British Wool – A case study. This lovely piece of work is utterly inspiring. And plastic free. And made using U.K. wool. lovely!.

I can’t remember exactly when I came across pictures of the beautiful blankets made from the pattern called Sophie’s Universe, but I fell in love with the design straight away and knew that I wanted to make a version of my own. The pattern was originally released on-line as a crochet-along (CAL), which is still available, but a book has been published now. It’s possible to buy packs that contain all the necessary yarn, but I had a hankering to make mine in 100% British wool (the packs use either cotton or a cotton/acrylic mix). Anyway, being of an independent nature, I wanted to choose my own colours and yarn producers.

I visited my local yarn shop so that I could feel the yarn and look at colours for real, rather than rely on the colour reproduction on a computer screen. I really wanted to use some local yarn, so I chose Cambrian Wool in its natural colour as the basis from which to work. I bought a cone of this direct (they are just down the road) and all the other wool came from the yarn shop, thus supporting two local businesses. Cambrian Wool is from Welsh Mule sheep (a cross between the local breed and Blue-faced Leicester), I used a couple of coloured versions too and all the rest was pure Blue faced Leicester (either from Wooly Knit or West Yorkshire Spinners).

 It took me about six weeks from start to finish (I crochet quickly), and I have a beautiful creation, 100% British Wool, that is completely plastic-free, and which should last a lifetime. I feel strongly that if I am going to put many, many hours into a piece of work, I owe it to myself and the planet to use good quality materials that won’t have negative impacts in the years during which it will be used and enjoyed.

© Jan Martin
The Snail of Happiness

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