So I’m still making swatches for the BF’s handspun Tomten vest. Today we’re giving a review on the shetland swatch/ yarn. I felt the Gotland was easier to spin evenly but the Shetland wasn’t half that bad either. I might need a bit more practice before I start a whole vest tho hehe.

Not completely done yet, but I feel like this already is an improvement compared to the gotland. The gotland one was much fuzzier, making the garter ridges disappear while this makes a nicer fabric with a better stitch definition. The yarn however is a bit less defined, but this could be due to my ‘loose’ spinning. I think it might’ve been better with a bit more twist in the singles.

This swatch is a lot softer than the previous one but still not soft enough. After this one I’ll make a BFL oatmeal swatch and see how that one behaves. If that one is too soft (is that possible?) for a vest I still might mix them up.

The yarn is a lot less shiny than the Gotland 4ply, which in my opinion is a very good thing. It’s very bouncy and round, so I’m really pleased about that. However there is a slight (lol) thick n thin effect but I’m blaming it on the fact that I’ve never spun shetland before lol.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to mention how very much I love my new turkish spindle. I’ve been testing it a good bit and now I’m thinking of spinning a nice 2ply lace weight yarn in brown Wensleydale I got for my birthday last year. I don’t have an idea of a pattern yet so I’ll have to see how the yarn comes out.

At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have a natural brown yarn or if I wanted to dye some of the BFL I was gifted, but I think I’ll go for the wensleydale first. If this one doesn’t work out I’ll always be able to dye some of that nice fuzzy warm fleece.