Hand Spinning News
Once again we've made it through what some people (but not all) find the most depressing month. If you need inspiration or a hug then Kelly has made a case for why rigid heddle weaving is a great activity for the Winter months. The waffle sweater is described as a "hug in sweater form".
e-spinners are in the spotlight this month. GuzziSue shows off her new Argonaut and compares and contrasts with the two others that she already has. Felicia speaks to David Giles from Daedalus Spinning Wheels about the development of his business and in particular his new design, the Dove.
This month's HSN is a little early and thus may be a little shorter than usual for family reasons but that means that there'll be a little more next month.
So without further ado, read on for all of this and more news, views and reviews for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers. This is the full round-up for February 2026.
Cover photo: Giovanni Battista Torriglia, The Spinning Wheel. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Contents
In the media
Mainely Spinners 2026 International Back to Back Wool Challenge results
On 17 Jan at the Milford Town Hall, the Mainely Spinners competed in the 30th International Back to Back Wool Challenge.
They logged a time of 11h 20m 48s. So far, this is the best time for 2026 but there are some months for other teams to participate.
Since 2019 the Mainely Spinners have donated $21,348 to a cancer charity. This year, those who donate will have a chance to win last year's competition sweater.
The International Back to Back Wool Challenge organisers have announced on their Facebook page that the next team to take the challenge will be Koorooman Sapphire Ewes on Saturday 28th February.
observer-me.com...back-to-back-wool-challenge-results
Ankara rabbit breed revived in its homeland
A project launched in 2022 by the Elmadag Municipality aims to reintroduce the Angora rabbit, which became extinct in their original home, Turkey in the 1700s
Four years later, the population has grown to 130 animals in a dedicated area known as "Rabbit Island".
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-rabbit-breed-revived-in-its-homeland-218436
Handspun stories
Corriedale - fibre focus
John Arbon's Yarnadelic range (see Products and Reviews for announcement about new colours) is based on 100% Falklands Corriedale.
This blog post has some history and information about the breed.
www.jarbon.com/blogs/news/corriedale-fibre-focus
Tying one on
This is a very large stash of handspun cotton yarn in natural colours.
Ewespecial hates threading the loom, so she has been tying this handspun yarn to an existing warp, which seems like a great idea that will save a lot of waste.
ewespecial.blogspot.com...blog-post.html
Painless Plying, scenario three
In this third part of her Painless Plying series, Spanish Peahen considers a scenario where some singles have a lot of tonal contrast. She knows this could result in barber-poling, which she likes to avoid.
As an experiment, she plied said singles using four techniques; chain-ply, true 3-ply, 2-ply using two separate singles and an end-to-end 2-ply.
thepeahenspod.com..painless-plying-scenario-3
Behind the book: Milarrochy tweed yarn
Rebecca launched her pattern book Migraineur last month. Since she's such a fan of handspun yarn, why did she choose a commercial yarn for the patterns in this book?
She discusses that choice and the structure and composition of Milarrochy Tweed from Kate Davies Designs.
osbornfiber.com...behind-the-book-milarrochy-tweed-yarn
Fluffy white stuff
Sarah has posted many beautiful photographs and drawings of playing in snow and making yarn from white fleece.
As usual, she hides a lot of the interesting details in the footnotes so don't miss those.
sarahcswett.substack.com/p/fluffy-white-stuff
Secret weapon against wool-eating pests
Museum staff in Estonia have been taking advantage of recent freezing weather to air out the many garments in its folk dress collections.
Some museums use deep-freezing to control moths and other pests. Voru Museum doesn't have its own freezer so they draw on the wisdom of their ancestors and take racks of clothing outside to air in the bitter cold.
news.err.ee...secret-weapon-against-wool-eating-moths
Tips and tutorials
Bast basics
Devin says that bast fibres are becoming more and more available to handspinners. If you've never spun flax or hemp before, this is a beginner's guide.
