John Arbon Sock Yarn

Have you ever wondered how the sock yarn you’re using to knit your new sock with has been made?

I must admit that I do. I have always found the machinery that is used to create the fine worsted yarns that are such a pleasure to knit with, to be fascinating.

I came across a wonderful video on youtube recently that shows John Arbon’s traditional mill in North Devon that spins fine worsted yarns and thought I’d share it with you. There is music on the video.

The Knitting Squirrel stocks John Arbon’s Alpaca Sock Yarn and Exmoor Sock Yarn. Both of which are gorgeous slightly rustic yarns to knit with although they soften beautifully with wear and washing.

Spun in John Arbon’s Devon Mill, the Exmoor Sock Yarn has been developed as a hard-wearing hand-knit yarn for socks and accessories. It has been blended with Nylon to give added durability. John Arbon Exmoor Sock Yarn is lightweight and lustrous. Spun from Exmoor Blueface fibre, a breed that combines the strength and durability of their local Exmoor Horn sheep with the soft, delicate hand of Blue Faced Leicester. (A recent episode of Country File on BBC1 visited the Exmoor farmer John Stanbury and his flock of Exmoor Horn x Blueface Leicester sheep – if you’re in the UK you should be able to watch it on BBC iplayer for another couple of weeks).

Ideal for fine knitting, lace work, socks and knitted accessories, It is a worsted spun 3ply supplied in 100g hanks providing 400m per 100g. John Arbon Exmoor Sock Yarn is available in 6 carefully chosen colours: Avocado, Blossom, Heather, Midnight, Peacock and Smoke, which look lovely combined, or on their own.

I combined the lovely Midnight colour with Opal Beachcombing in Glass Stones to knit two pairs of very comfortable socks. The Fair Isle Beachcombing Socks and Beachcombing Striped Socks, and still have some yarn left over! The patterns for knitting these gorgeous socks are here and here.

We also have the John Arbon Alpaca Sock Yarn in our yarn shop. This excellent sock yarn is warm and hard-wearing. It has the softness of Alpaca blended with Exmoor Blueface fibre, a breed that combines the strength and durability of their local Exmoor Horn sheep with the soft, delicate hand of Blue Faced Leicester, whilst the nylon content and extra twist give durability. Available in 5 colours: Charcoal, Moss, Oatmeal, Rose and Sapphire.