A Woolly Tradition: Your 2026 Spring Taster Box Sneak Peek
The Spring Taster Box is our annual gathering of yarns with a story to tell. You’ll find new discoveries, returning treasures, and rare woolly treats, all gathered into one carefully selected bundle made to generate creativity and bring a bit of springtime wonder to your stash.
This curated collection is filled with 720 grams of exceptional yarns sourced from small mills, heritage producers, and makers doing remarkable work with wool. Each yarn was chosen to give you a true tasting experience, with texture, breed character, provenance, and project inspiration tucked into every skein and ball.
Think of it as a wool lover’s treasure trove. You’ll find yarns rooted in Scotland, Shetland, Norway, Great Britain, Denmark, and the United States, each with its own tale to tell and its own special place in your stash.
What’s Inside the 2026 Spring Taster Box?
- 720g of wool — including full-size skeins from yarns you already adore and many that are brand new to The Woolly Thistle (four new brands and three returning favorites!)
- A wide range of stunning colors, handpicked just for you
- Pattern Suggestion Card to spark your creativity
- Beautiful extras to add additional joy
- All for $295.95 with FREE US shipping
Boxes are available in limited quantities, and they usually sell out during Early Access. Sign up now for Early Access and shop 2 full days before the general public!
Early Access opens Wednesday, May 20. If any boxes remain, they will be available to the general public on Friday, May 22.
Meet the Yarns
The Scottish Yarn Festival DK
Created by Eva Christie, founder of the Scottish Yarn Festival in Perth, The Scottish Wool DK is a heartfelt celebration of Scottish wool, community, and craftsmanship. Eva’s work championing Scottish wool, especially through the Scottish Wool Producers Showcase, led naturally to the creation of her own yarn: a range designed to highlight the richness and potential of locally sourced fiber.
Grown in Scotland and spun in Yorkshire, this DK-weight yarn embodies a true sense of place, connecting makers directly to the landscapes and communities that produce it. The blend of 80% Shetland wool and 20% Cheviot wool brings together softness, strength, and structure, making it a versatile choice for cables, lace, colorwork, and garments with lasting character. Its palette, inspired by Scottish landscapes, adds depth and atmosphere to every stitch. Soft yet woolly, and beautifully suited to both everyday wear and heirloom pieces, Scottish Yarn Festival DK is a true labor of love crafted to celebrate provenance, support local production, and inspire makers to create with intention and connection.
The Grey Sheep Co. Hampshire DK
The Grey Sheep Co.’s Hampshire DK is a fine example of ingenuity, sustainability, and deep-rooted British textile heritage. Born from a desire to ensure no fleece goes to waste, this yarn was created from carefully hand-sorted fibers that were too short for worsted spinning but far too special to discard. Working alongside small-scale farmers with lovingly tended flocks, The Grey Sheep Co. developed a truly local blend from their home county, one that honors both the sheep and the land they graze.
From shearing to dyeing, every step of the process takes place in the UK, drawing on the expertise of skilled artisans and the legacy of Yorkshire’s historic textile industry. This woolen-spun DK-weight yarn is wonderfully lofty, soft, and full of character, offering excellent stitch definition while blooming into a silky, cohesive fabric after blocking. Made from 100% pure virgin wool with no superwash or chemical treatments, it retains the natural integrity of the fiber. Each skein is hand-dyed on the farm, completing a traceable journey from fleece to finished yarn and offering makers a genuine connection to the craft, the countryside, and the people behind it.
John Arbon Textiles Seafarer Sport
John Arbon Textiles’ Seafarer Sport, featured in the 2026 Spring Taster Box, is a balanced yarn that reflects the brand’s dedication to traditional British milling and small-scale production. Based in North Devon, this independent micro-mill is one of the few remaining worsted spinning mills in the UK, where vintage machinery, restored and maintained with care, brings fiber to life through a hands-on, deeply considered process. Founded in 2001 with a mission to return to heritage textile practices, John Arbon sources fiber as locally as possible and works exclusively within the UK to transform it into exceptional yarns.
Seafarer Sport is a richly nuanced blend designed to capture the movement and light of the sea while remaining practical and enduring. Composed of 90% British wool, including Exmoor Blueface, Bluefaced Leicester, Devon Closewool, and Romney, and 10% mulberry silk, it combines softness, resilience, and a subtle, luminous sheen. Each fiber plays a role: Exmoor Blueface adds spring, Bluefaced Leicester brings silky softness, Devon Closewool enhances durability, Romney contributes a gentle halo, and silk lends drape and light-catching elegance. Inspired by Devon’s maritime heritage, its fishermen, folklore, and ever-changing coastline, Seafarer offers depth of color and strength of character.
Jamieson & Smith 2ply Jumper Weight
We're so pleased to include a true icon of Shetland knitting and a cornerstone of the islands’ textile heritage, Jamieson & Smith’s 2ply Jumper Weight. The company sources fleece from more than 600 local crofters and farmers, playing a vital role in sustaining Shetland’s rural economy and crofting traditions. Founded in the 1930s and still based in Lerwick, the company is deeply embedded in the community, with all profits returned to support local wool producers.
Their commitment to preserving and promoting Real Shetland Wool, a fiber shaped by the islands’ rugged climate and the sheep’s natural diet of heather and seaweed, ensures a yarn that is remarkably soft, strong, and warm. At the heart of their range, 2ply Jumper Weight is a woolen-spun, fingering-weight yarn made from 100% Shetland wool, long celebrated as the traditional choice for Fair Isle knitting. With its signature balance of lightness and warmth, it is equally suited to intricate colorwork and fine garments. Renowned for its rich, nuanced palette, this yarn offers depth and harmony that have made it a favorite among knitters for generations.
Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk Ask
Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk’s Ask Yarn is a handsome expression of Norwegian wool tradition and enduring craftsmanship. Spun in the village of Hjelmås, just north of Bergen, this family-owned mill has been producing yarn since 1898, with four generations carrying its legacy forward. Set along the shores of the Osterfjord, Hillesvåg remains deeply committed to heritage methods, even preserving machinery that dates back to the early 1900s. As part of the European Économusée network, the mill is recognized for its dedication to safeguarding traditional craft knowledge.
Ask is a sport-weight, woolen-spun yarn made from 100% Norwegian wool, known for strength, resilience, and exceptional warmth. Using traditional carding methods, the fiber is transformed into a light, airy yarn with a lofty structure that traps heat while remaining comfortable to wear. With crisp stitch definition and an impressive color range, Ask is especially well suited to stranded colorwork, as well as garments and accessories designed for regular use. Naturally resistant to pilling and excellent at holding its shape, this yarn softens and blooms with time, creating finished pieces that are durable, warm, and full of Norwegian woolly character.
Stay tuned for the final two yarn reveals... coming soon!
A Little Extra
All that yarn is the main event, of course, but we couldn’t resist adding a finishing flourish. Each Spring Taster Box includes one set of Incomparable Buttons, handmade and hand-painted in South Africa and brimming with character. These special buttons celebrate slow making, handcraft, and the tiny details that can turn a finished knit into something unmistakably yours.
You’ll also receive a TWT Tape Measure and a Pattern Suggestion Card to help get your project ideas moving right away.
Don’t Miss Early Access!
The Spring Taster Box is assembled in limited quantities, and past boxes have sold quickly during Early Access.
Sign up now to shop early on May 20, two full days before the general public. If boxes remain, they’ll open to everyone on Friday, May 22.
A box full of heritage yarn, fresh inspiration, and fine little extras is waiting.
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