Handspun Tapestry Yarn

My hand spun tapestry yarns are all yarn 'singles'.  That means one single thread rather than a plied thread.  In tapestry weaving it is desirable to have a firm twist, and not too much 'spring' in the yarn.  So I spin these yarns with as much twist as I can manage, and as evenly as I can, although please bear in mind that they are hand spun, and not made by a machine so there will be some gently thicker and thinner bits here and there.  My listings give much  more information about the types of wools used in each yarn.  All yarns in this section are dyed with natural dyes, or are undyed natural wool colours. I use as many local plants, and eco-friendly mordants.

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When yarns are spun by machine, they are completely even in texture, and the dye take up is completely even because of that.  But hand spun yarns will be more irregular with areas of differing twist, and fibres that are blended together that come from different parts of a fleece. Therefore the dye-take-up is slightly irregular. This produces over all a much more hand-crafted look to a finished piece.

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Handmade rugs and tapestries that are crafted with hand spun yarns are now much  more rare because machine produced yarn is cheaper and readily available than hand spun. So if you are interested in a producing something really authentic, hand spun may be a good choice.