Yearn Worthy Yarn: Crafty
I think I have an obsession for bulky yarns. Especially yarn that is hand spun and hand dyed with fantastic color ways. I find myself lusting over the most heavy and super bulky yarns in the hottest dog days of summer; a time when I’m supposed to be knitting and thinking only about lightweight yarns and projects so I won’t sweat to death. But when I came across Crafty Yarn, the shop just fed my obsession and I needed to learn more.
Most of Crafty Yarn’s bulky weight yarns are hand spun recycled yarn made from mill ends and scrap fiber. The other available skeins are made from reclaimed sweaters that have been frogged for their yarn. An avid knitter and recycler, Molly Bachelor, owner of Crafty Yarn, was interested in material reuse and doing something that was about the hand made process. She had always loved fiber and working with it so she learned how to spin and started to sell her recycled yarn a little over a year a go.
Finding good quality sweaters is key for Bachelor. Sourcing much of her material from large clearance centers and thrift stores, she is mostly drawn to natural fibers; especially wool. If a synthetic fiber is of particular interest she will buy it and “if it’s cashmere, I’ll grab it,” she said. She searches for fiber by sorting by type then looks to the sweater’s construction since she deconstructs it for reuse. She ends up with only about 5 to 10 percent of what she originally picks out.
