New in: Beara by Hey Mama Wolf

The latest yarn from Hey Mama Wolf has just landed in the shop and it is everything I hoped it would be!

Beara is 70% Irish wool and 30% UK alpaca, spun by the famous Donegal Yarns in Ireland, a company long associated with high-quality tweed yarns. The solid shades are beautifully flecked with tweedy neps, and these are paired together for the marled shades. Interesting, characterful, versatile, and woolly – all in a stunning palette of eight solids and four marls.

The Story Behind Beara

Every yarn has a story, and Beara’s begins with Jule, the founder of Hey Mama Wolf Yarns. Here’s how she describes the inspiration and care behind its creation:

"At Hey Mama Wolf, I’m always on the lookout for unique, European-made yarns with short, transparent production chains.
I started the brand to give new life to local wool that was too often wasted... or worse, burned.

BEARA is the yarn I’ve always dreamed of:

• Authentic Irish tweed wool spun by Donegal Yarns, a heritage mill committed to supporting Ireland’s last shepherds
• Blended with 30% British alpaca for extra softness and a delicate halo
• Exclusive colourways co-developed with Nora, the colour magician at Donegal Yarns
• Fresh, luminous shades inspired by the Irish landscape – far from traditional tweeds
• 8 solid colours + 4 unique moulinés, designed to mix & match endlessly
• Irish Gaelic names, a tribute to Ireland’s flora and land

The yarn is named after Cailleach Béara, the mythical goddess of winter – the perfect guardian for this warm, inspiring DK yarn.

I hope you’ll love BEARA as much as I do. Knitting with it means supporting precious craft, committed shepherds, and truly sustainable production."

– Jule

It was fun to photograph each marl alongside the two solids it was created from, showing how the shades interact. I love the idea of using three coordinating shades for a sort of graduated colour-block jumper: the darkest shade for the hem, a marl in the middle, and the palest shade at the top.

Draighean, Trom and Scornlus

Bogland, Lúir and Coll

Mongach, Aiteal and Fen Carr

Franclus, Dair and Fraoch Mór

Swatching Beara

Now let’s have a look at my swatches, because I really think this is a versatile yarn that can work at a variety of gauges.

Remember, we all knit differently and can knit at a different tension, so the gauge I get with a certain needle size might not be the same as you.

The first thing I noticed was that the meterage (212m per 100g) and the gauge (20 stitches x 30 rows over 10cm) didn’t quite match my expectation of the recommended needle size (3.5mm). With many yarns of this weight, I’d expect to reach that gauge on a larger needle, but Beara is woollen spun. It has plenty of bounce, so the smaller needle size doesn’t create a tight, dense, or stiff fabric. Instead, the loft and roundness of the yarn make each stitch feel fuller and springier than a worsted spun fibre, producing a fabric that is light and airy rather than heavy or rigid.

Unusually for me, I was slightly loose on 3.5mm needles, although I loved the fabric it produced at 18 stitches over 10cm – perfect for lighter aran-weight patterns.

On the 4mm needles, I ended up with a gauge of 17 stitches x 27 rows – looser than the suggested gauge, but beautifully light with fantastic drape. This would be ideal for a warm but floaty shawl.

On the 3.5mm needles, I got 18 stitches x 28 rows. Still looser than suggested, but the woollen spun yarn blooms into the gaps beautifully, making a lovely light version of a jumper or cardigan designed for aran-weight yarns. The alpaca content adds extra drape and a soft halo.

Determined to get closer to the suggested gauge, I dropped down to 3mm needles. That swatch came out at 20 stitches but 32 rows – so the stitch count was right, but the row gauge was a little over. I suspect 3.25mm would land me in the sweet spot. Even at 3mm, I was pleasantly surprised that the fabric still had lovely drape – no doubt helped by the alpaca content. This gauge would be perfect for garments and accessories, with a fabric that has lovely body and structure without being stiff.

With all three swatches, the stitch gauge stayed the same before and after washing, but the row gauge tightened up – I ended up with more rows over 10cm post-wash. The yarn noticeably bloomed and softened, and the alpaca added a gentle halo. All three swatches had pleasing drape, even on the smallest needle.

Knitting with Beara

I’ve cast on a plain hat with the rest of my sample skein (pattern to follow when it’s finished). I’m working on the assumption that my gauge will be a little tighter in the round – as it usually is – so I used 3mm needles for the ribbing and switched to 3.5mm for the body. That should put me close to the suggested 20 stitches over 10cm. I like my hats slouchy, so hopefully I’ll finish without having to unravel any of my precious swatches!

This yarn is crisp to work with but never harsh. If you’re after the buttery softness of merino, then Skadi, also by Hey Mama Wolf, is a great option. But if you want a light, woolly, traditional yarn with bounce, warmth, and drape, Beara is fantastic. It has real character, and once I have the hat finished, I can already feel new garment coming on…

Final Thoughts

Beara is a yarn with bounce, drape, and a touch of halo – soft enough to wear next to the skin, but with the lively resilience of a woollen spun. It feels springy and responsive in the hand, blocks beautifully, and works across a range of gauges. With its story, its palette, and its characterful texture, I think this is going to be one of those yarns people return to again and again.

You can find Beara in the shop now – I can’t wait to see what you’ll make with it.