Here at The Woolly Thistle we know and love John Arbon Yarn. Now available in our offerings from John Arbon is Appledore DK. Appledore Yarn is a durable pill-resistant yarn that's perfect for garments and accessories that will see a lot of wear.

BREEDS: 40% Devon Closewool, 40% Romney, 20% Exmoor Blueface
PACKAGE: Approx 273 yds/100g skein
WEIGHT: DK
GAUGE: 24 sts = 4"
NEEDLES: US 4-8
Sourced and Made in the UK

Please remember every effort is taken to ensure accurate photos of the yarn but monitor settings vary.

Looking for a little pattern inspiration for Appledore: Some of our current favorites are Scumble Hat & Mittens by Virginia Sattler-Reimer, & Scrumper Waistcoat by Marina Skua. To learn more from John Arbon about the story of this beautiful yarn, click the Description button below.

From John Arbon about Appledore:

All the fiber in our new Appledore range is sourced from within 20 miles of our North Devon Mill, and, with a palette of unusual heathered shades, perfectly encapsulates our ethos. Like all our yarns, Appledore is steeped in our fibre heritage (all hail those vintage machines of ours). We have blended together Devon Closewool, a moorland breed with rustic and grippy fibre, with lustrous and characterful Romney and our old favorite, the gloriously bouncy Exmoor Blueface. The resulting blend is packed full of woolly bounce and a smattering of luster, the perfect canvas for Appledore’s range of playful modern shades.

When creating Appledore’s palette we were drawn to the depth of tone found in traditional tweed textiles. Many of the shades in Appledore’s orchard of delights have been blended using four or five different base shades, creating a sublime richness to the colors. The shades are all named after different varieties (or cultivars, if you want to get all fancy) of apples that we have here in the West Country. Some of them are rather puntastic as we love a good chuckle round here…

This yarn is a loosely spun DK, with a distinctive rustic halo (the handle is a little reminiscent of a Shetland yarn). The resulting fabric has wonderfully warm woolly halo and a full-bodied texture. Because of this halo and it’s two ply nature, the resulting Yarn can be worked at both a tight and looser gauge, as the halo of fibers will simply expand to fill in any gaps around the stitches. With Appledore we have created a durable workhorse yarn which is pill resistant and ideally suited for everyday wear – be that in garments or accessories.

Although all worsted spun yarns have a lot of drape, this blend has slightly less than the majority of our yarns, giving it a cosy heirloom feel. For spinners (or new cable and knitters) this composition also has the added bonus of increased grip and texture from the more rustic breeds, making it one of our grippiest bases. It is a perfect Tops blend to try, if you’re still gaining in confidence and refining your craft.