Kate Burge-Tibi & Rachel Price began Spincycle as a handspinnery in 2004, the two of them kettle dyeing and spinning small batches of yarn and vending at Bellingham's farmers’ market. Demand soon outpaced their ability to spin fast enough, and they wanted to find a way to pick up the pace. In other words, the industrial revolution started to sound like a good idea. Because both Kate and Rachel's first love was spinning, followed by knitting, they wanted to bring the look and feel of their variegated, kettle dyed yarns to the larger knitting world. In 2012, a cottage mill opened its doors just south of their Bellingham studio and dye house, and Spincycle proposed a collaboration. But there was no how-to manual for creating a millspun yarn that would maintain the look of handspun. After quite a bit of trial and error, Dyed In The Wool was born. And once such a unique yarn became widely available, designers took notice.
It's been a whirlwind ever since.
In the summer of 2017, to keep pace with demand for Dyed In The Wool, they bought that cottage mill, and moved into a warehouse that accommodated the mill, dye house and offices under one roof. And they hired their first employees!
In 2022, still growing, adding more yarn lines, developing new colorways, and watching the wave of new "pandemic knitters" coalesce into a real community of skilled knitters, Kate and Rachel decided to open their flagship store in downtown Bellingham.
By 2023, the team has grown to more than twenty hardworking folks. Everything you see, from the dyeing, spinning, packing and shipping, to the gorgeous design, media, and marketing, is done in-house. We are now in the planning phase of renovating a vacant building in our downtown, to house our mill, offices and retail shop, including a switch to full solar power for all milling equipment and the installation of a powerful HVAC and climate control system, for the very best possible clean and particle-free air.
Spincycle Yarns provides a living wage, health insurance, 401(k) plan, profit sharing, and paid vacation. We are proud of our diverse staff and our predominantly female management and leadership team. We work hard to be a come-as-you-are workplace that respects and celebrates all identities. Read even more about our company values here.
Our wool is grown, processed, dyed & spun in the USA. The superwashed wool blend we use in Dyed In The Wool, Dream State, and Plump consists of Rambouillet, Targhee & Merino breeds, raised primarily in South Dakota and Wyoming. The non-superwashed wool used in Trine and Metamorphic yarns is a blend of Corriedale, Rambouillet, & Columbia sheep raised in Colorado & Wyoming. The sheep that supply us with our wool are 100% non-mulesed.