When I became a knitter a couple of years ago, I was very excited to share my lumpy, mishapen projects with all and sundry. Unfortunately, some of my early knit-speriments scared off most of my friends and now I mainly knit for my family, who cannot get away. The thing about my family is that they're all allergic to wool and all other animal fibre. Sheep, alpaca, goat, rabbit - they get hives. Because I'm not a millionaire, I cannot knit all off their things with silk, but I do like to knit with natural fibre. I resigned myself to a life of knitting exclusively with cotton.
You can imagine my delight when I discovered that I was so, so wrong; there's a whole world of vegetable fibre yarn out there, in a wide variety of colours, weights and sheens! I've reviewed a few of them below.
Bamboo Yarn
I loves me some bamboo. The pure bamboo yarn I used (from Be Sweet) was cool, soft and silky and had a beautiful drape. It has a natural sheen to it that looks like mercerized cotton. It's apparently naturally anti-bacterial as well, and is produced using environmentally friendly processes. Also - vegan friendly! The only issue I had with it was that it was a little "splitty" and I had to really pay attention if I was knitting with my sharper edged needles. I've heard that it swells quite a bit in water as well (I knit a scarf with it and didn't need to block it), so probably best not to knit anything with it that needs to be washed regularly (like socks).
Corn Yarn
I was really excited to try this Cornucopia (haha) corn yarn from Kollage. This particular yarn comes in a ribbon-like tube and is very nice and light - perfect for little summer doodads, like tanks tops or jackets for kids. I usually don't like the feel of ribbon yarn once it's knit up, but the Cornucopia was an exception to this rule - it was quite soft and had excellent stitch definition. Also, it says it's machine washable, but I didn't believe it until I tried it myself. I washed it in cold on a short cycle and was pleased to note that it didn't shrink, felt, or lose its luminous colour. Huzzah!
Hemp Yarn
My brother's an activist and a tree hugger, so I always get him something made out of hemp for Christmas or birthdays. It's lightweight, extremely strong and hearty and a renewable resource to boot! Hemp yarn isn't really new, but I was still excited to find it at my local yarn store. Most of the yarn I found comes in very "earthy" colours - oatmeal, light brown, dark brown. But I did find some brilliant blue and red as well.
I find the hemp yarn just a bit rough - maybe it was just the brand? (I've lost the ball band and can't remember the name) - and also a bit splitty. I ended up knitting it on bigger needles, to give it a nicer drape, as it's not particularly flexible. But it IS matte, which my manly brother enjoys, and also organic. I feel butch while knitting with it.
Soy Yarn
Like the corn yarn, soy yarn is a tubey-ribbony type yarn - when it's not mixed with other fibres like acrylic or wool. It has a nice sheen to it and is quite light. Because of the size of the ribbons, the soy yarn knit up more quickly than I was expecting - always a bonus! The hollow, airy tubes let a lot of air in, so it's perfect for warm weather wear. I did find that the colour bled a little when I washed it, but the swatch itself didn't seem any paler. It's a teensy bit rougher against the skin than the corn yarn, but not so much that my skin was irritated. I'm not sure what I would knit with it - the ribbon-y yarns can sometimes have a crafty look that aren't everyone's cup of tea - but I'm sure I'll find an artsy friend who'd appreciate a colourful, flamboyant little scarf.
I haven't tried banana yarn, but it's next on my list. If you have any other reinvented yarn suggestions (or comments on the yarns I've discussed above), leave me a note in the comments!
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