British Breeds Aran has the same composition and is exactly twice as thick as the original British Breeds yarn. Like British Breeds, it is made from the wool of four different British sheep breeds. The wool fibre from each breed adds a certain characteristic to the yarn; Bluefaced Leicester adds the beautiful softness, Exmoor Horn adds the softness too, but this sheep produces a white fleece therefore adding a ‘cleanness’ to the blended tops, making for more successful dyeing. Romney adds the strength and slight lustre and Zwartbles adds the bounce or springiness and the characteristic ‘sheepy’ smell!

To produce the yarn, the Bluefaced Leicester, Exmoor Horn and the Romney wool fibres are first blended together and then dyed using a ‘recipe’ to create each of the 12 base colours. Each colour base is then blended with the undyed Zwartbles fibre creating the mélange effect. Once the yarn is spun, it is sent to Edward Hill’s Ltd in Bradford to be steam relaxed and balled into 50g donut balls. The steam finishing ‘opens up’ the yarn creating the fullness, light appearance and handle.

Weight: Aran / 10ply
Composition: 25% Bluefaced Leicester wool, 25% Exmoor Horn wool, 25% Wensleydale wool, 25% Zwartbles wool
Size: 50g
Meterage: 85m
Gauge: 19 stitches over 10cm in stockinette, 22 stitches over 10cm in fairisle
Care: Cold hand wash only, using a mild liquid detergent, suitable for delicate woolens and reshape whilst damp.