East Anglian Yarns and Fabric

Having become enthralled with weaving over the last couple of years I am pleased to show you the newest string to the Haberdasher's bow - slow yarns and fabrics with completely transparent production from start to finish.

Thrandeston Portlands, Suffolk

I'm sourcing the wool from friends and colleagues, small holder and conservation grazing flocks from all over Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk. It can be difficult for small producers to find an outlet for their fleeces due to low volume, cost or storage, and for rare and primitive breeds there is pennies per fleece from the national wool board.

I first came across primitive sheep when at college, the Manx Loaghtans who were used for conservation grazing the special Hampshire chalk Downland, and have loved them ever since. That love has expanded out a bit, and now encompasses the wide variety of rare and primitive sheep breeds of the British Isles, championing their diverse range of colours, textures and properties, which is often overlooked by industry but readily available at a grass roots level.

Currently I know some Ryelands (Suffolk, breed previously on the RBST watch list but numbers now steady), Portlands (Suffolk, breed on the RBST 'At Risk' list), Hebrideans (Suffolk and Essex, breed previously on the RBST watch list but numbers now steady), Manx Loaghtan (Suffolk and Norfolk, breed on the RBST 'Priority' list). I'm always keen to meet new breeds to expand my knowledge so please feel free to get in touch.

I'm using hand and mill spun yarns, as each piece demands. Sometimes one or the other, sometimes mixed.

Roving and mill spun yarns are processed by Shire Mill, an independent mini mill in Leicestershire, run by the equally passionate and excellent Fiona.

Hand spun yarns are made by me by either drop spindle or on my Ashford Trad. wheel.

All my early pieces are completely handspun but this adds significantly to the time and price - it takes 9-10 hours to spin 100g of very fine 2ply fingering weight, 1-2 hrs for aran weight singles.

Typically the spinning to weaving ratio in hours is 10:1 for 4ply / fingering weight.

The difference between hand spun and mill spun yarn by cost around is 5:1

Mill spun Norfolk Manx Loaghtan

The Suffolk Twill on my Glimakra loom

I'm now weaving on my own loom, a Glimakra Aktiv, which is very exciting. The Suffolk Twill is the first piece I have woven on this loom.

Previously I have mostly used a Saori loom, although the original Ryeland plain weave was woven on a Harrisville floor loom. Both these loom times and my early weaving, warping and loom dressing were overseen by my friend Sarah, and Kim of the Saori Shed, who provided invaluable patience, advice and guidance as I began this wonderful work.

I am making large hand woven fabrics (manually pressing treadles and throwing shuttles) from single breeds, available by the metre as well as unique pieces plant dyes and mixed natural colours.

All woven at home in Norfolk

I specialize in tree dyes - colours from barks, leaves and berries which are foraged or collected as a waste product from my green wood work. Their provenance is as particular as the fleeces, often coming from nature reserves as part of their conservation work, or friends gardens and small holdings.

I occasionally grow colours in my garden like Woad, or take unwanted plants from friends gardens like Rhubarb, and there are occasional special finds or gifts like Xanthoria lichen or Dyers Mazegill fungi.