SWEDISH
YARNS
BECKY ASHENDEN
Swedes have a long history of sorting their fleeces, knowing exactly which types of
wool are best for different purposes, and spinning them according to each
purpose. For this Yarn Lab, I sampled with two lesser-known Swedish yarns carried
by Vävstuga— Åsborya and Brage—to show how best to use them in weaving.
THE YARN: Åsborya
(595 yd/lb, 131 yd/100 g skein, 100% wool), Borgs via Vävstuga, 61 colorways.
This 2.5/2 wool is the authentic yarn used for rya and fl ossa pile rugs. It is a heavy-duty two-ply wool yarn with a
fair amount of twist and a beautiful sheen. The traditional warp yarn used with Åsborya is a high-twist 8/3 linen rug
yarn that creates a fi rm and durable base for the resulting rug. I have also experimented using the Åsborya yarn as
warp for different fabrics as well as for beautiful knitted mittens. Note: All samples were woven on a traditional
Swedish loom using metric reeds. As such, all setts are given in ends/picks per centimeter or 10 centimeters, with
approximate calculations for ends per inch (epi) and picks per inch (ppi) in parentheses.
SAMPLE 1: Rya
Sample Yarns: Warp, 8/3 linen rug warp
(unbleached); weft, Åsborya for knots and
selvedge (#4039 Garnet, #4036 Sienna,
#4031 Terracotta, #4069 Eggplant, #4047
Black Walnut, #4000 Unbleached); ground
weft, Mattgarn (#5013 Natural Brown).
Setts: 30 ends per 10 cm; 10 knot rows
per cm; 6 doubled-tabby picks per cm
(8 epi; 25 knot rows per inch; doubled
tabby, 15 ppi).
The luster of this yarn shines beautifully
when used as knotted pile, its intended
use. The stiffness of the fi bers and the
brilliance of the colors give a depth of
quality that I have not seen matched by
any other yarn that I have used for this
purpose.SAMPLE 2: Damask twill
Sample Yarns: Warp and weft, Åsborya
(#4013 Citrine, #4069 Eggplant).
Setts: 25 ends per 10 cm; 25 picks per
10 cm (6 epi; 6 ppi).
Even though this yarn is intended for
knotted pile, I could not resist the
temptation to try it in a balanced 3/1
twill on the drawloom. This easy-to-
work-with yarn makes a dense and
durable fabric, bringing forth the
natural shine and luster of the tightly
spun wool yarn. It lies beautifully flat
and is wrinkle-free after washing.yarn lab
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