This was originally published in 2020 and has been updated this month.
spinoffmagazine.com...get-to-know-flax-and-hemp-fibers
Products and Reviews
Knitting Circle board game
Knitting Circle is a board game from Flatout Games based on knitting and cats.
Collect yarn from the central basket and knit it into garments while trying to get your colour combinations and patterns just right.
www.flatout.games/knitting-circle
Video and audio
Idling packs in tablet weaving
Even if you won't be tablet-weaving yourself, I'm sure you'll find this video as mesmerising and relaxing as I did.
In the video on this page, Catherine explains and demonstrates the Idling Pack technique, also known as alternating pack, alternating shed or Anglo-Saxon technique.
She also demonstrates how to set up a project in the Tablet Weaving Draft Designer software for this technique.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjoGQUD2qJ4
Knot a Toy
Industrial Light and Magic have created a short which recreates an iconic scene from The Mandolorian using crocheted toys.
On this page you can see the scene side-by-side with the original scene, plus a short behind-the-scenes documentary.
Sadly, the characters used in the film are 3D-printed but they are based on real crochet models as shown in the behind-the-scenes.
www.starwarsnewsnet.com...animated-yarn-short.html
Technology
Pine needles become clothing
German scientists have extracted fibres from conifer needles and made a compostable yarn. In Saxony it's considered a waste product and is available by the ton. It could help to develop more sustainable fashion.
https://www.diesachsen.de...textiles-from-forest-waste...
Gallery
Sometimes just a picture is enough
Colour Craving by Stephen West
Sharon said that she was lured into this after two "quite normal" Stephen West mystery shawls. However, she's had compliments and says that it's "comfortable and wraps really well". She even loves the "stupid" colours that she chose. All of the yarns she used have a story.
sharondoubleknit.blogspot.com...colour-craving-also-know-as.html
Free patterns and projects
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
Barley Sock Hat
This hat is part of the 'simple collection', a series of beginner-friendly patterns.
It has 7 sizes from newborn to adult L and uses sock-weight yarn.
My thumbnail shows Felicia's hat with colours inspired by a trip to see the Northern Lights.
This is available as a free PDF or within the free Tin Can Knits app.
tincanknits.com/pattern/barley-sock
Devil's Dance Floor mosaic crochet blanket by Martin Up North
Martin has made this mosaic crochet blanket pattern available for free. If you'd like to support his work you can buy a pdf version. He has also provided an introduction to mosaic crochet.
martinupnorth.com...the-devils-dance-floor-mosaic...
Pattern and project suggestions
As seen on Wikipedia socks
Since December 2010, the Wikipedia page for 'sock' has featured a picture of a handknit sock.
If you'd like to knit that sock, Amy has produced this pattern for a cuff down traveling stitch cable sock pattern with a standard heel flap construction and charted design.
With thanks to Molly for the tip.
www.ravelry.com...as-seen-on-wikipedia-socks
Waffle Pullover by Amy Christoffers
As part of their preparations for their "Bang Out a Sweater" knitalong, Ann wrote this blog post showing that it really makes a difference which of your two colours you choose as A and which B.
The waffle sweater is described as a "hug in sweater form", which we probably all need at this time of the year.
www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/whats-your-waffle
Ophelia Wrap by Marthe Øyrås
The pattern suggests two yarns held together, an alpaca silk and a kid silk, Together they make approximately 4-ply weight, so if you're spinning for this I guess gauge is your friend here.
The pattern contains sizes ranging from XS-2XL although the 'wrap' nature of this probably means that it's a little less important than usual. It also contains two versions, a shorter version and slightly longer version.
www.mychicknits.com/product-page/ophelia-wrap
Snow Moon Socks by Lisa Lloyd
Lisa's Full Moon Sock of the Month series is inspired by Celtic names for the full moon.
This is appropriately February's pattern, Snow Moon. It features simple gansey-inspired knit and purl patterns in a unisex design.
www.ravelry.com...snow-moon-socks-3
But is it art...?
