Led by a desire to use what is already available on her island home of Burra in the Shetland Isles, designer Donna Smith has produced Langsoond Yarn from the fleeces of the family’s small flock Shetland of sheep, supplemented by those from neighbours and friends’ crofts. The yarn is available in 3 weights: DK, 4 ply and lace weight in a wide range of undyed and naturally dyed colours.
Having learned to knit at a very young age, Donna has knitted her own designs for many years and about 10 years began publishing knitting patterns starting off with the famous Baa-ble Hat. Many patterns are inspired by Shetland’s knitting tradition and history, the landscape and the yarn itself. For many years she had dreamed of writing a book of knitting patterns, this has recently become a reality when the book Langsoond, A Shetland Yarn comprising of 10 patterns using DK Langsoond yarn was published.
Langsoond yarn is dyed in small batches in the home studio on the croft using locally foraged plant materials and food waste; colours vary depending on the season and what plants are available. A range of natural dye extracts are also used to extensively extend the palette of colours and allows dyeing to be done in winter when fresh plant material is limited. Usually once there is a large enough batch we update the shop at a specific time; to keep up to date with when dyed yarn will be available please sign up to the newsletter below. “I love to think of ways to use the materials that are around me and am fascinated with the colours that can be obtained by plants, especially those that are considered weeds!” – Donna
The Langsoond Yarn Studio is situated in an extension of the main house. Visitors are very welcome to visit and browse the yarn, kits, and locally produced crafts. For opening times and directions please see the Visit Page.
The croft (small farm) on the island of Burra in Shetland has been in the family since the 1940s. In 2017 Donna started producing yarn from the fleece of their Shetland sheep supplemented by the wool from the crofts of friends and neighbours, several of them also from Burra. Langsoond is a stretch of water that runs along the east of the croft and connects many of the crofts where the fleece comes from. The yarn is available in the natural sheep colours as well as a range of naturally dyed yarns dyed by Donna in her dye studio, the colours created from a range of foraged plants from the croft, dried materials and extracts to increase the colour pallet and extend the dye season. The colours for sale depend on the times of year and the plants available, look out for shop updates with the latest batches of dyed yarns.
