Shadecards

International Shipping

The Covid 19 crisis has seriously affected postal services across the world. Up until this point commercial passenger flights were utilized for package transportation, especially in larger countries such as the U.S.A, Canada and Australia. With the huge decrease in passenger flights this method is no longer possible, and delivery companies are having to find alternative transportation, which is driving costs up and slowing delivery times.

All of our International packages are sent by Royal Mail Tracked, which is an expensive service that allows packages to be logged more carefully within the delivery system. The cost of all Royal Mail services have increased because of the Covid 19 pandemic. To give an example, last July sending a patterncard kit such as Henry VIII internationally would have cost £8-10. From now onwards it will cost £18-20 not including packaging.

We are not expecting our international customers to cover the entire cost of their order delivery. We will continue to pay part of your postage and packaging costs, but we are asking our international customers to contribute to their shipping costs as follows –

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

This scale reflects the fact that larger orders will go in separate boxes. For example, an order of £350 will be sent out in three separate packages costing us roughly £15-£20 each, not including packaging.

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

UK Shipping

All of our UK parcels are sent by Royal Mail 1^st Class. Shipping times within the UK are relatively normal at the present time, with packages taking 2-3 days on average. Postage and packaging costs have risen but we are not expecting our UK customers to cover the entire cost of their order delivery. We will continue to pay part of your postage and packaging costs, but we are asking our UK customers to contribute to their shipping costs as follows –

UK Shipping Costs

Orders up to £100 to a single address – Total Shipping £3

Orders up to £200 to a single address – Total Shipping £5

Orders up to £300 to a single address – Total Shipping £7

Orders up to £400 to a single address – Total Shipping £10

Orders over £401 to a single address – Total Shipping £15

This scale reflects the fact that larger orders will go in separate boxes. For example, an order of £350 will be sent out in 3 separate packages, each costing us roughly £5.50-7.50 each, not including packaging.

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

Alice Starmore Hebridean yarn is an artisan product and is hand-skeined. The skeins may vary slightly 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.

ALICE STARMORE HEBRIDEAN 2 PLY

Weight to length ratio (yardage): approx 170m per 50g at standard conditions.
Wraps per Inch: 13.

Standard Knitting Tension

Stocking Stitch: 22-28 sts x 31-42 rows to 10cm on­ 2.75mm – 4.5mm needles.
Stranded Two-Colour Knitting: 26-29 sts x 31-34 rows to 10cm on 2.75mm – ­ 3.5mm needles.

The tensions given above are for standard types of knitting. Please note however that we have created our Hebridean yarns to be versatile. For example, the loft and bounce of our Hebridean 2 Ply means that it can be very successfully knitted in openwork on larger needles ­ as you will see in my Driftnet, Birdsfoot and Seaweed scarves, which are all knitted on 4.5mm needles. We plan to use our Hebridean yarns in a wide variety of ways.

ALICE STARMORE HEBRIDEAN 3 PLY

Weight to length ratio (yardage): approx 100m per 50g at standard conditions.
Wraps per Inch: 11.

Standard Knitting Tension

Stocking Stitch: 21-23 sts x 28-32 rows to 10cm on­ 3.75mm – 4.5mm needles.
Stranded Two-Colour Knitting: 21-22 sts x 24-26 rows to 10cm on 4.5mm – ­ 5mm needles.

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.