Sept. 18, 2025
Project - Merino Shawl
This was my first home-spun, natural home-dyed knit project. I have done a cotton-spun kids jumper before, which I dyed blue with a chemical dye. The dye turned out much too blue in my opinion, too bright and 'fake' looking. This time I used rosemary and grass to dye a natural green colour, with an alum mordant and iron-oxide modifier. It worked great. I think the modifier is key to get the colour to brighten up.
The wool was a pure merino wool I bought from fleece. It was a bit greasy to spin, even after some washing, though very soft. I spun all the wool I had, about 400-500g and dyed half of the yarn green and the other half remained white.
I found a pattern for a shawl. It's my first shawl, and wasn't sure it was something I would really wear all that much, but actually I do reach for it quite a bit, especially at home to feel cosy.
The knitting went quite easy, no complaints. The pattern starts in one corner and you increase each row by 2 stitches.
I love the green shade, looks soft and natural. All in all, great project.
The merino doesn't feel that strong, its a delicate yarn, but it does work in this context.
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Charlotte Leysen
Hi there I'm Charlotte from London and I am a Millennial hobbiest. By that I mean I love making things, for both the process and the outcomes. On this blog I talk about all the things I'm working on and learning each week. On some projects I will go into a bit more detail on what I did and my experience through it.
Some facts about me:
- I am not a perfectionist, preferring to complete something than to attempt to make something flawless.
- I am in a constant cycle of building up inspiration, executing the ideas, then winding down to reflect and regenerate.
- I am interested in almost anything that can be made from scratch using nature / natural materials.
