Yarn, yarn, yarn.

I love yarn! The feel, the look and the general squishiness. Until a few years ago I didn’t realise there was much difference between them all…how wrong I was!

Probably, like most, I started my crochet journey using acrylic yarn, cheap, cheerful, comes in a plethora of colours and feels good. However, I started to notice that a lot of them don’t wear well. Starting to bobble and attract all manner of fluffs!

I read a blog post by @lovealyuk about the environmental impact of acrylic yarn. I teach Life Cycle Assessments to GCSE students every year but have never really thought to apply it to products I buy. The post did make me think. So I started digging into the LCA’s of various yarns, I got lost for days!! So many articles, PhD theses and educational resources. In a nutshell all yarn has good and bad points (as do probably most things we use in life) from the amount of water used to grow crops, to the micro plastics released when washing. It has made me think more closely when choosing yarn and has also stopped me buying yarn on a whim! But I also wanted to find ‘better’ yarns I could use. My research began…

I used 100% wool for the first time during lockdown (how it has taken me so long to do so is a mystery!) I was really unimpressed, it was scratchy, did not glide on my hook easily and did not shape as well as I’d hoped. The project is not finished as I can’t bring myself to fight with it!! I’m sure it will get done, just not this year.

However I have now used various types from hand dyed merino to Toft’s glorious colours and am happy to say that despite an impressive price difference I would happily use them in any of my projects. The ones I have used have been a pleasure to work with and the finished product not only looks lovely but feel high quality.

So, I moved onto cotton. The first time I crocheted with cotton I had a nightmare!! It kept splitting, possibly because I was new to crochet and my twisting of the hook was not as honed as it is now. That experience did put me off using cotton until I completed a mandala using Wool & The Gang cotton. It was really lovely so work with, super soft and produced a beautiful piece that is now hanging in our living room. The cotton was a gift off my mum so I have no idea how much it was and I’ve still not checked!

I then discovered scheepjes catona, which comes in a multitude of colours (109 at last count) the stitch definition is amazing and it is a lot more flexible than cottons I have used previously. The same can be said for the ricorumi cotton, they too are a delight to work with and look beautiful up on my wall.

I currently have a WIP using recycled Raffia, a bit of a workout on the old biceps and fingers!! I may need to go up a hook size. I found it it the bargain bin in Aldi and had to have a go. If I don’t get into it, I’ll use the raffia to jazz up Christmas wrapping.

I’ve not tried bamboo and am desperate to make something with alpaca yarn but they will have to wait. My research is far from over. I will continue to try various yarns, probably for the rest of my life. I will try to not buy acrylic in future as we’re trying to use less plastic. I’m also going to be a bit less gung-ho in my yarn purchases and ‘try’ to only buy stuff I am actually going to use, although if you looked at my stash you’d say I wouldn’t need to buy any for years to come!!

It has made me think though, since we’re trying to be a bit more environmentally friendly then my hobby should also reflect this. If it costs me a bit more then so be it. Sustainability is the way forward, making something that lasts for years is the main aim!