Uploaded October 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
This week's video is all about alpaca! After I show a quick FO, we go right into the classroom to find out about alpaca. Then I take you on a field trip to my friend Kathy's alpaca farm called Heartland "Criations." Watch the show to see where that name comes from. Back in the classroom, I talk about alpaca fiber and yarn and show some inspiring projects that you can make with alpaca yarn.
NOTE RE SOUND ISSUES: You'll hear some wind noise on our field trip to the farm. Also, I tried to equalize the sound between the "studio" and "field trip" segments as much as possible, but there may be some variation, depending on your playback device. I did my best, but, alas, my Ph.D. is not in videography or audiography. ♥
LINKS TO PRODUCTS SHOWN:
Cascade Cash Vero yarn: Discontinued (sorry!)
Angel Hat (pattern by Kay Jones): goo.gl/FDJaNb
Heartland "Criations" Facebook Page: goo.gl/W2bjv4
Heartland "Criations" Web Site: goo.gl/1jTWTM
Heartland "Criations" FARM STORE: goo.gl/4cs1fQ
Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca DK: goo.gl/PVXNHU
Cascade Indulgence yarn: Discontinued (sorry!)
Halo yarn: goo.gl/q3yLRt
Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush yarn: goo.gl/uhVAYQ
Paca Peds sock yarn: goo.gl/Ev6QNM
CONNECT WITH ME:
✔ I N S T A G R A M
✔ R A V E L R Y
✔ T W I T T E R
✔ P E R I S C O P E
@halcyarn
✔ E M A I L
halcyarn@gmail.com
✔ WRITE TO ME
Kristine Kelly
P.O. Box 74
Monmouth, IL 61462
If you are passionately curious and never get tired of learning new things, new skills, new ideas...I hope you enjoy watching my videos and learn something. Have a sparkly day!
This week's video is all about alpaca! After I show a quick FO, we go right into the classroom to find out about alpaca. Then I take you on a field trip to my friend Kathy's alpaca farm called Heartland "Criations." Watch the show to see where that name comes from. Back in the classroom, I talk about alpaca fiber and yarn and show some inspiring projects that you can make with alpaca yarn.
NOTE RE SOUND ISSUES: You'll hear some wind noise on our field trip to the farm. Also, I tried to equalize the sound between the "studio" and "field trip" segments as much as possible, but there may be some variation, depending on your playback device. I did my best, but, alas, my Ph.D. is not in videography or audiography. ♥
LINKS TO PRODUCTS SHOWN:
Cascade Cash Vero yarn: Discontinued (sorry!)
Angel Hat (pattern by Kay Jones): goo.gl/FDJaNb
Heartland "Criations" Facebook Page: goo.gl/W2bjv4
Heartland "Criations" Web Site: goo.gl/1jTWTM
Heartland "Criations" FARM STORE: goo.gl/4cs1fQ
Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca DK: goo.gl/PVXNHU
Cascade Indulgence yarn: Discontinued (sorry!)
Halo yarn: goo.gl/q3yLRt
Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush yarn: goo.gl/uhVAYQ
Paca Peds sock yarn: goo.gl/Ev6QNM
CONNECT WITH ME:
✔ I N S T A G R A M
✔ R A V E L R Y
✔ T W I T T E R
✔ P E R I S C O P E
@halcyarn
✔ E M A I L
halcyarn@gmail.com
✔ WRITE TO ME
Kristine Kelly
P.O. Box 74
Monmouth, IL 61462
If you are passionately curious and never get tired of learning new things, new skills, new ideas...I hope you enjoy watching my videos and learn something. Have a sparkly day!






![Five Ancient Textile Technologies That Science Forgot
Think your wardrobe is cutting-edge? Think again. While the modern world is completely dominated by just two fabric structures—weaving and knitting—our ancestors were engineering textile technologies that were warmer, stretchier, and structurally superior to anything we mass-produce today. They used basic materials like river mud, palm tree leaves, and pieces of bone to solve complex problems in geometry, chemistry, and mechanical engineering.
In this episode of Ewe University, we step into the archaeology lab to uncover five incredible, long-lost fiber arts from around the globe:
Sprang: The prehistoric, zero-rubber precursor to modern spandex.
Nålbinding: The indestructible, unravelable textile favored by Vikings.
Kuba Cloth: A plush, asymmetrical luxury velvet woven entirely from tree leaves.
Bogolanfini: An unbelievable display of organic chemistry using fermented riverbed mud.
Tablet Weaving: High-strength, pocket-sized engineering powered by a simple deck of punched cards.
From ancient Egyptian hairnets to traditional West African chemistry, lets explore the mind-blowing science hidden inside the history of craft.
READING LIST
1. Sprang
Collingwood, P. (1974). The Techniques of Sprang: Plaiting on Stretched Threads. Watson-Guptill Publications. [Check your local library; I was able to get it via interlibrary loan.]
Hald, M. (1980). Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials. National Museum of Denmark. [Check your local library.]
2. Nalbinding
Bender Jorgensen, L. (1992). North European Textiles until AD 1000. Aarhus University Press. [Check your local library.]
Karp, C., & Decker, A. M. (2022). Three objects catalogued as vantsöm in the collections of the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland. Archaeological Textiles Review, (64), 55–63.
https://tidsskrift.dk/atr/article/view/166603/207701
3. Kuba Cloth
Adams, M. J. (1978). Kuba Embroidered Cloth. African Arts, 12(1), 24–39.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3335378
Mack, J. (1980). Bakuba Embroidery. Textile History, 11(1), 164–174.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/004049680793691194
4. Bogolanfini
Rovine, V. L. (2001). Bogolan: Shaping Culture Through Cloth in Contemporary Mali. Smithsonian Institution Press. [Check your local library.]
Limaye, M.V., Bacsik, Z., Schütz, C. et al. (2012) On the role of tannins and iron in the Bogolan or mud cloth dyeing process. Textile Research Journal, 82(18), 1888-1896.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0040517512452955
5. Tablet Weaving
Collingwood, P. (1982). The Techniques of Tablet Weaving. Faber & Faber. [Check your local library.]
Ræder Knudsen, L. (2015). Early Iron Age Tablet Weaving in Denmark. Archaeological Textiles Review, 57, 118-122.
https://tidsskrift.dk/atr/article/download/167063/208091/372573
#FiberArts #WeavingCommunity #TextileArt #SlowCraft #HistoricalCrafting #FiberArtist #YarnNerd #Archaeology #AncientHistory #AncientTechnology #ExperimentalArchaeology #HistoryNerd #TextileHistory #FashionHistory #MaterialScience #ScienceIsCool #OrganicChemistry #PhysicsOfFabric #SmartTextiles #Sprang #Nalbinding #KubaCloth #Bogolanfini #MudCloth #TabletWeaving #CardWeaving Five Ancient Textile Technologies That Science Forgot](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W-bcYbtb5ME/mqdefault.jpg)



