On Animal Fibers

I'm still agonizing over buying animal fibers. Like almost everything I do, I'm bad at being a Vegan. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good at the food part, it's the soap, shampoo, lotion, vitamins part that I sometimes slide on ('cause when you need shampoo on a Sunday morning and the health food store is closed...well, you get it.)

And so it is with yarn.

It's just a sad fact that any time something is produced on a large scale, someone has to pay. There is a lot of cruelty in mainstream yarn production and I just don't want to be a part of it.

On the other hand, there is some gorgeous stuff out there and I am weak. Can you say Kauni? How 'bout baby alpaca?

It's not just colors and feel. There's magic, too. Watching lace emerge from blocking is just breathtaking. Can that sort of magic happen with a non-animal fiber? Let's not forget about socks, either. I will admit that my sock knitting experience is far from extensive, but some of my best socks are made with wool yarn. I've tried the Panda Cotton and I just don't like it that much. Luckily, Kala just posted about vegan sock yarn so I've got a few more to try before I completely throw in the towel on sock yarn. (Note: During the time I was writing/tweaking this post Kala also posted about sweater yarn. I swear the woman is reading my mind.)

Emily also mentioned Sarah's Yarns and Jade Sapphire as two companies that are aware of animal cruelty and they might be options for me. (Double points to Sarah's Yarns since it also appears to be shomer shabbos, which I am not, but somehow I feel the need to support folks who are.)

About the only thing I can say for sure right now is that I as really proud of myself for going a year without buying yarn. Now I want to be able so say I'm a cruelty-free knitter. (Next step: Cruelty-free and Eco-friendly.)

You may ignore the next little bit as it is more a note-to-self sort of thing. Must.make.list.

Cruelty-Free Yarns (Tested and approved)
Cotton Ease
TLC Cotton Plus
Caron Simply Soft

Cruelty-Free Yarns to Try
Berroc Comfort (including sockweight)
Tatamy Tweed
KnitPicks Comfy
KnitPicks Shine
Panda Soy
Cascade Fixation
Sock Candy
Caron Spa