily always that easy because as soon as you wash it again, it’s going to bounce right back because it’s really crimpy.

Brittany: 34:23
Is it kind of like people with curly hair? I have curly hair. It’s not a tight curl, but I can straighten it, and it stays straight until it gets wet, and then it curls right back. Okay.

Bren: 34:36
That’s exactly the way wool is. So if you pick a breed like, let’s say, BFL, Bluefaced Leicester, that crimp pattern is more wavy. So it’s not quite as tight. It’s going to do a little bit better with something like a shawl if you wanted to use BFL because BFL is also kind of fuzzy. So it just depends on how you want it to look.

But you could opt to use one of those crimpier yarns but then get something that has a blend in it like 50/50 with silk. And silk has no memory and silk is also very, very strong.

And so when you mix something like a crimpy yarn with something that doesn’t have any memory, it’s going to stretch out a little bit more. So when you go to block your shawl after you finish knitting your lace, you’re going to see it better. It’s going to be more visible. And when you wash it, you’re not going to have quite a difficult time blocking it back out again. It might not even need it.

If you use something that has very low memory like alpaca, which is wonderful to work with—I love alpaca for shawls—you really don’t have to block alpaca at all. You really don’t. You can just wash it once, block it out a little bit, and that’s all you’re going to have to do.

Brittany: 36:02
Yeah, that’s super interesting. You said something a minute ago that really stands out is that picking the fiber content for your project. And that’s something that I’ll completely admit is not something I did in the early days. As I have become a lot more obsessed with my craft, my hobby, and my career, that’s something that I am aware of, but it’s still a learning process. I’m curious if you can shed a little bit of light on that topic. First of all, and you’ve kind of already done this already, we know that fiber content affects your project, but if you could generalize it, in what ways does fiber content affect a project?

Bren: 36:53
Well, with the way things are offered commercially right now, you still have your limits unless you make it yourself. So if… you know, for sweaters, things that are wearable, you want something that’s going to bounce back. Because if you use something that doesn’t have a lot of memory, over time it might stretch out and lose its shape completely. So you want to stick with, for the things that you wear next to your skin, you know, things that are wearable that you’re going to use a lot and get a lot of use out of. You want to stick with something that’s crimpy.

And you will find a lot of merino on the market. And it’s actually a really good general use fiber because it works for so many things. But if you take it into your own hands, that’s when you really can… There’s no limit. There really is. So you’re really limited, unfortunately, by what is offered commercially. So, I mean, finding the right yarn for your project, you know…

Brittany: 38:17
The struggle is real, right? For designers, at least, I think, and people who like to go a little bit rogue with their projects. I always say for beginners or people who are not… and even myself included, I try to do as much research as I can to make sure that I’m pairing the right yarn with the right project because I’m providing a service for somebody. But if you’re not necessarily designing a pattern to sell or to publish somewhere, then I think it’s probably okay for you to just practice.

I mean, it does… it kind of stinks a little bit that you might spend a lot of time, especially if you’re knitting. It takes so much longer, it seems like, to knit something than crochet. So it’s a shame that you would maybe potentially waste that time. But I always say that if you’ve learned something from an experience, that time wasn’t wasted. So maybe you learned the hard way that a particular type of wool has too much weight and maybe it sags over time and your sweater becomes… just loose and kind of frumpy after a while. But at least you know that you shouldn’t use that fiber again. And you can always undo it.

Bren: 39:36
Good point. If you just can’t take it, just undo it and use the, you know, wash it. It’ll probably bounce back and you can use it for something else that’s more suitable for the fiber.

Brittany: 39:50
Yeah, that’s a good point too. I know for a lot of acrylics, that’s not always the case. There are some, especially roving acrylics, which I love roving style yarn. And I use a lot of acrylics just because that’s what’s very readily available for people. But some yarns, if you work it up into something, frogging it is a really bad idea.

Would you say that it’s pretty safe to frog like all types of animal fibers or are there ones that maybe people should be a little bit wary of doing that to try to repurpose it if they’ve learned that that doesn’t work with the project they started?

