I’m Louise, Hello!
From 2012 to 2021 I had a blog & podcast called KniBritish, which later became WoolWork.
When I started the project I found that all my stash was imported wool and I wanted to try making only with local wool. At this time there was very little place based wool being marketed and sold, apart from tiny kitchen table businesses, either selling wool from their own flocks, or hand-dyeing with British wool.
For almost 10 years it became my challenge to throw a light on these businesses and wave the flag for local wool. The aim was to knit, review and blog on the subject and promote as many UK producers as possible. In that time more of us started shouting loudly about wanting to use local wool and asked questions about where our wool came from.
The Podcast was paused in 2021 and in November 2023 I took the decision to say that there will be no more. I’m exceptionally proud of this project and thankful for the incredible audience and supporters of this project. Together I truly believe that we have made a difference in choosing local wool. Now it is not surprising to find local wool in our yarn shops, or hear people talking about breed wool and the unique properties. It is also great to hear so many other podcasts and blogs flying the flag for local wool. LONG MAY THAT CONTINUE.
How to Listen?
The WoolWork Podcast has ended.
If you navigate to the Podcast menu, you will find the show notes for each episode. There is a link to the audio in each post (you will no longer find audio on the page)
You can also listen wherever you find audio podcasts
The Future:
Due to the ongoing costs in keeping this website going, I will be retiring the site soon .
I’m delighted to hear that you will be using UK fibres.
I am a hand spinner,knitter,fibre artist and fibre crafts tutor and I use as much local fleece and fibre as possible – some of the fleece was raised a mere 2 miles from my home in Midlothian. a nearby farmer is raising an interesting crossbreed – merino/blackface – which spins beautifully, is great for lace weight shawls and I think will dye beautifully too,(when the weather improves,I’ll be dyeing a batch)
Do pop by my website to see a selection of my yarns (which can be purchased from me through the website or my Etsy shop,or Folksy shop,
I think a lot of knitters would find the same as you did, Louise. These days, it is difficult to be aware of the origins of everything we come into contact with because there is so much availability and so much movement of products around the world. I love wool as a material in all it’s forms and I am also very fond of sheep as an animal type – I used to keep Ryelands. I am keen to promote British products and particularly anything local to where I live at the moment, in North Wiltshire. In recent years, I have begun to hand spin and this has opened up a new door to knitting – that of producing my own yarn. Nowadays, I only buy commercial yarn to knit for my little granddaughter as it produces items that are more sympathetic and realistic for her Mum to look after, otherwise I buy some British spun yarn of known provenance and enjoy doing so and increasingly, spin my own. In time, I might spread my spinning into other fibres, since, as you say, Alpaca, etc. is widely available in the UK. I will keep in touch with your Blog and applaud your what you are aiming for! 🙂
I am loving this! Have been a knitwear designer for some time but just started spinning my own wool. At the moment, since I am in Wales am also spinning rare Welsh breeds. It is great working the whole process from sheep to garment!
Looking forward to reading all about your British yarn adventures, and discovering some new ones to try. My latest British discovery is Low Sutton Yarn from Yorkshire. Natural sheep yarn, beautiful shades! I made a hat in a grey blend and it’s so toasty and warm! x
Not heard of Low Sutton, so thanks I will add it to my wishlist! And thank you xx
*2014 British yarn adventures !!
I love this idea. I also wrote about local yarn last year and need to really get on with sourcing and using more local yarn. I am looking forward to listening to your podcast and having a good look around you blog. Thank you!
this is super! I’m studying textiles at Shetland College and plan to use only yarn produced within the UK, possibly even just Scotland. Still at the researching stage so I hope your site will help! x
Give me a shout any time, I have plenty suggestions!
thanks, will do. probably at the end of the year when my dissertation is done!
I’ve been following your blog and podcast for some time – and I will try and see whether the same is possible in France.
Not sure how I missed your comment ConnieK, but am very interested to know what your KnitLocal scene is like in France. Drop me a line!
[…] sollte man es so machen wie Louise von Knit British und konsequent nur Garne zu verstricken, die komplett im eigenen Land unter nachhaltigen […]
For 2,000 years, Britain was acknowledged to have the best wool in the world. During my last trip to Britain, I was certain of this, and I bought a lot of yarn, and since than I have mail ordered a good bit of yarn from GB.
More recently, I have become a better hand spinner, and discovered that over here (it does not matter where), we have wool that is just as good.
The truth is; that 6 continents and a few islands, produce really wonderful wool that is better than can be fully displayed and utilized by most craft persons.
I find the the limiting factor is how much crafts people are willing to pay to turn wool into exceptional yarn; and, how much skill and effort goes into the knitting. I think the real resource of GB is the wool board (grading and sorting) and good yarn mills. The GB yarn industry is in turmoil, and some of the best old time yarn mills are wearing out, and the spinning technology is being replaced by new equipment – some of which is designed to produce yarns with a lower price point. These new yarns produce different fabrics than the traditional British Masterpieces. Whether they are better or worse than the traditional British knitting depends on the skill and creativity of the knitters.
I like some of the traditional British yarns, but find they are no longer commercially available, so I have to hand spin my yarns to get the traditional British fabrics that I love. Thus, I spin traditional British style yarns from local fiber.
Can I ask a naive question? I got cross that Rowan wool wasn’t British…. But if I like one of their patterns using Brushed Fleece… How can I ensure that I get a substitute British yarn which is the right thickness etc?
you need to determine the weight that that pattern calls for. is Brushed fleece a DK or 4ply? also all patterns have a gauge of stitches and rows so you would choose a yarn of a similar weight and gauge.