Fabric Fun...

As you know, I had a fabulous day out at Slaithwaite a couple of weeks ago... we went to a spinning mill, and a weaving company... here are the last few photos from what was a wonderful day!

Our last few stops were to a couple of companies housed on different floors of an old mill... I loved the sign on the front - you wouldn't see that much now!

We visited McNair Shirts to start off with - they are a producer of luxury skiing and snowboarding shirts in Slaithwaite, and all their materials are sourced within the village. I got to see some of the shirts first hand, and they really are quite something. (I've not been given anything to say this - I'm just saying how impressed I was!)
Each shirt has a little bit about the company written in them...

What was really interesting was hearing the design process that went into the shirts, and about the materials that they are made of. Here is a before and after picture of what the fabric looks like to start with (on the left) and after felting (on the right)... This is what creates their unique fabric.

I'm sure their studio space is part of what really makes the shirts too - look at it! It's my dream space to work in! Big windows, wooden floors... One day... :-)

Our very last stop of the day was to visit another part of the Very English Weaving Company... It was dressmaker's heaven, with bolts and bolts of fabric on the shelves...

My last photo is this one - which is simply of a few bolts of fabric, which summed up all the processes I saw during the day. I had seen where the yarn that went into it came from, I had seen how it was made, and there it was, sitting on the shelf, looking very pretty. It was really cool to be able to see those few bolts of fabric, knowing exactly where they came from, and I know it will definitely make me think more about where other things around me come from :-)

Well thank you if you've managed to follow what was a very tiring, but very lovely day! I know many of you are similarly interested in textiles, so I thought I would share! :-)

Christmas is coming...

Are you ready for Christmas?? Luckily there isn't much for me to knit present-wise this year, however I had one very special request from my sister...

Can you guess what she's asked for?
I am going attempting to crochet her a dragon! I looked on Ravelry for a knitted one, but it was this rather cute crocheted one that caught my eye... I'm not very experienced with crochet though... wish me luck!

The Very English Weaving Company...

As if the trip to the spinning mill wasn't exciting enough, our next stop was the Very English Weaving Company...

Seeing behind the scenes here was cool, as it felt like stepping back in time - traditional materials, traditional machines...

Although this newer machine for creating the warp was quite impressive!

The weaving machines themselves were complicated - it obviously takes a very skilled worker. We were told that the people working the machines have to be a machine technician, and a weaver, as well as having other skills necessary for the job.

We could see some works in progress while we were there... Isn't this colourway beautiful??

Or this one? (I thought this red, green and beige combo was quite Christmassy!)

Even the colour cards were beautiful...

It was so nice to see such wonderful work being made in the UK - it is called the Very English Weaving Company for a reason! Unfortunately I didn't buy any fabric (although I was very tempted!), but my professor did, and it's nice to see the company being supported :-)

A Trip to Slaithwaite...

This past Friday I was lucky enough to visit the beautiful village of Slaithwaite (or "Slawit" as it's known to the locals) for a fabulous day of exploring the processes behind some of their local textile production. It was AMAZING - a whole day of talking about yarn and fabric? Yes please!
I was one of two students who decided to attend the trip... all I can say is that those who didn't go missed out on a treat!

Our first stop of the day was to a spinning mill...

On our way up to Slaithwaite I had had a discussion with my professor about how yarn gets from a sheep to being usable yarn - I mentioned about how it gets shorn off the sheep, sorted by quality, washed, and then carded before being spun into yarn. Sure enough, when we got to the factory, the owner described the very same process - I was quite pleased that I definitely had my facts straight! :-)
Their work begins after the carding process... and with these large balls of roving! (Apologies for the bad quality photos... I only had my phone with me on the day...)

There were containers FULL of balls like this - all I could think is all the yarn that could be made from it!
There were all sorts of interesting machines... like this one that takes all the "neps" or impurities out of the roving...

And spinning machines all working simultaneously to create the plies later to be twisted into yarn...

I had been told that all the yarn made there was for weaving into fabric... but the best part of seeing the factory was seeing this on the front of the building as we walked in...

It was the STYLECRAFT factory! I have some of their yarn in my stash, so I was so excited to see how my yarn came into being, and knowing that this is where it came from!
This was exciting enough, but we still had a few stops to visit... I'll share my experiences of them in some upcoming posts :-)

Winter Warmer!

I know, I know... I've not posted in a while... but it's totally worth the wait (or at least I think so!)
Whilst I've been quiet, and in between reading for my dissertation, I've been sneaking in a few rows on this...

I finally got around to knitting myself a hat! You'll recall I've knit this pattern not once, but twice, before (one was gifted, but you can see the other one here)... I love how simple and yet so pretty it is...

I am really looking forward to wearing this to keep me warm in the next few months as the weather turns colder. I'm not usually a hat person, but I think now I've made this one, I may change my mind!
The only modification made is an extra row or two more of the ribbing, and an extra pattern repeat, as I was looking for a slightly slouchier look...

Overall, very happy! I have more of this yarn in red... would it be bad to knit this pattern yet again??

Ravelry Project Details Here