Bren: 40:30
Fuzzy yarn is hard to frog. Okay. Anything that has a halo is going to be difficult to frog back. Things with mohair in them, things with angora in them, even sometimes you know, wool fibers that tend to be more fuzzy, like blue-faced Leicester. Sometimes alpaca can get kind of fuzzy, just depending on how it’s spun. They’re hard to frog back. They really are, because they like to cling to each other. Yeah. They’re hard to frog back, yes.

Brittany: 41:06
Definitely. So it sounds like maybe for the person who is just starting to dip their toe into the world of natural fibers, maybe some of the wools, like the sheep wools, are maybe the best place to start.

Bren: 41:21
Yes, definitely. And then if they’re really curious, I would start with just a basic merino and then just start branching out from there because there’s just so many options out there. And a lot of these places that, you know, own the animals, if you just do the research, they also send their fiber off to mills and you can buy yarn directly from them. You know, I do that a lot.

Brittany: 41:57
Yeah, so it’s yarn that’s already processed? Is it still maybe like the natural color or…?

Bren: 42:04
Yes, you can go through these alpaca farmers and these wool farmers, and they have all these amazing colors, natural colors from all these beautiful animals, and they send them out to the mill to get them processed and made into yarn, and you can buy it directly from the source. And it’s just amazing. There’s just so many options, and they’re just so beautiful.

And if you wanted to dye them… You could dye them. This is something else that you could definitely experiment with. It’s so much fun. So much fun.

Brittany: 42:41
Yeah. I got really interested in dyeing yarn a few years back. Really, not because I wanted to produce anything, but I just wanted to try it. Just to say that I had tried it before. I knew nothing. But I had seen on Pinterest that you could dye yarn with Kool-Aid. And I was like, how cool is that?

So… I had some Kool-Aid that my husband and I just don’t drink. We really don’t drink that. I don’t know why I had it, but I was like, well, this is the perfect juice for all this Kool-Aid that I have. Well, I did very little research, I’ll admit. And I had a, it was an off-white skein of acrylic yarn. And then that’s an important word there. It was acrylic yarn. And you know why. Because you can’t really dye acrylic yarn, right?

So I went through the process. Didn’t use gloves either, by the way. And I think if you go, maybe, I don’t know if it’s there, but I think if you go all the way back to my early, early days on Instagram, you can maybe see a photo of me with red hands. Oh, my God. Because I was using, like, black cherry Kool-Aid, and it was really pretty when it was sitting in the water. I’m sure it was. I wrung the color out, and it just– it’s very slightly tinted pink. So it kind of worked, but it didn’t.

Bren: 44:16
It basically just stained it. It didn’t really take up any of the dye. It just– now, Kool-Aid works just fine for animal fibers because Kool-Aid already has citric acid built in.

Brittany: 44:33
Oh, okay.

Bren: 44:36
Citric acid is basically the glue that binds the color to the yarn along with heat. Kool-Aid works really great for animal fibers.

Brittany: 44:45
Can you shed some light on why it doesn’t work with acrylic?

Bren: 44:50
Well, acrylic is basically… you know, it’s just a…

Brittany: 44:56
Yeah, it doesn’t take anything up. It kind of just repels it.

Bren: 45:01
Those colors that you will find acrylic in, they’re actually done when, I guess, the vat is being mixed. It’s built right into the color. You know, those colors are built right into the product before it’s even made into yarn.

Brittany: 45:23
Oh yeah, that’s interesting. What about blending? I know there are a lot of acrylic wool blends that are available. Do you have any information on those? Maybe how it might perform with a project or just any details on those? Because that does seem to be what people have easy access to and probably have some in their stash right now. I do. Yes, I have a lot, I’ll admit. I have a lot of acrylic yarn. I—

Bren: 45:57
Really like working with, especially with acrylic wool blends, especially for blankets. That’s probably my favorite thing. I don’t really like using wool for blankets that much because I need them to be hard-wearing. Because the dogs are going to be on them. They’re going to be thrown on the floor. They’re going to be thrown in the washing machine. I need something that’s going to be tough.

And acrylic is really great for that. But I love the blend of acrylic and wool together because it gives it that natural look that I personally prefer. But I sure do use it. And I love them for blankets. And there’s just so many options. And actually, I just bought some Lion Brand Scarfie.

