base yarns

Learn about all my current base yarns

Ginseng - 100% Mulberry Silk (3 ply and 4 ply)

A beautifully glossy silky yarn. Just so luxurious … and a pleasure to knit with. Comes in one of a kind colourways as well as my dye to to order line and gradients. When knitted this yarn has a wonderful rich and lustrous handle and drape just as a pure silk item should be - I love it and hope you do too. Weight & Length
Comes in both 3 ply (heavy lace) & 4 ply (fingering). The 3 ply is 600 metres long and the 4 ply is 400 metres long.
Washing Instructions
It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Ginseng yarns.



Echinacea - 70% Silk & 30% Alpaca (2 ply)

A semi glossy and luxurious Royal alpaca and silk lace yarn, spun in Switzerland. When knitted this yarn has really great stitch definition, good strength (due to the silk) and has a lovely handle and drape. The silk provides enough strength to hold beads, whilst the alpaca gives it a sleek softness. Weight & Length
2 ply lace weight. 100 grams is 750 metres. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Echinacea yarns.



Masala - 60% Merino Wool, 20% Yak & 20% Silk (4 ply and 8 ply)

A beautiful self coloured yarn that takes on a heathered look to many of the colours when dyed. Smooth with a soft luster and delightful to knit with. This yarn has an amazing stitch definition and Cath Ward has used it in one of her latest shawl designs where the sheen of the yarn and each stitch is apparent. It's beautifully smooth and silkey to knit with. I dye this with special attention to the colour and texture of the base fibres which gives it a slight heathering underneath the dye. It has it's own range of colours due to this. Weight & Length
4 ply fingering. 100 gms - 366 metres
8 ply dk. 100 gms - 212 metres 4 ply construction Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special wool detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Masala yarns.



White Cloud - 50% Mulberry Silk & 50% Merino Wool (4 ply)

I’m in love with this yarn! It’s delightfully soft with a slight slubbiness and totally beautiful. White Cloud is a very apt name for this glorious yarn. Non superwash. Comes in one of a kind colourways as well as part of my dye to order line. It is feltable (I know).
It is a natural Merino wool (untreated) of 20.5 micron fibres. Weight & Length 4 ply fingering. 100grams is 400 metres. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special wool detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of White Cloud yarns.



Chai - 100% Tussah Silk (1 ply)

I’ve been greedily fondling this gorgeous drapey silk since it’s arrival in my studio all the way from Switzerland! Dyed up it’s simply so soft and divine!!! The finest weight of my yarns but something with a little more visual texture. It drapes and hangs beautifully … it dyes up slightly differently to my other silk - full of colour nuances and mystic tonal changes. Just glorious. Weight & Length 1 ply cobweb weight. 100 grams = 1000 dreamy metres. 2 ply construction. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Chai yarns



Darjeeling - 85% Merino & 15% Nylon (sock yarn, 4 ply)

A soft smooth sock base that dyes up like a dream into anything I can dream up! A soft but firm sock base with good stitch definition. Weight & Length 4 ply fingering. 100grams = 400 metres. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a wool wash to prevent dissociating. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. The merino is superwash but the dyes not. (However, I'm not hand washing my socks so there!) View the range of Darjeeling sock yarns



Ujicha - Tussah silk (1 ply but 2 ply weight)

A gorgeous wild Tussah silk from Japan that just glows with richness and beauty… truly an unusual but stunning addition to the Green Tea Yarns line of luxury yarn.
A single ply but with the weight and feel of a Lace 2 ply (rather than a light fingering). Knits up with great stitch definition and an amazing Tussah silk halo. Seeing (and using) is believing. My test knitter has said she is smitten with it and I hope you will be too. Weight & Length 1 ply but 2 ply weight = heavy lace. 100grams = 700 metres. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to lukewarm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Ujicha yarns .



Mangosteen - 75% Merino Wool & 25% Nylon (sock yarn 4 ply & 8 ply)

A perfect sock yarn! And equally good double knit (DK) weight yarn. It’s durable, strong and machine washable but equally soft too. Also available in a range of gorgeous gradients and my dto colour line…all inspired by the wonderful world around me. Weight & Length 4 ply sock yarn. 100grams = 424 metres. 8 ply double knit (DK) yarn. 100 grams = 225 metres Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a wool wash to prevent dissociating. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Mangosteen yarns.



Acai - 100% Merino Cross (2 ply)

A practical washable pure wool yarn made from Merino X sheep. This is spun with a slight crepe construction. I use this hardwearing 2 ply yarn as a good rustic base for my gradients and some short skeins. Tends to dye up intensely and takes colour well. Weight & Length 2 ply lace weight. 100grams is 590 metres. 2 ply construction View the Acai range .



Pekoe - 100% Mulberry Silk (2, 3 and 4 ply)

Beautiful, glossy, smooth and luxurious mulberry silk lace yarn! When knitted this yarn has a wonderful handle - very silky with a high sheen. Your finished garment is destined to be absolutely glorious! A very smooth crisp silk yarn - perfect for a beautiful lace shawl where stitch detail is important. Weight & Length
Comes in both 2 ply (lace), 3 ply (heavy lace) and also 4 ply. The 2 ply is 800 metres per 100grams, the 3 ply is 600 metres long, per 100grams and the 4 ply is 400 meters to 100grams.
Washing Instructions
It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the Pekoe collection.



