BFL (Blue-faced Leicester) fiber is known for its lustrous, silky feel, softness, and 3-6 inch staple length. The fiber ranges from 24-28 microns and spins easily into a rather drapey yarn. Originally a UK breed, it has won considerable popularity in the US.
I have been dying wool, spinning, and knitting for 30+ years, but selling hand dyed roving on Etsy is new to me. I have always liked dying with acid dyes because the colors are so vibrant and colorfast. I have also enjoyed spinning for different effects. I have found that if I dye roving with long color segments, I can get a heathery look or a fractal look. This BFL combed top braid started out white, so the colors are clear. It weighs a bit over 8 oz.
BFL is so versatile!
- It spins well as a fingering weight yarn or as a heavy worsted yarn. Yardage depends on how fine or bulky you spin the yarn.
-BFL drafts easily because of its staple length
-BFL creates garments that have a bit of drape to them because of the nature of its locks
-8 oz of yarn should be plenty to make mittens, socks, hats, scarves, or cowls with yarn to spare for a smaller project.
I recently spun a similar braid into a two-ply heavy worsted weight yarn that measured a bit over 400 yards. I made a pair of large mittens with very long cuffs and a headband from that yarn. I used US7 needles to make the mittens more dense. They are warm and soft, but very sturdy.
Two of my photos show a skein of yarn I spun from the same BFL roving dyed in a different color way. I spun it into a bulky two ply yarn. I haven’t decided what it will become yet — something warm! Happy spinning!!