Green Options

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Nestled in the peaceful beach bordering countryside of southern Maine, you’ll find one of the most sustainable yarn companies on the planet. Unexpected, no?

Hope Spinnery has prided itself on being as eco-friendly as possible: the fiber processing mill is run completely on wind power captured on-site; all fibers are purchased locally from sustainably-dedicated Maine farms; only Earth-friendly soaps and natural dyes are used on the yarns; by-products from the spinning process are reused elsewhere at the mini-factory.

The company’s yarn, made from mostly wool and alpaca, are available by skein and in 6 different patterns kits (5 hats and 1 mitten pattern to choose from). Hope Spinnery recently launched their online store, so you can see the stock they have right away and choose the color and fiber that would be perfect for your next project.

Often the second banana to the world of knitting, crochet is steadily gaining more followers thanks to just how easy it is to pick up the hobby. Instead of using two needles, all you need is a ball of yarn and a crochet hook to create everything from toys and toaster covers to sweaters and stylish accessories.

For the first book on our Top 5 Must-Have DIY Crochet Tomes list, most knitters will recognize Debbie Stoller as the editor-in-chief of Bust Magazine and the writer of all three Stitch ‘N Bitch books. Crafters were both surprised and delighted when she released Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker in 2006.

Similar to her first Stitch ‘N Bitch book about knitting, The Happy Hooker is an introduction to the history and process of crochet as well as a kick-ass pattern book. Whether you are an experienced knitter or new to fiber crafts all together, The Happy Hooker is the perfect first crochet book for everyone.

Crochet shares some similarities with knitting. One major likeness is that the more you know, the more likely you are to make a mistake. No crocheters’ bookshelf would be complete without The Crochet Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You’ll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You’ll Ever Ask by Edie Eckman.

With line illustration, charts, details on tools, specific techniques, standard crochet abbreviations, common crochet terms and phrases, standard body measurements and sizing, suggested sizes for accessories and household items, and yarn care symbols; this is the only book you will need when your loops and hooks don’t look right.

Answers to detailed questions about all aspects of crochet is the feature element of the book, with chapters on gauge, circles, edges, and finishing. Thanks to Edie’s support, you will feel more confident to progress into more detailed crochet patterns and projects.

Internationally known for their knitting books, seasonal pattern magazines and luxurious wool yarns, England’s Rowan Yarns has finally ventured into the world of sustainable fibers. Available in DK/light worsted weight, Rowan’s 100% organic cotton PureLife yarn is already winning over crafters.

“Our organically grown naturally dyed yarn is colored with plant dyes and due to their organic nature some shade variation will simply add to the yarn’s unique inherent beauty,” says the Rowan website.

Along with the release of the eight-shade color palate, Rowan has released a pattern brochure with 18 designs just for their PureLife yarn (10 for women, 4 for men, 4 for girls).

Organic yarns have been the majority of the fibers featured in our Yearn-Worthy Yarns series thus far. For this week’s installment, we are covering another vital element of green living and sustainable production - fair trade.

Wikipedia explains fair trade quite clearly as “an organized social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement promotes the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production.” Based in Oneonta, New York, the Da’vida Fair Trade Store sells its own line of hand painted and hand spun yarns made from alpaca, wool and yak fibers.

Painted by Lisa Meriam, a sheep farmer who lives in upstate New York, Da’vida’s collection of yarns come uncolored from Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru.

It’s not often that I write about a specific yarn instead of a whole company’s collective offerings. Rare as it is, I couldn’t resist when it comes to Knit One, Crochet Too’s 2nd Time Cotton yarn.

I first heard about 2nd Time Cotton in Knit 1 Magazine’s first green issue (Summer 2007), which features the yarn in a few of its different projects. Though KOCT has a few other sudo-sustainable yarns (Wick is made with 53% soy and BabyBoo with 45% bamboo), their 2nd Time Cotton is inherently “green” because of its recycled nature.

How is it recycled? Second Time Cotton is made from cotton fibers that are textile factory scraps and leftovers from their usual operations here in the United States.

In the picture to the left, you’ll see their solid-color 2nd Time Cotton in Artichoke. Helene from Knit One, Crochet Too was nice enough to send me a hank of this swank fiber. Available in 12 solid and 11 striped colorways, 2nd Time Cotton does contain 25% acrylic, which is “added for fiber stability.”

OK, so it is not 100% eco-friendly, but hey, you have to start somewhere … right?

Normally we buy yarn in order to make sweaters. Did you know you can also do it the other way around?

Ashley Martineau started knitting and quickly found that it can become an expensive hobby. To feed her addiction, she started unraveling sweaters from thrift stores and reusing the yarn. When she perfected her technique, she was generous enough to share her knowledge with other crafters.

Ashley’s Recycled Yarn Tutorial has everything you need to know as you’re eyeing the sweater racks at your local resale shop. This step-by-step guide with lots of helpful photographs shows how to figure out which sweaters will produce lovely yarn instead of shrimpy bits, then disassemble the sweater for unraveling and harvest that yarn.

Pop corn, corn on the cob, creamed corn, corn chips, corn flakes … and yarn?

Admittedly, when I think of the hearty, diverse vegetable we know as corn (maize to the Native Americans who received the seeds from tribes in what is now Mexico), I don’t usually think of making sweaters and purses.

Alabama-based Kollage Yarns is looking to change that food-focused perception with not one, but two 100% corn yarns.

The first of their two corn-based yarns is called Corntastic (my kinda word!)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Michigan based Mango Moon Yarns takes the last two steps of that now infamous eco-mantra to another level. Working with the Nepali Women’s Empowerment Group, Mango Moon creates unspeakably vivid yarns made from recycled fibers.

The N-WEG, an NGO organization, welcomes abused women to their shelter, where they harness their native knitting and spinning skills to “rebuild their lives, while continuing to care for their children. Proceeds provide a safe shelter, health care, education and the dignity of financial independence.”

Woven from the yarn of old saris and sarongs, Mango Moon yarns comes in an infinite concoction of colorways.

Cuddly sweaters, warm throw blankets, chic slippers - these all can be knitted or crocheted from one fantastic fiber: sheep’s wool. Founded in January 2000, Vermont Organic Fiber Company is the world’s leading wholesale supplier of yarns and fabrics made with certified organic wool. Thankfully, you no longer have to be a business to get a hold of their superior goods - just this past year, VOFC branched out into the retail hand-knitting yarn world.

You might remember me mentioning Vermont Organic’s yarn in the Yearn-Worthy Yarns: Blue Sky Alpacas post. The particular yarn I used for the scarf was their O-Wool Balance yarn (shown at left), which is made from 50% organic wool and 50% organic cotton. The mildly marbled look is beautifully earthy and features a very low itch factor.

In addition to the O-Wool Balance yarn, which now comes in 18 unspeakably exquisite colors, Vermont Organic Fiber Co has two yarns made from 100% organic wool, which is certified organic in both the USA and Europe.

Knitting and crocheting have experienced a renewed popularity as a new generation of crafters embrace their needles and yarn. As a knitter myself, I love heading to my local yarn store (LYS) to check out the beautiful multicolored skeins.

There's nothing better than a warm fuzzy handmade scarf wrapped around your neck. But how does knitting affect the environment in a positive manner? Yesterday we talked about slowing down and how it can connect you to the earth (and where things come from) a bit more. But that's not the only way that knitting is green.

By doing it yourself, you can control the quality of the ingredients that go into that

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