Noro Silk Garden Sock Solo

• Yarn Notes
• Yarn Specs
• The Brand

• We love Silk Garden Solo so much, but sometimes you need something a little thinner.
  
  Enter Silk Garden "Sock" Solo - in a Sport weight. Unlike SG Solo, this "Sock" blend includes some nylon for extra strength - just in case you want to use it for socks. The rest of the 75% is made up of wool, silk and some yummy mohair.
  
  The yarn is a super interesting single-ply yarn in super saturated colour with flecks and neps and so much depth and tonality!
  
  This is such an exciting yarn to work it! It would make a gorgeous garment or accessory on its own, but if you'd like to add some extra softness or fuzz, consider holding it together with a thread of lace weight silk mohair.
  
  As with other Noro yarns, it has a hand-spun, thick & thin quality, which just adds even more to the character of this amazing yarn.
  
  It's not quintessential Noro, in that it's not self-striping, but it's so very Noro in it's quality and in the expert composition of colours with flecks. It's sublime. If you're a Noro lover, you'll LOVE this yarn! And if you haven't tried a Noro yet, you should!
  
  For over 40 years Noro has produced the most beautiful, inimitable Organic, ecologically responsible, hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns. We encourage you to read more about Noro under "The Brand" tab above.
  
  A very, very special yarn - it's a dream come true for us to be able to stock Noro.

• Ingredients: 40% Wool 25% Silk 25% Nylon 10% Mohair

  Length: 300m (328yds)

  Weight: 100g

  Gauge: Sport / Light DK

• "I have come to believe that these yarns are as close to art as we have in the industry. The man behind them is an artist himself, and these yarns are an expression of his spirit rather than just a commercial product." Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton

  
  
  The World of Nature

  In recent years, the yarn industry has been actively promoting awareness of ecological sustainability, but this concept has been part of the Noro philosophy from the very beginning. The preservation of nature is such an important concept of his business that Mr Noro leaves nothing to chance, personally overseeing every aspect of production from sheep to yarn ball, including all machinery, labelling, yarn bags, boxes and even the garbage that the company produces.

  All the animal fibres used in Noro yarns are Organic. Most of the wool comes from a special breed of sheep called Polwarth, raised especially for Noro on a non-mulesing farm in Australia. Other fibres from from the Falkland Islands and South Africa, from Organic Farms.

  
  The Production Process

  "Friction, rubbing and heat during processing weaken the fibres in direct proportion to the length of time they are processed. By dramatically shortening this process, we are preventing damage to the enzymes in the fibres and simultaneously profiting the environment." Mr Eisaku Noro

  Environmental considerations are at the forefront of the dyeing process, with each step being carefully controlled. The natural fibres are dyed using a pH balance that is compatible with the fibres.
  
  Noro's modifications to the blowing, carding and spinning processes reap a total energy savings of 46% as compared to typical yarn industry standards.
  
  The unique manufacturing process that results in the exceptional colourways and textures have always been closely guarded secret in Japan.
  
  

  Brand Concept

• Harmonise natural unevenness, asymmetric pattern and complex colour to portray the beauty of the nature.
• Taking sufficient time to dye yarn
• Tenderness of materials to preserve their original characters and deliver them into the hands of the crafter
• “BE FREE FROM EXISTING CONCEPTS AND LIMITATIONS”
• “PURSUE THE IMAGE IN OUR MINDS”
  
  

Noro yarns have longer spans of colour in the runs than many other yarns, causing distinctive striping patterns, as well as being spun by hand versus being produced completely by machines.

There have been plenty of attempts to imitate the magic of Noro, but in the world of self-striping yarn, nothing compares with Noro.