As we head into Spring is a great time to be discussing the fibre Linen. It's been a quest of mine over the last two years to try and broaden the range of fibres I offer so that all seasons and yarn preferences are covered, and Linen is the perfect fibre to wear during the coming months.
I'm sure you're all aware that Linen is a cellulose fibre but what you might not know is that it requires a different set of dyes to dye it, so that's been one of the fun things I've been working on and getting up to speed with. I hope to be featuring some of the new colours done in Fibre Reactive dyes. Since silk loves both kinds of dyes I've been able to offer quite a few of my yarns using the new FR dyes.
So, here is the range of Linen and Linen blend yarns currently available at Green Tea Yarns.
1. Ceylon - A yarn of 100% Linen fibre that runs at 447 metres to 100gms which puts it in the thinner end of the 4 ply range. A beautiful fresh crisp yarn, that is perfect for summer tops and lightweight over garments. Made up of 4 strands. Double this to make a sport weight yarn!
2. Koshary - This yarn comes in two weights - 400 metres/100gms - 4 ply/ fingering, and 600 metres to 100gms which puts it in the 3 ply/heavy lace range. A linen blend, it's main component is Alpaca (at 50%) with the linen and silk both at 25%. A great warmer weather yarn suitable for use in warmer climates and temperatures but still has a bit of a woollen feel to it due to the Alpaca.
3. Sassafras - New to GTY for 2021 this yarn is also a blend, but as a single. Teamed with merino it's a very open loose construction which works well as a shawl or wrap. I do not recommend it for things that will get a lot of wear or under stress, but I do love how it looks in my Together shawl!
4. Lotus - My second all linen yarn. This yarn has a slightly waxier feel to it (as some linen yarns seem to) and runs at 580 metres to 100gms. Perfect as a 3 ply yarn and can be doubled to provide a heavier yarn if necessary.
5.Linden - this yarn was new to me in 2021 and I was very excited to finally find be able to add this to my line of luxury yarns and whilst it provided me with what I was looking for (a 4 ply silk and linen mix) it proved not to be of sufficient quality against the price to be a permanent part of the GTY line up. I have some left to dye up and then will be retiring it. The search continues.
6. Zhucha - An interesting blend of 70% Bamboo and 30% Linen. It runs at 400m/100gms and is a great yarn to consider for summer garments. It can be considered Vegan too!
7. Anise - New in 2021 - this yarn is going to be a delight to dye I think! It comes in two weights of 800m/100gms (laceweight) and 250m /100gms. As is common with the mill I purchase this base from the 4 ply/fingering weight is missing. However I'm hoping to get some custom spun to fill this gap (my big project!) In the mean time it's perfectly normal to carry two of the 800m threads together to give you the 4 ply weight.