Erica – 50g Hebridean 2 Ply

Name: Erica - 50g Hebridean 2 Ply
SKU: 2754
Availability: InStock

Alice Starmore 2 Ply Hebridean hand knitting yarn in Erica

Virtual Yarns - Home of Alice Starmore Yarns and Designs

Description

Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 Ply Yarn is made from premium quality pure new British wool, dyed in the fleece and skillfully blended into unique shades. It is hand-washed and dried in the Hebridean air, and supplied in hand-made skeins which may vary in weight. It is priced per 50g at standard conditions. All yarn is weighed to order on balances that are checked daily to ensure that you receive the correct total amount.

Erica is part of the Moor & Mountain range, which is inspired by the landscape of the Outer Hebrides.

Story

There are various varieties of Erica, but the one most commonly found in the Hebrides is Erica Cinerea or Bell Heather. As its non-botanic name suggests, the flowers are longer and more bell shaped than Calluna, and the plant tends to grow on hummocks and banks that are slightly clear of the moorland floor, and hence dryer. It is a beautiful sight to see a favourite view framed by Erica in late summer or early autumn: it tends to flower a couple of weeks earlier than Calluna.

Garden shops and nurseries stock many cousins of Erica, and this is a slight sore point with me as all my attempts to grow them have met with complete failure. My garden is at the edge of a moor that is rife with wild Erica and Calluna; my soil is well tended and has the right acidity, but any tame heathers that I plant seem to gradually dwindle. This seems to be the case in gardens throughout rural Lewis, yet I see them thriving in Stornoway. I will solve the mystery one day. Meanwhile, as if to mock me, a lovely clump of Erica has come up in the gravel around my cattle pens, where I don’t want anything to grow.

Erica is also a valuable dye plant, for its roots can provide a spectacular purple given patience and the right mordant.

Our blend is of dark red-violet with deepest purple, tinged with slivers of creamy silver to evoke Erica at its most spectacular – glistening after an early autumn shower.

£8.00

International Delivery Information

International Shipping

Tracked International Shipping Costs

Orders up to £150 to a single address – Total Shipping £10

Orders up to £175 to a single address – Total Shipping £15

Orders up to £250 to a single address – Total Shipping £20

Orders up to £350 to a single address – Total Shipping £30

Orders up to £450 to a single address – Total Shipping £40

Orders over £451 to a single address – Total Shipping £50

Orders over £551 to a single address – Total Shipping £60

Orders over £651 to a single address – Total Shipping £70

Orders over £751 to a single address – Total Shipping £80

Orders over £851 to a single address – Total Shipping £90

Orders over £951 to a single address – Total Shipping £100

This scale reflects the fact that larger orders will go in separate boxes.

Please ensure that you check our DELIVERY INFORMATION page for full details.

UK Delivery Information

UK Delivery

Orders up to £100 to a single address – Total Shipping £5

Orders up to £150 to a single address – Total Shipping £7

Orders up to £250 to a single address – Total Shipping £10

Orders up to £350 to a single address – Total Shipping £15

Orders up to £450 to a single address – Total Shipping £20

Orders up to £550 to a single address – Total Shipping £25

Orders up to £650 to a single address – Total Shipping £30

This scale reflects the fact that larger orders will weigh more and will go in separate boxes. All of our UK parcels are sent by Royal Mail 1^st Class. Shipping times within the UK are 2-3 days on average.

Please contact us if you wish to make an order over the value of £650.

Please ensure that you check our DELIVERY INFORMATION page for full details.

Purchase Information

Alice Starmore Hebridean 2 Ply yarn is an artisan product and is hand-skeined. The skeins may vary in weight. It is priced per 50g of 2 Ply yarn.

Each order is weighed to ensure that you will receive – at minimum – the full weight ordered, regardless of number of skeins. Our yarn is kept and weighed at standard nett conditions. Our balances are checked daily using analytical weights to ensure that they are accurate at all times.

For further information, please check our PURCHASE INFORMATION page.

Tension & Yardage

Washing Instructions

Please note that all of our yarns are supplied washed and therefore do not require to be washed or fulled after knitting, unless you have an accident. Generally speaking, your garments should not require cleaning/washing any more than a coat would.

All of our designs are made with 100% pure new wool yarns and should be washed either by hand with pure soap in hand hot-water, or in a front loading washing machine which has a specific wool programme using a small amount of non-biological detergent. We do not recommend the use of any fabric softeners or any additives that will remain in the fabric after rinsing.

If hand washing, dissolve a small amount of pure soap flakes – or if using a pure soap bar, grate the required amount – into hand-hot water. Ensure that the soap has thoroughly dissolved before immersing the piece. Use a gentle squeezing motion to wash; do not cause any friction by rubbing or scrubbing as this will cause the fibres to felt. Gently squeeze out the excess soapy water and rinse well in warm water. It is important to remove as much excess water as quickly as possible as the longer moisture is left in wool yarn, the more likely it is to shrink or felt.

The best method for removing water is to spin in a washing machine, but if you prefer to remove the water by hand then gently squeeze the piece to remove the main water load and then lay the piece flat on towels and roll up, squeezing out as much water as possible into the towels. You will have to use several towels and repeat the process to remove as much moisture as you can.

Alternatively, spin to remove the excess water. If using a top loading machine it is important to place the piece in a suitable pillowcase (white cotton is best) so that it does not wrap around the spindle and become distorted. For both top-loading machines and front-loading machines, it is vitally important to remove from the spinner as soon as it has stopped: otherwise the piece can become permanently creased.

In all cases, dry flat on towels away from direct heat/sunlight, and smooth gently into shape. You can place small towels – or even better, cut and finish old towelling into the garment shapes, such as sleeves etc – and place inside the garment so that the two layers are separate. This will greatly help speed up drying process.

For straight, dropped-shoulder pullover styles, a woolly board is an excellent method of drying as the garment is placed on the board and dried to size allowing air to circulate inside. The board can also be used for cardigans in this style so long as you tack the front bands closed using a strong cotton thread, which you then carefully remove once the garment has dried. Glove boards can also be used for gloves which will allow them to dry in perfect shape.