Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

From time to time I’m asked questions about my business, my yarns or my values. Most of these questions come in person at shows and markets. Some are asked repeatedly: these are FAQs.

Do You Post to the UK?
I’m very sorry, but since the UK left the EU, I don’t post to the UK.
1. There’s a chance that the Customs Office will charge you a fee.
If this situation ever changes, I will announce it in my newsletter.
2. The complicated Custom Codes required by the UK make it impossible for me to keep up with the paperwork involved. 

What is ‘Superwash’ wool or yarn?

First, I use ‘wool’ to mean 100% wool, and ‘yarn’ to mean a mix of wool and something else. For example: 75% wool / 25% Nylon.
Wool will always be Superwash treated before it’s spun, so the term ‘Superwash Yarn’ means that the wool content has been treated.

When a wool or yarn is described as ‘Superwash’, it has had a treatment applied to the wool fibres, which makes them behave differently.
There are 3 major benefits to Superwash treating wool and yarn and all are to do with how untreated wool fibres behave:
• Pilling
Because wool fibres have tiny scales that open out and become interlocked when rubbed together, wool is prone to pilling. Those little balls of wool fibres you get on some of your wool garments are ‘pills’. The pills can be removed gently by hand if you watch out for them, but this can become a massive task, (though not, in my experience, as bad as it can become on acrylic garments).
NB: Some types of wool pills more than others: with BFL wool being very unlikely to pill and superfine lamb’s wool most likely to pill.
• Shrinking/Felting
Untreated wool can easily shrink and/or felt and ruin a carefully hand- knitted or expensive bought garment in moments. Again, this happens because of those tiny scales rubbing together, especially when washed too rigorously or when exposed to rapid changes in water temperature.
• Hand-dyeing wool requires the water in the dye bath to reach high temperatures. Hand-dyeing untreated wool is more difficult than hand-dyeing Superwash treated wool: it takes more time to get to the correct temperature and takes a lot of skill from the hand-dyer because it is prone to felting. Those tiny scales again!

Is Mille Reves en Laine’s Superwash wool and yarn Eco-friendly?

Not all Superwash wool and yarn is necessarily equal, but I’m secure in the knowledge that my hand-dyed Superwash yarns are absolutely the most eco-friendly I can possibly get!

My main yarn supplier is very particular about where their different yarns are Super-wash treated.
The resin used on all their wools has a weak structure. This means it breaks down quickly, leaving no residues, and will biodegrade quickly and completely in composting and marine environments.
All their Super-wash treated yarn that contains British wool is treated in the UK in a Superwash treatment plant with an owner who has a PhD in this area. He investigates and trials new ideas and employs the most up-to-date Superwash techniques.

The Non-UK yarns are Super-wash treated in Peru by companies with the EU Flower and/or OEKO-TEX 100 certification.
Both have extremely strict laws controlling effluent in waste water. As a result, the effluent is recycled, and the discharged water is actually cleaner than tap water!

I’ve researched carefully into the newest Superwash treatments and have checked the Superwash processes used for the undyed yarns I buy from my yarn suppliers. I’m pleased to say that my wool and yarn suppliers not only source wool from farms with proven animal welfare credentials, but their Superwashed wool is treated with the most up-to-date super wash treatment methods.

Although it’s easy to find blog posts about the Superwash process, most are quite old and give outdated information, (and criticism), of Superwash treatments.
So It’s important to understand that Superwash treatments and processes have changed enormously over recent years and that responsible, modern methods DO NOT involve coating the wool strands in plastic. Neither are by-products from the process left in the water discharged back into the water systems.

What does the Superwash process involve?

The Superwash treatment prevents the scales on wool interlocking. The treatment uses a two-stage process:
1. A chlorine treatment dulls the edges of the scales, reducing the capability of the scales sticking together.
2. A micro-fine web-like resin structure is bonded to the wool.
This resin smooths the scales onto the shaft of the fibre, which prevents the scales opening out, makes the yarn feel smoother, improves dye absorption, and massively changes the chance of pilling,shrinking and felting.
This resin smooths the scales onto the shaft of the fibre, which prevents the scales opening out, makes the yarn feel smoother, improves dye absorption, and prevents shrinking and felting.
The resin is biodegradable, so it breaks down with the wool when its useful life is over and it is composted, or used as a mulch on the garden. Even if you send your Superwash treated knitted garments to landfil, you can be sure it will decompose fairly quickly. 

What are the Benefits of Superwash Wool?

In my opinion, the benefits of Superwash wool, if the process is an eco-conscious one, makes superwashed wool and yarn a great choice! There are many benefits to using Super-wash wool – both to crafters and to the environment:
• Garments can be safely machine washed – as long as the wool-cycle is used – without the appearance of pilling, shrinking or felting.
• Garments have a longer lifespan because accidental felting and shrinking is unlikely, which means you can wear them for longer; they can become family heirlooms; be passed on to charity organisations, or even unwound and the yarn used again in a new garment.
• Modern washing machines use less water than hand-washing – so Superwashed wool also reduces the environmental impact of the garment.
• It gives wool a softer feel against the skin, (though I personally love pure, untreated wool).
• It dyes easily and is ideally suited to hand-dyeing because it requires less water to dye and can withstand the high temperatures needed to fix the dyes to the wool – as long as the hand-dyer is experienced.

