Knitting and Crochet: Finding (and making!) Eco-Friendly Yarn

Knitting Crochet Sustainable Yarn

Do you love knitting or crochet? You can make or buy beautiful yarns that are also good for the planet!

If you’re a fiber artist, it could be difficult to track down yarns that are in line with your green crafty ideals. So much of the yarn on store shelves is synthetic (aka: made from petroleum) or made from dirty conventional cotton. You might feel like there are no good options out there for your knitting or crochet projects.

Despair no more! You can make your own recylced yarns, and there are lots of more sustainable yarn options for sale out there, too. I’ve rounded up a few different yarns that you can make or buy.

Knitting and Crochet: Yarns You can Make

  • Newspaper Yarn – Spin yesterday’s news into a spool of usable yarn!
  • Plarn – Transform reclaimed plastic grocery bags into yarn for your knitting or crochet projects.
  • T-Shirt Yarn – Check out the video below on how to make your own sustainable yarn from an old t-shirt:

Of course, we don’t all have time to make yarn and then get onto our next craft project. If you’d rather buy your skeins of green yarn, read on!

Knitting and Crochet: Let’s shop sustainable yarn!

The yarns I’m listing below are ones that you can find online, so you can add more sustainable options to your knitting or crochet products no matter where you live!

Organic Cotton Yarns

  • Lion Brand Nature’s ChoiceThis yarn comes in an array of colors, and since Lion is such a huge brand, you may even be able to find this at your local yarn store.
  • Blue Sky Organic Cotton Yarn – This company is called Blue Sky Alpaca, but this variety of their yarn says that it’s made with 100% organic cotton. There are lots of colors to choose from!

Recycled Cotton Yarns

  • Red Heart Eco-Ways – Recycled conventional cotton yarn keeps organic waste out of the landfill, so your knitting or crochet project is doing double eco-duty!

Bamboo Yarn

There is a question about how sustainable bamboo really is. Read this, and decide if bamboo fits into your definition of sustainability.

Animal-Based Yarns

Disclosure: I am a vegan crafter, so my definition of sustainable yarn includes fibers that don’t exploit animals in any way. There are organic wool and organic silk yarns. I’m including a couple of options here, because I know that not all fiber artists eschew animal products, and organic products are at least better for animals than conventional ones.

I’d love to hear from the fiber artists out there! When you’re getting ready to get knitting or crocheting, what sustainable yarns do you like to use?

Image Credit: Yarn Globe photo via Shutterstock

2 thoughts on “Knitting and Crochet: Finding (and making!) Eco-Friendly Yarn”

  1. Pingback: Fall Fashion: Handmade Hats for Fall | Feelgood Style

  2. Hi! I just wanted to point something out for any other readers like myself and Ms. Striepe who are vegan crafters. The link for “Think Bamboo” now leads to a listing for a yarn by BambooMN. That yarn is a combination of rayon from bamboo, wool, and “a touch of nylon,” according to the item description. So, it is NOT vegan yarn. In fact, with nylon in it, it’s really not sustainable, either. I thought a heads-up might help in case you’re like me and not always diligent about reading the details 😉
    Namasté

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