I was recently wondering what to make with the 100g of super soft silky blue faced Leicester (BFL) top I have. This then led me on to thinking about the BFL fleece I have.
I found some information on line in various places and created this chart to try to help me think about what to use my stash for.
At first glance you might wonder why I have included two different amounts for fine fleece and coarse fleece.
Fine fleece often has more lanolin (the grease that keeps a sheep water resistant). This means that you have less clean fibre once the lanolin is removed so you need to start with more fleece to get the same final weight.
NOTE this is very rough guide
| Rough guide to amounts needed | |||
| Yarn weight | Fleece weight medium to coarse fleece | Fleece weight fine fleece | |
| socks, hat, gloves | 100- 150g | 200- 300g | 250 – 350g |
| scarf, | 150-300g | 300- 600g | 350-700g |
| sleeveless top | 225 – 350g | 450- 700g | 550-850g |
| simple jumper | 350- 500g | 700g-1kg | 1-1.5kg |
| cabled jumper | 700- 1000g | 1.5- 2kg | 2-3kg |
I had been hoping for a shawl or waistcoat but clearly I need to find another pattern for my 100g BFL top – maybe gloves or combine it with something else; possibly my raw BFL fleece- now washed but needs preparing. It started as just 200g raw so will perhaps only be another 100g finished fibre.
So maybe combined will give a scarf or a very skimpy sleeveless top.
Once I found this chart – which I have modified to fit my experience, it made planning what to do much easier.
I’ll keep you updated on the BFL.
‘Though currently I am distracted with some angora- more about that next time. This evening I have spiral plied with some silk hankies – looking gorgeous, even before its washed.
Beechwood Crafts 