Description
This is a clean simple white from the white Shetlands. In the past there will have been more white Shetland than any other but now they are rarer than the other colours. Before we had this wool I had made little effort to knit lacy patterns. With this, it became essential to me, because it was obvious that it would work so well, as you can see from the gallery (e.g. Rebecca’s hat). It is also very useful as a contrast to all the other colours we have in this thickness, either in simple stripes or light fairisle patterns.We have a total of nine Shetland colours, tweed-grey and charcoal from the Jacobs and a rich chocolate black from the Hebrideans so there is plenty of scope.
Shetland 4 ply is our yarn that is best suited for light lacy fabrics. Traditional Shetland lace shawls were made of a single ply called fingering and were so fine that they could be passed through a wedding ring! This 4 ply is our finest wool but is not quite as thin, so your shawl may not thread through your ring. Nonetheless, it gives some of the same feeling of delicacy in the fabric and is very warm for its weight.
We have also found its softness very comfortable for socks, but as it is pure wool you will find it worth remembering (or if you are under about 50 years old, learning) how to darn. This is a creative activity for which you can make use of the range of colours. Another solution is to reinforce the heels with our harder wearing (Chocolate Black) Hebridean wool.
