About
Hi, I’m Sophie, the dyer behind Pixie Yarn.
I hand dye small batches of yarn in my studio nestled within the Somerset countryside, UK.
The name came from the Pixie my Mum has had on her keyring since i was little. Her family were Cornish and Grandma Sylvia was always knitting socks for her family, whilst her son Cyril knit beautiful Fair Isle jumpers in his teens.
I’ve always been drawn to colour and creating things.
Nan Dolly, taught me to knit. It was the week of the Silver Jubilee and we were staying with her by the sea in Birchington. There were many dropped stitches and it was a while before I picked knitting needles up again!
Years later, I went to Uni to study textiles; printmaking, knitting, weaving, before choosing to focus on embroidery.
I began knitting again when I was pregnant and made a couple of baby cardigans and Dangly Monkey.
In 2012, inspired to knit a shawl for my wedding, I bought an Estonian lace shawl book and some Malabrigo yarn. Off I went. It was a steep learning curve, but I couldn’t put it down. That was really the beginning of my Knitting journey.
Intrigued by the beauty of newly discovered indie dyed yarn, I was drawn into the world of hand dyeing. Whilst speckling my first skein, I quickly realised this wouldn’t be my last dabble in the dyepots. A year later after much experimenting in our tiny kitchen, I was finally ready.
I launched Pixie Yarn in 2017. My first ever colourway was ‘There’s Soot In My Sack’, closely followed by ‘Kitty Ate The Tinsel’
Last year we built a studio in our garden and in January 2020, I moved out of our tiny kitchen, yippee!
I love it. My own space, playing with dyes and yarn all day :)
There is something about colour that just makes my heart sing. It puts a skip in my step with gasps and squeals of delight. In the mornings, I can’t wait to get started.
I’m so blessed to be a Somerset lass, to have the Mendips on our doorstep. Inspiration comes from many sources, sometimes when I least expect it.
Films, packaging, songs, nature and the landscape. Some colour ways I have dreamt, others just pop into my head. Custom orders have led me into areas of the colour wheel that I may not have instinctively explored. I find myself falling in love with colours that I have not previously admired, which leads me off on a tangent.
Whether it's the perfect custom fade for a jumper, collaboration for a new design, a guest sock club spot or a birthday yarn for my lys. Being able to share my love for colour with yarn friends and create something unique is the cats meow.