Shetland DK is spun at The Natural Fibre Company. The fleece is extremely good quality (read more about the flocks involved here in ‘Meet the Sheep’). When I spent time with Oliver Henry* of Jamieson and Smith in early 2019 I found that Oliver knows Sally Wild who has Meadows Flock (Sally is also chair of the Highland branch of the Shetland Sheep Society). Oliver is familiar with Sally’s flock and commented that he would expect her fleeces to fall into the Superfine and Grade 1 categories.
The Shetland sheep is perhaps known as the British breed with the finest wool and that is certainly the case with this very soft and plump worsted spun yarn. Shetland wool from Shetland is traditionally and typically woollen spun but this isn’t an attempt to mimic true ‘Shetland’ Shetland yarn and is quite a different take on a very Scottish yarn from special flocks here in the Highlands.
*I was lucky enough to spend time with Oliver Henry, in the Jamieson and Smith wool shed where he has worked for over 50 years sorting the Shetland wool clip. I had approached Oliver to ask if he could spare a few hours to help me improve my wool grading – and had the most incredibly informative morning with him, immersed in fleece. Oliver was also the 2019 Patron of Shetland Wool Week.
Shetland DK is ideal for cosy winter knits. The Callachy Hat and Mitts pattern were designed for Shetland DK and each pattern takes less than one skein. The Eathie Shawl knits beautifully in three contrasting skeins of Shetland DK. All three patterns can be bought as paper copies with Ravelry download codes directly from my pattern shop – here. I love my Shetland DK Sian Sweater by Elizabeth Doherty – I really enjoying wearing this cosy and flattering sweater. My version is knit with Natural Mocha (previous batch, equivalent to Stone in the current 2022 clipping batch) for the main colour and Toasted Coconut (dyed with alder cones and cutch) for the contrast colour. I have most recently knit a Fire Shadows Hat by Mara Licole from Making Stories Issue 8. I would thoroughly recommend this fun and quick knit, the finished hat has been a favourite this last winter.
