Shetland 2000™

Shetland 2000™ is the product of an international collaboration between Yarns International of Bethesda, Maryland, and Jamieson and Smith Wool Brokers of Lerwick, Shetland. This venture began during a visit one of the owners of Yarns International made to the Shetland Isles.

The stark, exquisite scenery provided a backdrop for the warm welcome she received from the many talented hand-knitters and spinners she met.

In particular, Oliver Henry, of Jamieson and Smith, provided a complete tour of the sheep-to-yarn process, explaining how the crofters bring their wool to his warehouse to be graded and sorted and then sent on to be scoured and spun. He mentioned with regret how current demands for white yarn that can be dyed in 'fashion' colors have affected wool production.

Formerly, the palette of naturally colored yarns spun in Shetland for retail included over 30 shades; now, the range of these naturally occurring colors has been significantly reduced and further diluted by the addition of dyes used to standardize even these 'natural' colors. The herds of pure Shetland sheep, with colors ranging from cream to black, are being replaced with a different breed of sheep that produces a white fleece, characteristically coarser than pure Shetland, yet extremely receptive to the dyes used in the industry.

Mr. Henry has long wanted to offer an affordable, naturally colored yarn from pure Shetland sheep. Yarns International now shares his enthusiasm. Shetland 2000™ offers much to the hand-knitter. Its natural softness makes it pleasant to work with and extremely comfortable to wear, while the natural saturation of the colors gives the knitted pieces a richness and a depth unavailable in dyed yarns. Moreover, the absence of any dye of chemical processing yields an environmentally friendly product.

In addition to the yarn itself, Yarns International is equally proud to present four pattern books featuring Fair Isle designs by Ron Schweitzer, who brings to these natural yarns his love of Fair Isle knitting and his keen artist's eye. These books, Travelogs, Chesapeake Collection, Appalachian Portraits, and Postcards from Shetland--see links on left--are available by mail order. In each book Ron works the natural shades of Shetland 2000 into patterns of stunning beauty that lead the knitter on what he calls "an unmapped journey into new ways of thinking about Fair Isle patterns and garment construction."