Sustainable knitwear

For Adults who would like to understand more about the sustainable world of fibres and knitwear. No previous skills necessary. Advantage to being able to knit or crochet but not essential.

A practical focus on learning about sustainable wools for knitwear. This workshop will review the issues surrounding the fashion industry and the environmental damaged caused by fast fashion, discussing the alternatives to oil-based fibres and why Wool is the UK’s most sustainable fibre.

We will look at the heritage of the 62 pure breeds of sheep in Britain, (more than any other country in the world) and how they have evolved from our native species. We will observe and discuss the diversity of the fleece from these breeds, looking at knitted swatches and raw fleece. During the workshop there will be a practical session on how to decipher a good fleece and how to card and spin washed prepared fleece into yarn, this will then be knitted, crochet or wrapped to create an individual presentation of a rare sheep breed which you can take away with you.

Students will:

• Understand what makes a wool the most sustainable fibre for the UK.
• Understand the importance of sustainable clothing and the damage done by fast fashion.
• Understand the significance of sheep to the UK and the importance of protecting the genetic diversity for future generations.
• Discover the lineage of the 62 various sheep breeds.
• Discuss the changes taking place in sheep farming to become more sustainable and the role sheep play.
• Be able to spin a small section of fleece.
• Be able to Card prepared fleece and make Batts.
• Produce a small presentable swatch of spun wool.

Materials
All materials provided

Tutor
Justine Lee is a knitwear designer with a focus on sustainability.