Tides - Wool/Silk Yarn Holst Garn Tides

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Holst Garn Tides is a 2-ply yarn mixed by wool and silk. The composition is 70% Merino wool and 30% silk. This fantastic yarn combines the warmth of wool with the sheen of silk, resulting in a luxurious yarn with a shiny, tweed-like appearance.

Holst Garn Tides is well-suited for both knitting and crocheting, and can even be used for machine knitting. It was originally developed for the weaving industry, so it is suitable for weaving as well. You can use Holst Garn Tides either with a single strand, multiple strands held together, or combined with another companion strand.

Wool

The wool used in our Tides yarn comes from Merino sheep raised in New Zealand and Argentina. Merino wool is significantly softer than many other types of wool. Each sheep produces between 2-10 kilograms of wool per year and is sheared 1-2 times annually.The first wool shorn from the sheep while they are still lambs is called lambswool. This type of wool is particularly fine and soft.Wool naturally contains a substance called lanolin, which helps keep the fibers clean and protected. Lanolin is similar to the oils found in human skin, which makes Merino wool especially suitable for garments worn directly against the skin. Most of the lanolin is washed out during production, but you can find wool soaps that contain lanolin - these can help restore the wool’s natural self-cleaning properties in your finished project.

Wool does not need to be washed frequently. Often, it’s enough to simply let it air out. Another wonderful property of wool is its ability to retain warmth in winter while offering a cooling effect in summer. This makes it ideal for year-round wear.

When it comes to yarn, everyone experiences softness differently. To objectively measure how fine wool is, we use the micron scale, which measures the diameter of the wool fibers. The lower the micron count, the finer and softer the wool. Holst Garn Tides has a micron count of 24.0, making it a luxuriously soft yarn that many people can wear comfortably against the skin. For comparison, our pure wool yarn Supersoft has a micron count of 25.5.

Silk

Silk is one of the oldest natural fibers used by humans - and throughout history, it has also been one of the most exclusive and luxurious materials in the textile world.

Silk is produced by small larvae known as silkworms. The silk thread comes from the cocoon the silkworm spins around itself. Each cocoon consists of a single silk thread, measuring approximately 1,300 meters. Silk fibers are among the strongest natural fibers and blend beautifully with other materials, such as wool.

Pure silk yarn can be somewhat slippery to work with, which may pose a slight challenge. That’s why it is often advantageous to blend silk with another fiber - for example wool. Silk has a natural sheen that adds a luxurious touch to any yarn blend.

Silk is also known for its temperature-regulating and moisture-absorbing properties. It is strong and stable when used in both knitting and crochet. In fact, silk can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp or heavy. This makes it feel wonderfully cool and comfortable against the skin.

Silk can be worn year-round. It does not shrink or stretch after washing and is highly durable - approximately 10 times stronger than cotton and 2-3 times stronger than wool.

Mulberry Silk

Mulberry silk is the most common and widely used silk in the world, accounting for about 90% of global silk production. When people refer to "silk," they are usually talking about Mulberry silk.

It is produced by silkworms that feed exclusively on Mulberry leaves - hence the name. Mulberry silk is a long fiber known for being especially luxurious, smooth, and breathable compared to other types of silk.

Bourette Silk

In contrast to Mulberry silk, Bourette silk has a slightly more rustic appearance. It is made from the leftovers of the Mulberry silk production, and the fibers are much shorter - typically between 0-3 cm.

The resulting yarn spun from Bourette silk has a more textured, irregular surface and a matte finish. While not as smooth as Mulberry silk, bourette silk is still soft, with a beautiful natural drape.

Silk in our Tides Yarn

Our Tides wool/silk blend contains both Mulberry silk and Bourette silk. The Mulberry silk is spun together with the Merino wool, adding a beautiful shine to the yarn - something that’s hard to capture in pictures and truly must be seen in person. The Bourette silk appears as the small textured dots peeking through the yarn, giving it its characteristic tweed-like look.

All the silk used in our Tides yarn is cruelty-free. This means that the silkworms are not boiled alive during production. Instead, the cocoons are collected after the silkworms have naturally transformed into butterflies.

Worsted Spun vs. Woolen Spun

When examining yarn, you can often determine whether it is worsted spun or woolen spun. This is not only visible in the yarn itself but also affects how the yarn behaves - both during knitting or crocheting and in the finished project.

Worsted spun yarn is generally denser and feels heavier than woolen spun yarn. It tends to have a smoother surface and often has a slight sheen. These yarns are typically more uniform in appearance and texture.

Woolen spun yarn, on the other hand, is light and airy. It is usually less smooth and round than worsted spun yarn, often with small fiber ends sticking out, giving it a slightly fuzzy or rustic texture. Woolen spun yarn is also known for being more elastic and lofty.

Worsted spun yarns typically use longer fibers that are uniform in length and diameter. These fibers are combed to lie parallel before spinning, which removes the shorter fibers and aligns the remaining ones evenly - resulting in a smooth, dense yarn.

In contrast, woolen spun yarns are usually made from shorter fibers that vary in length and thickness. These fibers are carded (not combed), leaving them more randomly arranged, which gives the yarn its signature woolly, airy texture with more visual variation.

The Spinning Process

Before spinning, to remove dirt and lanolin. For worsted spun yarn, the fibers are then combed, aligning them straight and removing the shortest fibers. This results in a smoother, sleeker yarn that’s often ideal for showing stitch definition.

woolen spun yarn, the washed fibers are carded instead of combed. Carding separates and fluffs the fibers without aligning them, which traps air and leads to a softer, more textured yarn.

Our Tides Yarn

Our Tides yarn is a woolen spun yarn. This means it is washed, carded, spun, and then dyed - a process that traps a lot of air in the yarn, giving it a light, airy feel and a lovely, soft, woolly appearance.

Dyeing

There are different methods for dyeing yarn. For example, our Supersoft yarn is dyed before it is spun – the wool is dyed in various shades, which are then blended and spun into the final colour.

In contrast, our Tides yarn is first spun, then dyed in a dye bath. This method takes advantage of the fact that Merino wool and silk absorb dye differently. Since Holst Garn Tides contains two types of silk, each expresses colour in its own way, giving the yarn a slightly mottled or heathered appearance.

You may notice a gentle sheen in the yarn – this comes from the Mulberry silk, which is spun together with the Merino wool. The Bourette silk, on the other hand, does not absorb dye to the same extent. The silk neps (small textured bits) often appear lighter than the surrounding yarn, especially in certain colourways. However, this effect varies depending on the specific colour.

We have chosen to keep our yarns as natural and clean as possible. No unnecessary chemicals are used in the production of Tides. As with many of our yarns, the natural white base of the yarn may have a slightly yellowish tint, depending on the raw wool. Because all colours are dyed on top of this natural base, some variation in shade between dye lots is to be expected.

All dyes used in our Tides wool/silk yarn meet the OEKO-TEX Standard 100, ensuring they are safe and environmentally responsible. We also aim to recycle excess water and fibres during production whenever possible - a choice that benefits both the environment and our production efficiency.

Since the yarn is not washed after dyeing, it may contain a small amount of excess dye. This will rinse out during the first wash. After washing, you will notice that the yarn “blooms” and becomes beautifully soft. This is a natural result of the yarn being woolen spun: the fibers settle, expand, and blend together when washed for the first time.

Read more about how to wash your knitting here.