Sencha - 50% Mulberry Silk & 50% Merino Wool (2 ply)

A very soft laceweight yarn with just right amount of silk for strength but also with merino for a bit of elasticity. Has a bit of a tendency to fluff - but people love it! Comes in one of a kind colourways and is used as one of my bases in my gradients.
Weight & Length 2 ply laceweight. 100grams is 700 metres. 2 ply construction. ( see the colours in the Sencha collection here )



Anji Bai - 80% Falklands Wool & 20% Silk (2 ply)

A soft and strong laceweight base with a sort of dull elegance about it. Not glossy and slightly textured. Weight & Length 2 ply /lace weight - 100grams = 800 metres. 2 ply construction Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to lukewarm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. veiw all Anji Bai colours here



Sulkazura - Tussah silk  - 1 ply but 4 ply weight

A rich lustrous Tussah silk base - here as a single but in 4 ply thickness. This base comes as a soft brown and dyes beautifully, but is not a good choice for pastel pure colours so you will see it featuring my more vibrant richer colours. Weight & Length 1 ply but 4 ply/fingering weight 100grams = 400 metres. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to lukewarm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. See the Sulkazura collection here:



Gong Fu - Tussah silk (3 ply heavy lace)

A gorgeous plied silk in Heavy Lace weight that is everything a Tussah silk should be. It has the texture and appearance of a wool but the drape and handle of a silk with the characteristic low glisten of tussah. Rustic and with a definite sfeel of a hand made product rather than a mass produced eveness, very reminiescent of Dupion silk. I'm planning on making a summer top with it (my tester is too) as I think this wild silk is a perfect summer garment. This is a new yarn - slubs are part of it's rustic character. A knot or a splice is possible too. My test knitter really loves it and feels it is a perfect garment silk. I hope you will too. 2 ply construction - 500m/100gms. See the Gong Fu collection here:



Rougui - 100% Mulberry Silk (4 ply single)

A beautiful clear white singles yarn. Glossy smooth and gorgeous. Only comes in 100gm skeins. Perfect for summer shawls and lightly worn coverings. See the range of Rougui yarn here



Myrtle - 60% Kid Mohair, 40% Merino 4 ply weight

I was totally smitten with this yarn when I found it at Bendigo last year ... it has amazing texture and a slight sheen to it. Just gorgeous. I can't wait to see what people make with it... I'm planning on using it for a steeked yoke sweater. First dyeing on this base show it's very receptive to the dye and tends to be a bit of a dye hog! This means a range of really rich deep colours should be perfect for it... Weight & Length
4 ply fingering. 100 gms - 330 metres
Construction: 2 fine plys of mohair wrapped around a non-superwash merino core. Washing Instructions It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special wool detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Myrtle yarns.



Cassis - 65% sw Merino, 20% silk, 15% yak - single

A luxurious lace weight single ply yarn. It has a very slight yak halo and takes the dye beautifully so colours just sing on it. Not suitable for pastel shades. Soft and beautiful to knit with but not recommended for hard wearing garments - single plys have a reputation for weakness. Test knitters report this one faired well but I still wouldn't want to hear of a malfunction :-) I'm in love with this yarn (Yes I do love them all)! Weight & Length
Comes in both 2 ply (lace) & 4 ply (fingering) weights. The 2 ply weight is 800 metres long and the 4 ply weight is 400 metres long. Construction is a single ply.
Washing Instructions
It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Cassis yarns.



Lushan - 55% Blue Faced Leicester & 45% silk (4 and 3 ply)

A beautiful smooth and silky yarn. Soft … and a pleasure to knit with. Weight & Length
Comes in both 3 ply (heavy lace) & 4 ply (fingering). The 3 ply is 600 metres long and the 4 ply is 400 metres long.
Washing Instructions
It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special silk detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour. View the range of Lushan yarns .



Billy - 2, 4 and 8 ply Australian Merino

A beautifully soft all Australian yarn - luxurious but earthy too. Non superwash. Soft and beautiful to knit with and would be suitable for felting projects and garments if you treat it gently. Weight & Length
Comes in both 2 ply (lace), 4 ply (fingering), and 8 ply weights. The 2 ply weight is 765 metres long, the 4 ply weight is 476 metres long and the 8 ply is 238 metres long. Construction is plied (2, 4 and 8).
Washing Instructions
It is recommended that you hand wash in cool to luke warm water with a special wool detergent. Slight bleeding may occur but should not effect the final colour.



Shui Yun - 72% Kid Mohair & 28% Silk (2 ply)

Shui Yun in a gorgeous mint green A beautiful fluffy mohair and silk yarn perfect for a bit of fluff! Lace weight but would work beautifully combined with other yarns to give it more weight but the same lightweight frivolous effect.