Brittany: 46:54
Oh, yeah. It’s so pretty. I love the color. The color pattern in that is gorgeous.

Bren: 47:00
Yes, and I’m going to be making myself some cowls this winter with them. I mean… I love the way they look, especially for blankets.

Brittany: 47:13
What do you think the wool does for the fiber? Is it just providing the extra warmth, or is it the texture, or is it something different?

Bren: 47:23
I think it’s a combination of texture and color. Acrylic, for the most part, can tend to be a little on the shiny side and have, at least to me sometimes, kind of an artificial look. And when you add that bit of wool to it, it just gives it more depth, I guess you could say. It gives it a more beautiful texture, and it definitely makes it warmer.

Brittany: 47:51
Yeah, okay. What about any kind of plant fibers? Do you have any experience with that, like maybe cottons or viscose or anything?

Bren: 48:02
Yes, I like to work with cotton sometimes. Cotton is tricky to spin. And I don’t knit with cotton very much or crochet with cotton very much unless I’m making a blanket. So I prefer to just buy it commercially over spinning it. I also really like to spin flax into linen and use it for weaving. It’s beautiful. Hand spun linen is really beautiful.

And linen has like a natural kind of a gummy, glue-ish, yeah, when you’re spinning it, so if you wet your fingers while you’re spinning it, it just binds it together. It’s really amazing. But yeah, I like linen, and I do occasionally spin cotton, but usually when I spin cotton, it’s blended with wool.

Brittany: 49:00
Yeah. Well, if you think back to, well, I’m thinking back to a time, I don’t use a lot of cotton either, honestly, just because when I crochet it, because it doesn’t have that stretch and the flexibility that acrylic or animal fibers do, my hands get tired.

Specifically, I use my middle finger on my left hand to help control my tension and to pull my hook through as I’m doing my yarn overs. And after a while, my fingernail, I guess I’m like pulling my fingernail kind of away from my finger in that process. And cotton really, it doesn’t take it long for my finger to really start aching from that.

But when you think—It can be stiff. Yeah, it is. It doesn’t have a lot of stretch to it. But the other thing I notice is that it can come unplied a lot easier than some other yarns. And I’m guessing that’s probably the reason why it’s no fun to spin.

Bren: 49:58
Well, cotton is very, very short. You know, it’s called a staple length. Wool can range depending on when the animal is sheared from, you know, just a few inches long to several inches long. I mean, some of the wool I have in my stash is 10 inches long. Oh, wow. And the cotton is really, really short. It’s usually an inch, an inch and a half sometimes. It’s really short.

So it has to be brushed properly. And then it has to be spun in a woolen technique so that the fibers will cling together and be durable. But the reason why you’ll find that the ply falls apart is because cotton is really short. It’s got a very short staple, so it has to have a really tight twist in order for it to stay together.

Brittany: 50:50
And just to clarify, too, this is actually something I learned from that free class, is that the staple length, think of it like… It’s the length of the individual hairs. So like if you think about the hair on your head, however long your hair is, that would be like your staple length. Is that true? Am I understanding it right?

Bren: 51:17
That’s exactly right. Awesome. And because cotton is, when you see it at its like completely natural form, it’s short, right?

It’s not very big. It’s a teeny ball cotton and, you know, an inch and an inch and a half is what most of it is. So it has to have a really tight twist in order to keep all those fibers together because it’s so short. So that’s probably why you will find that sometimes it can be problematic. That’s why I like to blend my cotton with other things. Because cotton is great in spring. It’s lightweight. In summer, it’s lightweight. The air moves through it, so it’s very breathable. So it’s a really great fiber to work with. You just have to work with it the right way.

Brittany: 51:55
It sounds like blending is a really important technique and skill. Honestly, I can’t say that I’ve worked with a lot of cotton blends. So do you think that for somebody like me, who maybe their hands just get really fatigued or dry after using cotton for a while, would you recommend going to a cotton blend yarn to kind of solve that problem?

Bren: 52:22
Yes, because when you blend fibers together, it’s kind of bringing the best qualities to each one and mashing them together into one thing. So I love blends.

Brittany: 52:37
Yeah.

