Dubied Industrial Knitting with British Wool Yarn
Note before reading: This blog was written in 2018, when I was studying for my MA (hence the Harvard referencing!). Where needed, I have edited these posts to correct any factual inaccuracies. This post was last edited Dec 2025.
Having enjoyed learning how to use the Dubied industrial knitting machines during the last project, I am determined to source a British wool yarn that is of a fine enough gauge to make some garments on the Dubied! The British wool I have bought from Paint Box Textiles does work on the Dubied 5 gauge (below right), and so I will use this machine over the domestic ones where possible. I really want to source a yarn that I can use on the finer gauge machines though!
This took quite a lot of searching, and I am pretty sure there is no British wool yarn that can be knit on the 12 gauge - wool yarns for this gauge are usually Merino lambswool from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.
However, I did eventually find this laceweight Bluefaced Leicester yarn from Chester Wool Company. At 2/16nm, it works on the 10 gauge really well! I ordered a test hank and knit a simple length of 1x1 rib, which produces a lovely draped fabric that I think would be suitable for a dress underneath a chunky cardigan or jacket.
The yarn is undyed and unbleached, and due to the breed, is a slightly yellowy off-white. I tried dip dyeing it in my indigo vat - as my vat is quite weak at the moment, it produced a very pale blue that is almost green in places. I will try dyeing this yarn again once my vat has been replenished, but I do quite like the way the pale blue fade sits with the slightly yellow natural yarn colour.
Lots of scope for experiments and I'm pleased I've found a yarn that is a complete contrast to my super chunky hand knitting!
Later on, I discovered that this yarn was from fleece of British origin, however it was spun in South Africa!
References:
Burns, R. 2018. British Wool Industrial Knitting 1-4. Photographs.
Chester Wool Company. 2018. Superwash BFL Lace Type. [online] Available from: https://www.bluefaced.co.uk/lace/superwash-bfl-lace-type-49044