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A YARNS TALE ……………………… Where Yarn Begins By Katie Calvert 42 ROWAN
The first of a series of articles during which we will discover the whole process of a Rowan knit, from start to finished knitted piece. In part one, Katie Calvert takes a closer look at where it all begins. Luxurious Cashmere An early, privileged peek at Rowan’s 2018 spring summer shadecard pointed to one very distinctive trend, cashmere. Autumn Winter 2017/18 has already introduced you to Cashmere Tweed, a mixture of 20% cashmere and 80% wool, a great combination for creating luxurious, soft garments. Now spring summer has been similarly inspired by cashmere, with the introduction of Cotton Cashmere, blending 15% cashmere and 85% cotton. But before these yarns can be knitted or colours chosen, they have been created and manufactured elsewhere. Rowan may have a discerning eye for turning the yarn into something to admire, but it all has to begin somewhere. Cashmere yarn is obtained from goats, and a combination of dietary and geographical conditions of the Central and East Asian steppe, mountain plateaus and deserts have allowed the goats there to become the most productive cashmere producers. At first, cashmere is only harvested from the neck and belly, in order to keep the goats body protected, but as the weather warms, more cashmere is collected. The cashmere is carefully inspected and any fibres that appear coarse or contaminated are discarded. About 10% of the raw cashmere is lost during this stage. The quality cashmere is then washed, to further discard grease or dirt. Then, dehairing takes place, which separates the long guard hairs from the shorter, more luxurious fibres that are greatly valued for your knitted piece. Carding then prepares the cashmere for spinning by straightening out the fibres and it is during the spinning process that you really begin to see the finished product emerge, taking the cashmere and twisting it into yarn. From there, the dyeing process can commence. Interestingly, dyeing will not lighten the cashmere, thus naturally white cashmere is very valuable for producing white and pastel shades. In all, it takes approximately two kilograms of raw cashmere to create one kilo of soft, desirable yarn. Winter Woollies However, let’s not forget the other properties of these luxurious yarns, wool and cotton. Although the general description SPRING 2018 Rowan Cashmere Tweed 43
Page 1 and 2: Spring Newsletter SPRING 2018 1
Page 3 and 4: CONTRIBUTORS …………………
Page 5 and 6: SPRING 2018 …………………
Page 7 and 8: Upcoming in March & April MARCH’S
Page 9 and 10: Nabeela by Martin Storey using Soft
Page 11 and 12: Little ROWAN Dudes Little ROWAN Dud
Page 13 and 14: Cotton Crochet Cotton Crochet is a
Page 15 and 16: Madras by Sarah Hatton using Cotton
Page 17 and 18: AVAILABLE 1 st MARCH Mako Cotton -
Page 19 and 20: One to add to your collection… Ki
Page 21 and 22: Willow The ‘Willow’ story in Ro
Page 23 and 24: Behind the scenes photograhy by Cha
Page 25 and 26: FEATURE ………………………
Page 27 and 28: Soon modular designs, freeform croc
Page 29 and 30: Summer Crochet A FREE downloadable
Page 31 and 32: SPRING 2018 31
Page 33 and 34: SPRING 2018 33
Page 35 and 36: Calico by Martin Storey using Handk
Page 37 and 38: Felted Tweed Available in 31 shades
Page 39 and 40: Opposite Top Minton by Fabina Gober
Page 41: SPRING 2018 41
Page 45 and 46: d e a - Cotton Field b - The cotton
Page 47 and 48: Images various stages of the proces
Page 49 and 50: EVENTS ………………………
Page 51 and 52: Lace knitting: It can be beautiful,
Page 53 and 54: a b Yfwd (a) Start with the working
Page 55 and 56: a b Yfrn (a) Take the working yarn
Page 57 and 58: Saturday 14 th April Professional F

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