Bren: 52:37
I love blends and working with cotton can be kind of tough if it’s just 100% cotton. But if you blend it with like a nice soft wool, oh, it’s just, it’s really enjoyable to work with. Especially if you can find a cotton blended with like a superwash wool, if you could find one. Yeah. And I mean, you can… do all of your wonderful knitting or crocheting, and it’s still machine washable, so it will be great for blankets, too.

Brittany: 53:05
Oh, that’s a good idea. And you’re not really losing the big perk of using a cotton with it being lightweight, airy, good for spring or summer things, right, if you blend it with the wool? Because it’s probably a small amount. Is that right?

Bren: 53:20
Mm-hmm. And if you use, like, a thinner yarn instead of something thicker, you know, it’s also going to help too. So if you’re wanting to do something lightweight for the summer, if you’re getting something that’s in a lace or fingering weight, then it’s still going to be very lightweight, airy, and allow the air to move through. And because wool is naturally water resistant, you know, you’re not going to get the, you know, the sweaty armpits.

Brittany: 53:52
Yeah. Nobody wants sweaty armpits in the summer. So we have covered tons of ground here. I want to recap a little bit because my main goal is for somebody to walk away from this, maybe feeling inspired to shake things up a little bit, whether that means to try processing a fiber on their own, kind of like you do, or whether it be dyeing, just stepping into something different, or maybe instead of going to the big box store, I agree. I agree. There was this picture or this quote that said something to the effect of that everybody has that one hank of yarn in their stash that they just go home and pet. And I just thought that was hysterical, but it’s so true because I think when you open up the doors to this like huge world that’s kind of adjacent to what we’re already obsessed with, it’s like a whole new obsession begins.

Bren: 55:15
It really is, and that’s kind of what happened to me. I just kind of got curious, and it just morphed into this really big thing that I really wasn’t expecting it to be. But when you spin your own yarn and when you work with, especially if you process it yourself from scratch, you dye it yourself from scratch, it’s the ultimate control. Yeah. How your finished project is going to look. It takes more time. Yes, it does. And it’s not for everyone. It definitely isn’t because it’s a process. But I enjoy the process just as much as I enjoy using it. So I think it works for me. It definitely won’t work for everybody, but I definitely think it’s something everyone should try at least once just to see how you feel about it, and to get a greater appreciation for the amount of work that goes in to making that yarn that you’re using.

Brittany: 56:23
Yeah, that’s so true too. So what I want to do now is just kind of like rapid fire some different types of fiber-related activities. And maybe you can share… what that first step would be for somebody. So if somebody wanted to start processing, like make their own yarn from scratch, like you do, what’s the first step that they need to take?

Bren: 56:54
The first thing I would do as a very brand new spinner, I wouldn’t… It really does depend. You’ll hear this a lot with spinners. You know the answer, it depends. Because it really does depend. But it kind of depends on where your interests lie. You might not really be interested at first in processing your wool from scratch. I wasn’t. That was not something that I was interested in when I first started.

I preferred to buy it already done, clean and ready to spin. And, um, that might be a great way for you to kind of just jump into it and just to see if you even like it and you don’t have to make a big commitment, you know, because usually when you buy a fleece, you have to buy, you know, buy it in bulk, you know, pounds at a time.

Brittany: 57:45
Yeah.

Bren: 57:45
There are a few places that might sell it by the ounce, but they’re hard to find. But you can buy four ounces of Reno from a lot of places. And, um, just kind of get your toes wet and buy yourself a spindle. It’s not a real big commitment. And just try it out and see how you like it. If you have some clays or if you have some food coloring, you can try dyeing it just to see how you like it. And if it’s something that you really are very interested in, you can take it from there.

Brittany: 58:17
So for… For somebody who’s looking to spin, I love that advice to get a drop spindle. That’s what I did. It’s not the easiest, the most time efficient, or probably fun way to spin your yarn. But there is something to be said about having that hank of yarn that you literally spun with your bare hands.

I think my spindle, I bought on Etsy. And I think it was like 20 bucks and it was actually a kit. So it came with the drop spindle that was handmade and it came with some roving that I was able to spin. So it was like 20 bucks and I had what I needed to do my first thing. So that was great for me.

