Green Options » crochet

Yearn Worthy Yarn: Banana Silk Yarn

Kelly Rand — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:57 +0000

While banana fabric might be hard to find, banana yarn is not. In fact we’ve talked about All Eco Banana Silk, a yarn whose fibers are hand crushed to get the material to spin.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Spiritual Trail Fibers

Kelly Rand — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:30:01 +0000

This week’s Yearn Worthy Yarn comes from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Spiritual Trail Fibers specializes in rare, endangered, and unusual breed spinning fibers.

This spinnery offers many types of fibers, which are all hand spun and then hand dyed or painted in small batches.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Pineapple

Kelly Rand — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:30:03 +0000

We are a bit pineapple obsessed this week here at Crafting a Green World. But when we find out about an interesting plant fiber that can be used as a fabric and a yarn, color us impressed.

I first heard about pineapple yarn via Craftzine, and thanks to their ambitious interns have learned much about this cute little yarn.

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The Growing Coral Craft Project to Save Endangered Sea Coral

Lucille Chi — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:04:18 +0000

Upon window gazing in San Francisco, this immense coral yarn sculpture reminded me of one of the most unique, and unusual TED Talks I’ve ever seen and it’s about coral yarn crochet. In this TED (Technology and Entertainment Design) talk, Margaret Wertheim shares the coral project she started with her twin sister that is all about crocheting the coral reef.

The idea of this yarn filled coral sculpture garden is inspired by endangered sea coral, the ancient art of domestic handicrafts, and the new discoveries in mathematics by Dr. Daina Taimina on the beautiful math of coral.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Ecolana

Kelly Rand — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:00:13 +0000

This week’s pick for an eco-friendly yarn is Ecolana by Aslan Trends. An animal fiber that is soft, warm and get’s me to thinking about the coming fall.

Ecolana is a 60% Alpaca 40% Merino Wool blend yarn that is produced with environmentally friendly production methods.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Green Line

Kelly Rand — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:30:27 +0000

Lorna’s Laces is a small yarn company located in Chicago, IL. They offer a great variety of hand-dyed yarns whose color palettes are carefully and lovingly created. Early in 2008, Lorna’s Laces jumped on the opportunity to expand their line and offer an organic yarn option.

And so the Green Line was born.

The yarn, offered in a DK and Worsted wieght, is spun from 100% organic merino wool and was hand-painted with all natural dyes. The wool is raised and certified as organic on a ranch in Argentina. Then is taken to an organically certified (IMO certification) mill in Europe for combing and carding. Then it goes on to the spinning mill where it’s conventionally processed.

So, it’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction and we thought it was important to start taking those steps as soon as we could.

says Lorna’s Laces.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Ecoyarns (AU)

Kelly Rand — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:30:24 +0000

Here’s a great online store from down under that specializes in organic and eco friendly yarns, fibres and fabrics. Ecoyarns has a solid selection of both animal and plant fibers, perfect for any knitter.

They offer a wide selection of yarns, ranging from organic wool, EcoOrganic Cotton, to a yarn called Black Diamond Fiber.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Garthenor Organic Pure Wool (U.K.)

Kelly Rand — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:07:36 +0000

Been looking for an organic wool yarn warehouse? A one stop shop for all of your woolly yarn needs? Well, Garthenor Organic Pure Wool has got you covered. With over 80 eco-friendly organic yarns to choose from, this site has it all and more.

The fiber for these yarns are from traditional and rare breeds of Organic British sheep. It is eye opening to learn about all the different breeds of sheep and the different fibers that they produce. Just look at the sweet faces on the Bluefaced Leicesters and the Herdwicks!

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Savannah

Kelly Rand — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:30:32 +0000

I’m always a bit reluctant to highlight a yarn blend here on Year Worthy Yarn. Not because blends are necessarily bad but because it is often difficult to figure out which fibers are environmentally friendly. Especially when a yarn contains five or more fibers.

But The Fibre Company’s Savannah yarn caught my eye. This blend contains merino, organic cotton, linen and soya and comes in both DK and Bulky.

Savannah is hand dyed and The Fibre Company is committed to using low-impact dyes and environmentally friendly processes and fibers where ever possible. Savannah also comes in a wide array of colors perfect for many projects.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Ecological Arts

Kelly Rand — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:30:43 +0000

So we’ve all heard of the benefits of the 100 mile diet and have even coined the term locavore, but what about using the same principals and applying them to yarn?

Well, meet Ecological Arts who offers a small amount of handspun, organic and naturally dyed yarns.

Not only are these yarns, handspun, organic and naturally dyed, the fibers are locally sourced as well as the plants used in the dyes.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Fibra Natura, Organic Cotton

Kelly Rand — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:15:24 +0000

Fibra Natura yarns come in a variety of interesting materials, but what got my attention was their 100% certified organic cotton yarns.

