It’s not often that you come across a different type of fiber found in your yarn. There are only so many animal (alpaca, bison, musk ox, etc.) and plant (linen, cotton, etc.) based yarns. So I was pleasantly surprised when I happened upon tencel.

Tencel is made from wood pulp that is spun down to make the fiber. The process boasts environmental claims as the pulp that is harvested comes from tree farms that are continuously replanted and the spinning process uses non-toxic solvents.

Read more of this story »

To become the silk that we know and love, this fiber has a very interesting story.

Silk comes from the cocoon of the Bombyx moth. Before turning into a moth the Bombyx caterpillar spins itself a cocoon of 1000 yards of silky fiber to house itself during the transformation. The caterpillar secretes a substance that is a thin but strong strand of fiber, which is what we know as silk.

Read more of this story »

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.

Read more of this story »

I happened upon Bijou Basin Ranch at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and couldn’t believe my eyes. Here was yarn made from yak fiber!

Yak fiber is combed from the yak once spring rolls around and they start to shed their warm winter coats. The fiber is downy and super soft and a yak can produce between 1 and 2 pounds of down per year. The fiber is then cleaned, washed and carded so it is ready for the spinning wheel. The result is very similar to that of qiviut, in that it is soft like cashmere and warm like wool.

Read more of this story »

With closer examination, they see a tiny woman with a Betty Page haircut manhandling what looks like a large fluff of purple cotton candy. She tears a chunk off and lets the kids pass it around. ” This is what sweaters are made of…most of the time!”, proclaims the woman as she twirls a small drop spindle and continues to draft the fibers into yarn.

Read more of this story »