Then I guess if you wanted to take it the next step further, if you wanted to use a spinning wheel, wouldn’t you say that there are… classes available where you can use the spinning wheel, maybe at the yarn shop, or does somebody actually need to buy the spindle too?

Bren: 59:21
It depends on where you live, because some local yarn shops—I’m seeing them offering spinning classes more and more often—and a lot of places will let you rent a spinning wheel. Try it out, decide if you like it, and then if you like it, they’ll order you one. Or you can go online and buy one for yourself.

And it’s nice if they have more than one option, you know, as far as spinning wheels, so that you can try out different things. Because, you know, one spinning wheel might not work for you, but a different one might be more comfortable for you. So, you know, you’re like cars.

Brittany: 1:00:00
Yeah. Well, and I’m thinking low barrier to entry too. So I think that’s a good tip for people who—because let’s be honest—like spinning wheels are very expensive and you have to make sure, like you said, that you get the right one and you have to make sure that it’s something you’re going to continue to do. So it doesn’t make sense to spend hundreds of dollars on a spinning wheel if you’re never going to spin more than a few hanks of yarn.

What about dyeing? If somebody wants to get into that first and kind of play around with that, again thinking low barrier to entry, what are the most important things they need to know? I’m thinking off the top of my head, it has to be an animal fiber because I learned the hard way that you can’t dye acrylic. And that you could do something with Kool-Aid.

So I’m wondering, could somebody just go to their local craft store and buy a 100% wool yarn, or maybe they already have it in their stash, that is a natural color, like something that’s not dyed, and it kind of is a sort of a white, off-white look. Would that work?

Bren: 1:01:03
Yes, it sure would. It sure would, but it just needs to be in a hank and not in a skein. Okay. Because when you dye, the yarn needs to be very open so that the color will be able to penetrate in all the little crevices.

Brittany: 1:01:18
Okay. That’s really important. That’s a good tip. And would you say that dyeing with Kool-Aid or food coloring is probably the best first approach? Because I’m thinking toxicity and that sort of thing.

I had heard and seen that when you dye with dyes, you want to make sure that you’re using equipment that you don’t cook with because you will use—you have to heat it in some way. So I think I’ve seen some resources that recommend that you put it in like a microwave safe bowl and you can microwave it, or you can put it in a baking dish and you can bake it or whatever. When you’re using dyes, you want to be aware of what you’re putting it in because it could potentially be harmful?

Bren: 1:02:01
Yes, you need to be safe about it. You need to wear—like you can get those painter’s masks—so that you’re not breathing in, you know, powders. Even Kool-Aid is in a powder form. You don’t want to be breathing that up your nose.

Some type of dedicated equipment—you know, if you’re just trying it out, you can get yourself some saran wrap, just some cling plastic, and lay it out, lay your yarn out, dye it, and then roll it up into that cling plastic and put it in a plastic bowl and stick it in the microwave. You can do that, and it’ll work just fine.

You know, you can start really simple. You really can. Or you can probably, on places like Etsy, find the little dye kits where if you wanted to try acid dye—the professional acid dyes over food coloring or Kool-Aid—you can try them out. And they’re usually just a few, you know, $20. Probably for a skein of yarn or for four ounces of wool. And you can try it out. And usually they’ll come with like the primary colors and black. And, you know, just those primary colors, you can mix any color you want from those primary colors. So you can start really simple. Just depends on where your interests lie.

Brittany: 1:03:29
Yeah. And wear gloves when you dye yarn. Make sure you wear gloves.

Bren: 1:03:34
And I also wear an apron because I splash it everywhere.

Brittany: 1:03:38
Yes. And I imagine that’s probably like if anybody has dyed their hair with box dyes. I used to do that back in the day and I would always splatter it on the bathroom floor, counter, and sometimes it would get on the cabinets. And if you don’t see it and wipe that off right away, it would stain it. So I imagine yarn dyes could potentially do that too.

Bren: 1:04:04
Yes, they can stain your countertop, but usually bleach will get it right out. That’s why, you know, but if you decide to do it as a business, I would definitely invest in stainless steel. Everything.

So everything I have is stainless steel, so I can splash it. I don’t splash as much as I used to, but I still splash it on myself every once in a while. So I wear a rubber apron—kind of rubbery—so it just wipes right off.