Both Links and Cottonwood claim very high industry standards for organic certification and sustainability. Using the Global Organic Textile Standard, these yarns have been certified as an EKO Sustainable Textile.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: T-shirts

Kelly Rand — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:40:11 +0000

So you’ve got your Generation-T book and you know how to transform your old tees without using fusibles, but have you made or used t-shirt yarn?

Check out these three Etsy sellers that have some amazing t-shirt yarns. All are cut in one continuous line from old tees and transformed into yarn.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Sirdar Just Soya (U.K.)

Kelly Rand — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:30:40 +0000

Here’s another entry into the eco-friendly yarn field, again from Sirdar. I’ve already covered Sirdar’s Eco Wool, but this yarn is plant based. Just Soya is a lovely little yarn made from 100% soybean fibers.

Generally softer than cotton, Just Soya is another great summer yarn. It is silky, smooth and comes in DK weight. Perhaps a summer shawl or tank would be perfect to whip up in this yarn.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Folktail Fibers

Kelly Rand — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Folktail Fibers is one of those shops that I have simply fallen head over heels for. The skeins are both whimsical but perfectly easy to knit up.

Offering both vegan and animal friendly fibers, Folktail hand spins amazing fiber and color combinations to create lovely yarns.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Darn Good Yarn

Kelly Rand — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:30:32 +0000

With a name like Darn Good Yarn, it’s hard not to like this yarn and their principals. This U.S. based company offers a small variety of yarn but specializes in recycled silk sari.

The yarn is spun from the remnants of the production of silk saris in Nepal. Darn Good Yarn only works with co-ops in Nepal that offer fair trade pricing for the spinning of the yarn.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Hope USA Cotton - Organic DK Natural

Kelly Rand — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:30:44 +0000

The weather has finally started to take a turn towards the hot and muggy here in Washington, D.C. and that means I need to take a hard look at my knitting projects. Because let me tell you, knitting with wool or another heavy fiber when it get’s hot and humid, is not fun.

Thank goodness I’ve recently found Hope USA Cotton Organic. This organic cotton looks sturdy yet breathable, perfect for the season.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Cigarettes

Kelly Rand — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:30:40 +0000

We’re a little slow sometimes around this blog, as news of this yarn and clothing hit the internet in early January, but it is still worth a mention here as a yearn worthy yarn.

Alexandra Guerrero, a Chilean designer discovered that by using found cigarette butts, she could clean them and then spin them with wool to produce a yarn to knit and crochet into clothing.

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Debbie Bliss Eco

Kelly Rand — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:30:25 +0000

Listen up Debbie Bliss fans, this yarn brand now carries a cute little eco yarn - exactly what we’ve all been waiting for.

Debbie Bliss Eco is an organic cotton that is the perfect aran/worsted weight yarn that comes in eighteen bright colors great for the turn of the season. The yarn is dyed using non-toxic dyes and the water is reclaimed and recycled during the dying process.

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Artwork from Trash: Transforming the way we see waste and the disappearing reefs

John Ivanko — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:14:14 +0000

While Ecologic Designs (one of my previous posts) is thriving by making practical products out of various waste streams – demonstrating green innovation and up-cycling – some artists around the world are working with a new medium: trash. These artists are coming together, actively gathering vast quantities of debris floating up on shorelines or collecting waste wherever it might be piling up and turning it into beautiful pieces of art.

On a trip to Santa Monica, California, a friend treated my family and I to an amazing – if not also disturbing and mind-opening – display of crocheted sculptures created from trash. The exhibit, Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reefs by the Institute for Figuring, was displayed in several rooms of the Track 16 Gallery at Bergamot Station. The Institute For Figuring (IFF) is an organization dedicated to the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of science, mathematics and the technical arts.

Created and curated by Christine and Margaret Wertheim, the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit was a stunning display of an ingenious use of waste materials, creativity and community, bringing together various reefs created by artists from around the world. The exhibition also brought attention to the plight of our oceans and the depository for our trash that it’s become, accidental or otherwise. The Crochet Coral Reef Project of the Institute For Figuring is conceived as “a woolly celebration of the intersection of higher geometry and feminine handicraft, and a testimony to the disappearing wonders of the marine world.”

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Yearn Worthy Yarn: Your Hair

Kelly Rand — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:30:38 +0000

So I’m going to put this up there with spinning yarn from your dog’s hair; interesting that it can be done, but not quite yearn worthy (stray strands of hair sometimes really freak me out.)

But using your hair, human hair, as fiber to create clothing can be done, as this woman from Romania has shown us. (Hat tip to CraftStylish for the story.)

Bistrita Nasaud, grew her hair from the age of 16 until it was 40 inches long so she could weave it and created nine items of clothing out of her hair.

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