The Fibre Co. Amble

Amble | The Fibre Company
Fingering / Sock Weight
355 yards (325m)- 100 grams
70% Easy-wash Merino wool, 20% Easy-wash alpaca, 10% recycled nylon
US 1.5 (2.5mm)
32 stitches per 10 cm 
Machine wash on wool cycle or hand wash at 30C / 86F. Dry flat.

When The Fibre Co. set out to design a sock yarn, they stayed true to their guiding principle of harnessing the beauty that nature provides in a way that is gentle on our planet. They waited until a recycled nylon and an alternative to the standard chlorine processed washable wools became available. The end result is a soft yet durable yarn from Merino wool and alpaca fibres processed with an eco-friendly anti-shrinkage Easy-wash treatment. The recycled nylon adds strength and durability. They named this yarn Amble to reflect the kind of slow relaxed walking we enjoy here in the English Lake District. The shades are borrowed from the successful palette in their Cumbria yarn with the cream and all heathers using a natural ecru Suri alpaca whilst the others use a natural brown Suri alpaca.

What does Easy-wash mean and why do we use it?
Easy-wash is a trademarked name that refers to a process used to make the wool and alpaca fibres in Amble machine washable without shrinking. The Easy-wash method is chlorine-free and AOX-free, making it the best environmental choice for producing machine washable wool. The wool and alpaca fibres are treated with eco-friendly oxidants to remove the scales that ordinarily cause wool and alpaca to shrink when washed by machine. The oxidants used are sourced in Germany and are certified under the REACH, Oeko-tex and ZDCH (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical) standards. This means that the Easy-wash treatment does not create hazardous chemicals, which is not the case with most machine washable wools in today’s market.

Much of the available machine washable wool yarn is made with a chlorine treatment process that produces high levels of toxic Adsorbable Organohalogens, known as AOX. While yarns produced in this manner are not known to be toxic to the user, AOX used in the treatment end up in wastewater and have a detrimental impact on tributaries, wildlife, and fauna.

What is recycled nylon and why do we use it?
Nylon fibre is not easily biodegradable. However, it has strength qualities that give yarns and the socks made therefrom more durability. The recycled nylon used in the sock yarn Amble comes from leftover industrial waste of processing nylon, thereby diverting waste from landfills, and using fewer production resources like water and fossil fuels than virgin nylon.