Are there any downsides to Super-wash yarns?
INo, but there are garments which I like to knit with non-Superwash wool and yarn:
• For knitting bigger, chunkier cables, such as those in jumpers, I prefer to use non-Superwash wool, with no nylon, because the scales on the untreated wool help the cables to cling together. 
• For colour work, such as intarsia and Fair Isle, I find that the scales on untreated wool not only help the fibres to cling together, but make the finished effect have a more ‘blended’ look.
• I like the slightly more rustic feel of non-Superwash wool in knitted hats and mittens – they just seem more wintery.

What Is Tencel? 

• Tencel® is a brand name, owned by Lenzing Fibers of Austria.
The filaments used for producing Tencel® yarn are from a fibre generically called Lyocell.
• Tencel® yarn is fine and extremely strong. It’s an excellent alternative to silk because it’s light-weight, luxuriously soft, has a lovely gleam and drapes beautifully. I use Tencel® in my own knitting and weaving instead of silk, and love it’s ‘silkiness’.
• Tencel® yarn, like wool, is also breathable, efficient in regulating moisture, adapts to the temperature on the skin,is naturally wrinkle-resistant, and environmentally sustainable. What’s not to love?

How Is Tencel Yarn Made?
• To make this fibre, the wood pulp is first dissolved in a non-toxic solvent.

Is Tencel Yarn an Eco-friendly Product?
• Tencel® also has excellent environmental credentials: the fibres are certified with the EU Eco-label for textile products. The label is awarded to products that meet very high environmental standards.
• Lyocell is a man-made cellulosic fibre spun from wood pulp sourced from sustainably managed forests and plantations. These are controlled or certified wood sources. It’s a fossil-free alternative to conventional synthetic materials.
• The solvent used to digest the wood pulp is non-toxic and approximately 99% is recovered and recycled during the manufacturing process. This mixture is then put through special spinning process to produce long, continuous fibre strands. Waste products in the air and water from the manufacturing process are minimal and considered harmless.
• Lyocell is made using a resource-saving closed-loop production process; uses less water than other wood pulp sources; and any water it does use is cleaned and fed back into the system.
• Because it’s a cellulosic fibre, Tencel® yarn can be recycled and is biodegradable. It can be recycled, incinerated, or digested in sewage. The fibres will usually degrade completely in just eight days in waste treatment plants. The fibres in the yarn are certified as compostable in home and industrial conditions and biodegradable, in soil, freshwater and marine environments.
On top of all that, it is superbly silky, with a fabulous drape and sheen!

How Do You Care for the Environment

I aim to care for the environment and look after our precious planet in everything I do in my personal life. My practices within ‘Mille Rêves en Laine’ are no exception.
Wool ‘production’ has a high carbon footprint compared to some other materials used to create fabric, so I take various measures to avoid adding to it.

Transport Emissions
In an effort to care for the environment:
– I keep transport emissions to the minimum I can by buying most of my undyed yarn from one large supplier who ships to me here in France directly from their European base. I also buy French wool from a group of local French farmers who work together to produce wool for hand-dyers.

Water Saving
My hand dyeing process involves a lot of thought about the amount of water I use and how my practices can help me care for the environment:
– The soaking water I use to soak the wool or yarn before I dye it, is re-used for the next batch.
– When the wool or yarn comes out of the dye bath and is then cool enough to be rinsed, I use a series of bowls of water, rather than using an open tap.- I use the most eco-friendly professional-grade dyes I can find.
– Only food-grade citric acid or white vinegar is used to fix the dye to the yarn. Both chemicals evaporate from the water during the dye process.
– I re-use any water I’ve used that still has any dye remnants to water my garden.
– I re-use clear water in the next dye bath.

Energy Saving
– My home studio here in France is never heated – I wrap up warmly on cold days!
– I dry all of my hand dyed wool and yarn naturally outside in the warm air,
– The tissue paper and boxes you receive your purchases wrapped in are all made from recycled materials and can themselves be recycled.

The Nylon ‘Problem’
I have a ‘bee in my bonnet’ about nylon! Because nylon doesn’t biodegrade, I aim to move away from using wool/nylon blends over time.
However…
– There is high demand, from sock knitters, for me to hand dye wool/nylon blends. I’m trying to encourage sock knitters to use pure BFL wool instead – while soft and beautiful enough to knit jumpers, cardigans, shawls, etc, it’s strong and durable enough to knit socks – no nylon needed! I still have some BFL wool/nylon yarn, but when I’ve hand dyed all of that, I will only be hand dyeing pure BFL wool – I just don’t believe there is a good reason to blend nylon with BFL!
– I do hand dye Merino wool/nylon yarns. Merino is a fine wool and is strengthened by the addition of nylon. This makes it suitable for sock knitting, although I don’t use merino wool/nylon blends to knit my socks anymore because I’ve noticed, after 9 years of knitting socks, that they don’t last as long as my pure BFL wool ones – none of which have yet worn out.

My continued use of wool/nylons blends is a bit of a concern for me, but I believe that crafters who use hand-dyed wool/nylon blends very rarely, if ever, send their creations off to landfill.
– These creations, whether knitted, crocheted or woven, are made with love and take hours of hard work to make.
– Hand dyed wool/nylon blends cost a lot more to buy than commercially dyed and processed wool/nylon blends.
Maybe I shouldn’t worry so much about nylon?

**For lots of information about the wonderful properties of wool, read my Blog post, Wooly Wonders