Brittany: 1:04:38
Well, man, this has been such an amazing conversation. I have learned so much from you that… I just thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing some of your wisdom.

I feel like we could still talk even more about this. We’ll have to maybe talk about having you back on the show. But for now, I want to give you a chance to share what you have going on because obviously you have a lot of information to share here. So where can people connect with you online?

Bren: 1:05:09
Probably the best place to find me is on Instagram at snurbyarn. And you can check out my website at snurbyarn.com. I do a monthly colorway, and it’s just basically every month I dye some colorway and I offer it on yarn and I offer it on fiber. I usually have a limited amount because I like to be able to get it done in a reasonable amount of time without people having to wait.

But it’s available on the first day of every month, and I really have a lot of fun with it. And you can always find me on Instagram, like I said. And then I also have a spinning group on Facebook called A Spinner’s Study. We do all kinds of tutorials and we just really share information because I really feel like it’s important, especially for people who are wanting to learn more.

Sometimes it’s hard to find information without having to pay for it. And we all offer it freely to each other. So if somebody has a question about something—be it about a specific breed—more than likely somebody who actually works with the animals, who owns the animals, can come in and give you some insight about how to work with that breed. Or you can probably just buy some of their fiber directly from them.

If there’s a question about a spinning technique or a specific wheel or even a spindle or some type of dye brand or Kool-Aid brand—it doesn’t really matter. Any question you have, you can go ask it there and either myself or somebody else who has experience is going to guide you, even if it’s with links to YouTube tutorials. We also have in the group files a whole list of links to websites and a link to videos that we’ve made ourselves so people can get the help that they need.

Brittany: 1:07:31
Well, that sounds like a wonderful resource. I definitely want to link to that in the show notes page because it sounds like that’s the first step for people to dabble in something brand new, whether it be a new hobby or just a Sunday fun day activity. So I will link to that. Thank you so much, Brynn. It has been an absolute pleasure chatting with you today.

Bren: 1:07:51
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I’m so excited.

Brittany: 1:07:57
Well, there you have it. Pick your socks up off the floor—I know Bren knocked them off with this episode.

Thank you so much, Bren. I know you listen to the show and I want to just express my gratitude and appreciation once again, because like I said, you taught me so much, but more importantly, you taught every single listener something here today too. And I know you’ve inspired us to just dabble in something a little bit different, just to shake things up and change the pace.

Thanks once again for listening to today’s episode. I sure had a blast here and I hope you had a blast listening as well.

This podcast was sponsored by Yarnspirations, which is the online destination for incredible inspiration and patterns. Well today, don’t forget, as a listener, you can get 20% off your order of $40 or more at Yarnspirations.com. We all need to save a little bit of money, right? And this is one really great way that you can do it.

This offer will not last forever, so please, if you need to order some yarn, do so from Yarnspirations.com. When you spend $40 or more, enter the coupon code BHOOKEDPOD at checkout. That’s going to save you 20% off. It’s like free money just because you’re listening to the show today. And it’s also a way that I can say thank you for always tuning in week after week and to let you know how much I care.

Well, that coupon code once again is BHookedPod. That’s B-H-O-O-K-E-D-P-O-D. And the show notes can be accessed at BHookedCrochet.com/session062.

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for a new summer project, that Summer Ripple Afghan is now available on—well, the video is available on Yarnspiration’s YouTube channel. I’m actually working with them in collaboration to teach you this project. But you’ll also find a blog post on my website that talks about my experience with the pattern.

I share a few details with you, some of the little hiccups that I ran into and that I think is probably possible for you to run into as well. I want to make sure that you have the best chance possible and I’m going to share the things that I struggled with so that maybe you don’t have to struggle with them.

You can also find all of Bren’s information on the show notes page, a link to her website and all the things that she talked about. If you don’t follow her on Instagram, I highly recommend that you do because she always shares some delicious fiber and yarn goodness there. Definitely some eye candy.

And stick around for next week. Once again, if you haven’t subscribed, just go ahead and do that really quick. That way you’ll be sure not to miss an episode. This month, I have another great guest lined up for you next week, and I will see you then.

Until then, guys, thank you so much. I really, really appreciate you. I’ll see you next week.