One of my favorite things about yarn is that it doesn’t expire. If it is kept dry and contained, it can hold up for years. I currently have a beautiful copper tub that my mother-in-law gave me that containes the yarn she was using before she stopped crocheting regularly. This bin, so I am told, also belonged to her mother-in-law before her (my partner’s grandmother) and was used for storing all her yarn. It is now in my living room and my go to stash when I have an idea I want to try out and just need a little something, or when I want to take on a full scrap yarn project.
If I can’t use scrap yarn, I like to uses the most affordable yarn I can find so that anyone could recreate my designs on any budget. To that end, and because Joann’s has been the craft store closest to basically wherever I have ever lived, I tend to use thier Big Twist yarns as well as Red Heart, Caron, and Lion brands. There are some good wholesale online retailers out there but I find that when I get something in my head, I like to be able to get the yarn ASAP, so Joann’s has been my main go to.
Other yarn considerations inclued fiber content, company ethics, wash and dryability, as well as any potential allergy consederations.
Being vegan, it is important to me that I use non-animal based fibers for the most part. This leads to a lot of acryllic as some of the other options for non-animal based fibers can get pretty pricey. If there is any animal basesd fibers, I check to make sure they were etichally sourced and that the company who produces them cares properly for the animals the materials were taken from.
It can be tough to know where certian companies stand on issues that are important to me but I think doing the digging is worth it to make sure I am supporting companies whose values align with my own. Some of my top considerations are an anti-racist stance and environmental consciousness. These are values I strive to live up to in my personal life and ones I hope companies I support hope to live up to as well.
The last couple of considerations are basically based on being as mindful as I can of the ease of use and comfort of those who might make my patterns as well as any use for charatible causes. I personally appreciate being able to macine wash and dry my corchet items as this keeps my hassle level down to a minimum so dend to use materials that can be washed and dried. While I do not have any particular allergies, otehr people do, so I hope to used things that are accomodating in this regard.
When planning a project, I first think of re-using yarn that otehrs have given up on as this feels like the most sustainable thing to do. Reuse and upcycling are aligned with my lifestyle and help me to reduce my own personal carbon footprint. Using low cost yarns is my next choice as I want to be a crocheter that is accessable to anyone. Though, my hook choices are very different, more in another post I think 🙂 Finally, it is important to me that if I am buying yarn I am supporting companites who are ethical in how they treat thier people and animal sources, environmentally responsible and working towards the creation of an anti-racist culture.
This is my yarn philosophy. I don’t always get it right, though I try my best to do so. And if I learn better, I do my best to do better.
the Jasmine Knot 