Four New Atslan Pendants

Today's new product upload are these four pendants.

I have used only natural and organic materials for these, with pendants made from deer antler, betel nut and boxwood.

The cords have all been crafted from hemp and either an ironwood or buffalo bone toggle provides the closure.

To view these and other pendants, please click on the following link:

https://sorazora.com/product-category/accessories/jewellery/atslan/

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

How to use your mini rigid heddle

Our carved buffalo horn mini rigid heddle is one of this year's additions to our selection of craft tools. Unlike crochet hooks, knitting spools and lucets, the heddle is not so easy to demonstrate for our customers at festivals, nor is it easy to explain in words for online customers. We believe we have the solution.

We have uploaded a three minute video to youtube which gives you the basic information needed to get you started. Click on the following link to be taken to the video tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcW-VLjjAPY

The video can also be found on the Sorazora product page for our rigid heddle. We plan on making a couple more basic 'how to' videos for our knitting spool and lucet.

To visit the mini rigid heddle's product page, please click on the following link:

https://sorazora.com/product/mini-rigid-heddle/

The images above and below are just to give you a basic idea of how the heddle should look after the warp threads have been set up and also a closer look at the plain weave created. These two images show the heddle being used with natural dyed cotton twine, also available from our materials collection.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Hemp & Nettle Beanbags

Back again for their second year at Sorazora, These organic beanbags can either be used singularly as hacky sacks or in quantity as juggling balls.

The natural seed filling gives them a firm texture and an ideal weight that would suit both advanced jugglers and beginners alike.

Available to buy in sets of three or singularly and in a choice of natural fibres. Both Himalayan Nettle and Wild Nepali Hemp yarns have been harvested, retted and handspun by the craftspeople of remote Nepalese villages. Measuring approximately 6cm in diameter and filled with seeds native to Nepal, they have been hand crocheted with our two most loved organic natural fibres from Nepal.

https://sorazora.com/product-category/everything-else/home-interior/

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Woven Straps

New for this year's craft materials selection is a range of hand woven straps. These straps are sold by the metre and ideal for bag straps, belts and many other craft applications. To view images of each design and further details about these beautiful straps, simply click on the link for their respective product pages below each image.

Hemp Woven Straps

The strong hemp straps have been hand woven using wild Nepalese hemp that has been harvested, retted, spun and woven using the same organic techniques that have been used for centuries. The hemp straps measure approximately 26mm in width. We have a choice of plain undyed hemp and three different colour combinations using natural dyed hemp twine.

Cotton Woven Straps

Our range of cotton woven straps is made up of two different warp patterns with four colour combinations in each. These straps have been woven in exactly the same way as the hemp, but using a soft Indian cotton. As with the hemp straps, five different natural dyes have been used in conjunction with the plain undyed cotton twine. The width of these straps is approximately 25mm.

https://sorazora.com/product-category/craft/fabric/

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Raw Silk Scarves 2012

Raw silk scarves have been one of our favourite products for quite sometime. Not only are the warp and weft threads beautifully soft, but also the character of this protein fibre is great for organic natural dyes. I have yet to see a natural dye colour I haven't liked when used on silk.

 Our colour range is not limited to just these six colours as we often use these raw silk scarves for many dye experiments with new colours. Come to our stall at an event this summer to see our complete collection.

For more information about these scarves, please visit the product page through the link below.

http://sorazora.com/shop/shawls/Rawsilk_scarf2012.html

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Hand Knitted Garments 2012

With the sun shining through my window, I wonder why we are now uploading a few garments from our 2012 knitwear collection. With our last event and pretty much anytime I have ventured outside since, I realise that in the UK any season is knitwear season!

Hemp-Wool DroPeace Cardigan

Five natural dye colours and also undyed hemp wool yarn have been lovingly hand knitted to produce our DroPeace Cardigan (above) and our DroPeace Vest (below). The cardigan features a cute coconut button designed specifically for this garment and both the cardigan and vest feature a small crochetted drop motif on the back.

Hemp-Wool DroPeace Vest

Both designs are available in a natural undyed yarn and the combination of five earthy coloured yarns. For more information about these garments, please follow the links provided to their respective product pages.

http://sorazora.com/shop/tops/HempWool_Cardigan.html

http://sorazora.com/shop/tops/HempWool_Vest.html

Nettle-Wool Fisherman's Jumper

We have regularly used hemp wool blends for knitwear, but our first garment hand knitted with a nettle wool blend is our take on the classic fisherman's jumper. A sturdy large jumper with drop shoulders has proved just the thing for those chilly UK evenings. The large size allows for plenty of layering up. The image below was taken at Annapurna Base Camp in the Nepalese Himalayas, but my personal jumper was appreciated just as much in  West Sussex last weekend!

Available in a plain undyed nettle wool yarn or a beautiful blue that was achieved by over dyeing the yarn with indigo (leaf extract) and myrobalan (fruit) before knitting.

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/

Wild Heart Gathering 2012

Last weekend saw our first experience of the Wild Heart Gathering in the beautiful grounds of Knepp Castle Estate in West Sussex.

This intimate and family friendly gathering was held from Friday 4th until Monday 7th May.

 The weather was relentless from start to finish with rain and cold each day, however, this gathering's spirits weren't dampened by the typical UK climate. Many customers chose not to camp, but came for the day and I am sure the overall attendance was kept quite low due to the conditions. Warm and bright weather would have made this festival the perfect start to the festival season.

There were plenty of workshops and activities for all interests and age groups. Two workshops that interested me the most were flint knapping and woodwork. The flint knapping workshop was run by Will from www.beyond2000bc.co.uk who was more than happy to share his love and knowledge of the materials and how to shape them.

It would be nice to think that we have now had our share of rain for the festival season, but with plenty of events lined up and the weather being predictably unpredictable, we'll have to wait and see what kind of summer lies ahead. 

For more information about this festival, please follow the link below. Wild Heart Gathering comes strongly recommended by us if you are looking for a chilled out family friendly long weekend, just remember to pack wet weather gear for any festival as you never know!

www.wildheartgathering.com

Natural fibres, Natural dyes and Original designs http://www.sorazora.com/