Helen Ingram

It has been an exciting journey getting to this point; the launch of HeartSpun, a brand new British luxury eco yarn by Woolly Chic.

Beginnings

It all began a little over a year ago, with a conversation with my Mum about ethical yarns and non-itchy British wool. It set me off on a journey looking for the perfect yarn!

For those of you that already know me, you will have heard how passionate I am about promoting British wool and I love to know where things have been made or grown.  I also believe that it is so important that the people producing the things we buy have been paid a fair wage and have good working conditions. 

For this reason, Woolly Chic only sells ethical and fairtrade yarns. 

As wool crafts such as knitting and crochet have grown in popularity, I have seen how this issue together with caring for our environment is becoming more and more important to those that enjoy making things.

I love the Woolly Chic Welsh wool that comes from my family’s sheep farmed in Pembrokeshire, however, I do recognise that it has its limitations.  It is not a soft yarn, but instead has a robust, strong and springy feel that lends itself to many home accessories or outer garments, and it does soften when knitted and blocked.

In my pursuit of gorgeous British wool, I have become quite a sheep geek and know that not all British breeds of sheep produce the same kind of fibre.  I confess that I have fallen in love with the Bluefaced Leicester sheep! Their fleece is known for its softness, but the fibre is also hard wearing and has wonderful stitch definition, making it equally ideal for both more durable items and lace garments.  

At the same time, I heard about a new fibre called Lyocell or Tencel that was being added to sports clothes for durability, strength and anti-bacterial qualities.  Tencel, I learnt, comes from wood pulp and is produced from Eucalyptus trees grown in certified sustainable forests in Europe and South Africa.  On further research, I discovered how environmentally friendly this fibre is and how it is produced in a closed loop system using less water and energy than cotton, bamboo or viscose. 

I spoke to people in Austria to find out if it was possible to buy the fibre and add it to wool, this conversation led me to talk to a factory in Grimsby, that turns the wood pulp into individual fibres.  They then directed me to a company in Germany that made these fibres into roving that could be added to wool tops and made into yarn.  I was very grateful to Laxtons, the spinning mill in Yorkshire, who spun a small trial amount to see if the blend of Bluefaced Leicester and Tencel would work.  What came back was so incredibly exciting!  The yarn felt totally unique, not only was it soft but also not itchy, it has a wonderful luxurious sheen and is strong enough for socks!

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Tentative Steps Forward

Convinced that people would love the yarn as much as I did, I next had to come up with a plan to pay for its larger scale production.  A very scary prospect for me as such a tiny wool business.

I had heard about Kickstarter, a website that helped creative projects come to life, making ideas into a reality, which sounded exactly what I needed.  Kickstarter’s concept is for individuals to back your project, invention or new product and with each pledge they would select a reward.  In my case, the rewards were going to be the yarn.  It would be a sort of pre-ordering system.  The risk was that no one would back my project, and if I didn’t raise all the target funding, I would get nothing.   I decided it was worth the risk and with help from my very talented photographer friend, Sharon Cooper, who took fantastic photos and made my video, I launched a Kickstarter campaign on January 8^th 2020. See my previous blog post.

Wow, is all that I can say, and I am so glad that I did it!  I was blown away by everyone’s support; I met the target amount within two weeks of launching the Kickstarter.  By the end of the campaign I had raised £8,977 with 192 backers from 13 different countries.

HeartSpun was finally becoming a reality!  I had enough funds to pay for the final production costs and dye the yarn.  The colours I chose reflect the Woolly Chic colour palette and are also the colours of my Granny’s favourite flowers, Love in a Mist (Nigella).

Playing around with names for the yarn, my Mum and I came up with HeartSpun, as it perfectly describes how the yarn has been created from a love of British wool and the environment.  A wonderful friend and brilliant graphic designer, Velvet Cooper, cleverly turned my Mum’s handwriting into the HeartSpun logo.  She also produced some super cute woodland characters which became the designs for postcards and the HeartSpun tote bag.

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Arrival

The day the dream became an absolute reality was when the yarn arrived – twenty boxes on two pallets delivered in a lorry!   

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I absolutely couldn’t wait to open the boxes and see how the yarn looked and felt!  And I was not disappointed. The yarn is so beautiful.  Each colour has a luxurious sheen and feels gorgeous!

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Onward Journey

Once I had the yarn, I then needed to send it to all my wonderful Kickstarter backers!  And this is what has kept me very busy all last week.  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my HeartSpun Kickstarter and hopefully, if you haven’t received your yarn yet, it is on its way to you!  I would love to know what you make with it and if you would like to share photos on Instagram or Facebook, tag me @woollychic or use the hashtag #HeartSpun, and I will be able to see what happens to the yarn on the next leg of its journey! 

Heartwarming thanks! I hope you love the yarn as much as I do!

HeartSpun is also now available to buy from my website and can also be bought in smaller amounts (50g skeins and 25g wound balls).