Olann – Sock Lite Yarn

Olann Sock Lite Yarn is hand dyed in Ireland. In Irish ‘olann’ [uh – lan] noun / feminine stands for wool.

Olann was born out of a desire to create a range of sophisticated colours on ethically sourced yarns. The process of producing quality hand dyed yarns was never rushed, but rather slowly developed to be highly desirable, inspiring and harmonious. They believe in doing things the proper way. Their story began with a yearning to create with their hands, using experimental dye techniques and traditional materials. They are makers and designers. In their small workshop they dye yarn in small batches, the emphasis on material and process. Knowing and caring where materials come from is the bones of their business. Small is good, individual is good.

Values

Make Well. Choosing the proper way over the easier way. That is why they ensure their yarn comes from farms with ethical practices in Argentina and Uruguay. The farms guarantee mulesing free processes of obtaining the fibres which means a fair and humane treatment of their sheep.

Slow is good. Slow to perfect our colours, with thought and care. Slowly experiencing the simple pleasures in life which ultimately fuels the big ideas behind Olann. Slow living allows them to connect more meaningfully with the product. Getting outdoors and exploring the Irish countryside, the mountains, valleys, forests and the sea to feel the inspiration for their colours emerge from their surroundings.

Process

Their yarns come from little farms in South America that guarantee fair and humane treatment to their herds of sheep. They pre-wash the yarn to remove lanolin and any dust that may have been caught during the spinning stage.

When the undyed hanks are delivered to them they store them carefully, in dry conditions and away from light. We only dye in small batches, this ensures each skein that passes through their hands gets the full care and attention it deserves.

Olann uses non toxic acid dyes and a food grade citric acid as their setting agent. All the dye is exhausted from the dye pots so that there is zero nasty stuff being poured into the drains. Citric acid also looses its potency as it helps the dye absorb into the fibres. Rest assured, they are environmentally friendly. Water is often re-used to also minimise their water usage and wastage.

After the dye process is completed, the freshly dyed yarn takes a long nice soak in gentle wool wash to ensure all that citric acid water is scrupulously rinsed from the yarn. The yarn is now super clean and super soft and is ready for your crafty hands.

Besides the Olann Sock Lite yarn, we also carry the Smoked Sock base.

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Olann Sock Lite  Yarn wordt handgeverfd in Ierland. De garens van Jess staan bekend om hun hoogstaande kwaliteit.  Op prachtige basissen verven zij zowel prachtige diepe, subtiele ton-sur-ton kleuren,  tot opvallende frisse en gespikkelde (neon) tinten. Elke streng wordt met de hand geverfd en uniek.

Alle garens zijn afkomstig van kleine Zuid Amerikaanse boeren, die op eerlijke en humane wijze met hun dieren omgaan. De wol is gegarandeerd mulesing vrij en het verf proces is zo milieuvriendelijk ingericht. Er wordt geen giftige verf of zuren gebruikt en er belanden geen restanten in het grondwater.