A while ago, I posted a couple of articles touting the virtues of using yarn for fly tying: Simple Yarn Tenkara Flies and the Shetland Killer. They both use Shetland Spindrift yarn which has become one of my favorite materials to tie with. It’s fast, buggy, durable, and relatively inexpensive. In those articles, I posted links to sources for the yarn. The only problem was that you have to buy hanks that would last several lifetimes. Tyers who are interested in trying this material probably don’t need a mile of it to experiment with and many people just want smaller lengths. Enter FlyTyingYarn.com.
They offer 15 ft. cards in a myriad of colors and you can buy several colors for the price of one hank from a sewing shop. And believe me, 15 ft. will go a long way! Buying hanks might make sense if you’re a commercial tyer or want to snip off some samples to give to friends at Christmas, but if you’re just dipping your feet into the pool of this great material, the smaller cards are the best alternative. You can even get some free yarn here.
The owner, Tristan, is a stellar guy and posts great tenkara videos on his Youtube channel.
I could be reincarnated a dozen times and probably not go through my stockpile of Shetland Spindrift yarn, but Tristan sent me a selection of colors I didn’t have yet (which see). So, I guess I have my work cut out for me! Time to hit the vise.
Thanks Jason, thanks for the shout-out! I’ve been reading your site since I first discovered tenkara, so having you share our little store feels great. We appreciate it.
Jason, been watching Tristan not only fishing, but also his suv camping channel. Always entertaining, and resourceful content on his journey through the tenkara world.