Category: Textile projects

I’ve been staring at a bag of alpaca fleece for a while, not really knowing what to do with it. I knew I wanted to use it for weaving and that I needed to spin it. A friend suggested I try using a drop spindle and carders, so I bought some…watched a few Youtube videos…had a go…but got completely stuck!

I thought I might have more luck learning in-person and had a look around for a course. I came across a two day spinning and weaving workshop in Norfolk, which looked perfect, so I signed up straight away!

I’d booked it 6 months in advance, so had to wait a while…

Day 1: Learning to spin

The first day was held on an alpaca farm. The textile studio was in a yurt that was alongside the alpaca fields – what’s not to love!

I love alpacas. Their fleece is incredibly soft as it doesn’t contain lanolin, like sheep’s wool, so it doesn’t itch when worn next to the skin (something I struggle with); it’s lighter, warmer and stronger than sheep’s wool; it’s eco-friendly; and also very breathable.

These are a couple of alpacas on the farm whose fleece we were using…

We were given fleece that had already been carded and made into rolags. I loved how the rolags had been made from a mix of fleece colours and the owner knew exactly which alpacas they came from!

To begin with I found learning to spin very tricky. It was a bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy. The spinning wheel needs to rotate clockwise at a consistent pace (you start it off with your hand and use a foot peddle to keep it going) while you twist and feed the fleece onto the bobbin. If the wheel slows down it can start to rotate anti-clockwise and the fleece gets a bit tangled on the bobbin. If the twist isn’t tight enough the fleece will break; if the twist is too tight the fleece will break – ahhhh!!

After a few attempts, the penny dropped and I got in the rhythm of the process: keep the wheel spinning, feed in the right amount of yarn; and give it enough twist. During the session the aim was to fill two bobbins with roughly equal amounts of spun fleece, which could then be plyed together into a skein.

Day 2: Weaving a journal cover

The second day was held in a textile studio in Norwich. Our skein from the previous day had been washed, dried and wound into a ball. We could then chose a few other alpaca yarns to work with alongside our own yarn. I opted for a duck egg blue, slate grey, calico and mustard.

The warp had already been set up on a rigid heddle loom for us and we were ready to start weaving.

I began to weave back and forth, making sure not to pull the yarn too tight at the sides when changing direction.

I wanted to weave blocks of colours. I added variety and contrast by weaving a different number of rows in each colour and mixed up the order in which I used them. The piece worked up really quickly.

We were making journal covers for an A6 Seawhite sketchbook, so once the weave was long enough to cover the outside of the book, I cut it off the loom. The inside of the cover was lined with a co-ordinating fabric. I sewed two side pockets into it to hold the journal in place.

The finishing touch was to add an Indian silk bow…

Now I have a better understanding of the spinning process, I’ve started to use my drop spindle again and I’m having much better results. It’s just a lot slower than a spinning wheel. I’m now on the lookout for a secondhand Ashford spinning wheel, I’ve got the bug!

I love socks! I began knitting my own socks a few years ago. They were quite complicated to master but once I got it, I got it. At first I tried knitting them on four double-pointed needles, but I didn’t get on with them – too many gaps between the needles. Then I moved on to a small circular needle which gave me much better results.

Sock yarn is mostly 4ply (which is quite a thin yarn), so knitting 4ply socks by hand is a very slow process (they can take me about a week to knit one sock).

I first saw a circular sock knitting machine being used on TV (I didn’t even know they existed!) and thought “wow that’s quick”. I had a search for vintage sock machines but when I saw the price I thought “no way”. After more searching I found someone who had used a 3D printer to print a sock machine and thought “ooh!” We have a 3D printer and my husband was up for giving it a try.

The 3D printer files had thankfully been uploaded to Printables.com, so we downloaded them and started printing…

Many prints failed…which is a common occurrence…but after several months we eventually printed all the parts…over 40 in total!

Next step – “how on earth does this all fit together??”

Thankfully the printer came with instructions. I did find them a little tricky to understand, but I go there…eventually.

Woop! Woop! Testing was a very exciting stage. Slowly turning the handle I needed to check everything was working properly: make sure the handle cranked; the drum collar rotated around the drum; the stitch counter incremented with each turn; and the cams moved the needles up and down as the handle cranked. Yes!

Ok, now I needed to work out how to knit…and cast on!! Everyone online talked about a cast-on bonnet. I’d never heard of this. But once I made one it made casting on a breeze.

After a few test pieces (that involved lots of yarn dropping off needles, and me learning how to pick up stitches) I was finally ready to make my first sock…

After a very steep learning curve, and numerous headaches, I have managed to crank out a recognisable sock!

There is still plenty to learn, but for my first attempt I’m very excited by the results. Just need to make a matching sock now!

I am becoming obsessed with alpacas. Their crimped fringe is so cute but more importantly their fleece is super soft, it doesn’t contain lanolin like sheep’s wool, so there’s no itch! The wool is also very lightweight and breathable.

There are a number of smallholdings with alpacas popping up everywhere in the UK and I enjoyed a visit to Blackwater Alpacas a couple of years ago where we took an alpaca, named Curly, for a walk.

Since then, I’ve been looking at ways to bring alpaca wool into my craft business. As I am often cold I’ve already been making fingerless gloves and scarves, so I thought “what about socks?”

I have an old chunky Knitmaster knitting machine and I wanted to try using it to make socks, so I bought some chunky alpaca wool and had a go…

It took many failed attempts and hours of watching YouTube tutorials before I finally got results that resembled socks.

Each sock was knitted on the machine and the cuff was finished off by hand. The finishing touch was to design a packaging sleeve for them.

My alpaca socks are £20 a pair and are made to order. DM me if you would like to enquire or to place an order. Thanks!