We are committed to ethical and sustainable sourcing of our Fibers. Many of our yarns originate from mills in the United States and Peru. We also source fibers from our growing network of farms in our region. We dye all of our fibers in our dye works in West Virginia and Northern New York.  Our hand-spun yarn is sourced from regional farmers and spun in West Virginia. Because of the nature of natural dyeing, some skeins will differ slightly from the other.

Heritage Breed Yarn and Fibers –

Sourced from regional Fibershed in the United States

Shetland – Ewereka Farms – Maryland

Finn – Layn Farms – Vermont

Merino & Alpaca – Violet – Kentucky

Texil – Sarabee Farms – Kentucky

We source our raw fleece from a growing network of small farms in our region.  We try to get to know the farmers in our network and love to learn more about the sheep that contribute their fleece. We are committed to supporting local and regional sheep farmers as much as possible and are always looking for new wool suppliers.  If you are a sheep or other fiber producer, please email Sara with inquiries at sara@bluethistlefibers.com. 

Eventually, all colors fade whether they are synthetic or natural. Both colors also bleed which is why your mom told you to wash light colors with light colors and dark colors with dark colors!

As we use all natural dyes, we’ll give you some advice on how to take care of it but it depends on many things.

For instance, do you use a harsh detergent? Do you wash your dyed knitwear frequently? How often do you use the garment?

Natural dyes are natural, and we don’t want you to be surprised as the color of your yarn continues to age and mature.

After dyeing, we do rinse all yarn a minimum of three times, but the color could still bleed a little from processing.

With indigo, it’s quite normal for the dye to ‘crock’ off a little when knitting with it as pressure is applied- this is the normal wearing process of indigo and not considered a fault. You can put a dash of white vinegar into the rinsing bath to combat this as much as possible when you are ready to swatch and again when you block.

Blue Thistle Fibers is not responsible for any color transfer to light-colored garments. Please take care when first wearing the item, as friction can rub off the indigo onto other things (think new jeans!).

It is also possible that the pH of certain colors may change due to the different acidities of tap water around the world.

Embrace the nuances of natural dyes and get ready for lots of compliments when people see them.

During the dyeing process, Blue Thistle Fibers uses uta natural pigments and elements (salt, iron, soda ash, etc.) that could result in unexpected allergic reactions for the end user. We source our pigment materials from our own farm and from trusted natural dye companies in the United States and Canada. Our yarn is intended for craft and textile uses only. Blue Thistle Fibers can not be held responsible for uses outside of this context.

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