La Sentinelle by Marine Beaufils
Embroidery artist Marine Beaufils has made this series of 14 works which reproduce screenshots from the eerie 8-bit computer game The Sentinel in needlepoint. She is fascinated with the relationship between pixels on a computer screen and stitches on fabric.
She specifically used the Spectrum version of the game, each of which uses a single foreground colour at one time from its (arguably) 15-colour palette.
Her website has good images of all of the works in the series, plus a high-resolution image which allows you to see the stitches and fabric close up.
www.marine.st/en/pages/sentinel
UK Events
2026
Textiles East Fair
21 - 22 February 2026, Rowley Mile Racecourse, Cambridge Road, Newmarket
Aims to provide a dynamic, active platform for textile artists to exhibit and retailers to showcase their beautiful products for purchase.
textileseastfair.wordpress.com/spring-into-textiles-east-fair
North West Winter Wool Festival
14 - 15 February 2026, Norbreck Castle Hotel Blackpool
A gathering dedicated to the rich traditions of knitting, crocheting, weaving, and spinning. Created by an indie yarn dyer in response to the increasing call for more fibre arts events in the North West, this festival offers a warm, welcoming space for creativity and community.
northwestwinterwoolfestival.co.uk
Kernow YAFF - Cornwall's Yarn and Fibre Festival
Sunday 22 February 2026, The Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground PL27 7JE
Showcasing the best of hand-dyed, hand-crafted and sustainable yarns, fibres and related products, all in an exciting market-style show with a vibrant festival feel.
kernowyaff.com
East Anglia Yarn Festival
21 - 22 March 2026, Norfolk Showground Arena
East Anglia's premier fibre festival, bringing amazing exhibitors to Norwich for the second year. Classes, crochet and knit-a-long, The Big Stitch Night, podcaster meet-up.
www.eastangliayarnfestival.com
The Woolly Good Gathering
17 - 18 April 2026
Since 2019 Edinburgh been missing an important festival: a yarn festival!
A new event to celebrate knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners and fibre lovers with a festival of crafts, workshops, talks, food, music and good company.
www.woollygood.co.uk
Spring Into Wool
11 - 12 April 2026, The Grammar School, Leeds
80 stalls, food, free parking, workshops, demos.
The perfect event for all lovers of knitting, crochet, feltmaking, weaving, spinning, dyeing, and all things woolly!
www.springintowool.co.uk/index.htm
The Sodbury Yarn Over
18 - 19 April 2026, venue tbc
Yarns, fibres, weaving, crochet, knitting, spinning, accessories and workshops and more.
thesodburyyarnover.co.uk
Wonderwool Wales
25 - 26 April 2026, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells
2026 is the 20th Anniversary. First held in 2006 to promote the market for Welsh wool and add value to product for small wool & fibre producers in Wales, the festival celebrates the green credentials of Welsh wool and its versatility as a material for creative crafts, designer clothes, home furnishings and more.
Wonderwool Wales has grown year on year. It covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process.
A list of accommodation and camping in the surrounding area is available on the Wonderwool website.
www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk
All that remains is for me to thank everyone who blogs, writes articles or posts pictures on the subject of spinning, knitting, crochet or weaving. This newsletter wouldn't exist without them.
Nor would it exist without your support, so thank you for that.
An edited-down version of this particular issue will be available online to everyone else at hand-spinning-news.com later in the month.
The best way to share may be to share a link to the new Patreon page. New readers can become a free member and receive a notification when each free issue is available. The members' page should become an archive of past issues over time. It's also an alternative way for people to become paying supporters. You're very welcome to switch to Patreon if you would prefer.
It's always good to hear from readers for any reason and I'd particularly like tip-offs about about any relevant stories, websites or social media accounts that I should be following.
Happy spinning!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
shiela@hand-spinning-news.com
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