Vegan yarn and craft options- Happy World Vegan Day
We often get asked in store what is vegan yarn and which of our yarns are vegan? Many yarns are either fully or partially made of animal fibers such as wool or alpaca and therefore not vegan. Yarns that are vegan are made from 100% plant or man made fibers such as cotton, bamboo, linen, and acrylic.
We have quite a number of vegan yarns in store with our largest range those that are 100% cotton.
Rowan produces great 100% cotton yarns, such as Summerlite 4ply and Summerlite DK (8ply) and Cotton Glace 6ply.
Both weights of Summerlite are made of incredibly soft Egyptian Cotton and plied with many strands which provides good stitch definition and lends itself to any textured project, including cables and lace. (More on single ply vs multi ply yarn to come on the blog soon and how confusing that can be when in Australia we call weights of yarns plys!) The colours of Summerlite vary between the 4ply and 8ply but each have a good range of beautiful matte shades that are suited to knitting or crocheting both garments or home accessories.
Rowan has a few great pattern books written specifically for Summerlite. Martin Story has written one for each of the 4ply and 8ply filled with beautiful women’s garments and there is a brand new book, Summerlite Horizons that features both knitting and crochet patterns across both plys from Martin Storey, Lisa Richardson, Arne & Carlos, and Georgia Farrell. If you’re looking to use Summerlite for children’s garments there is another new book called Modern Mini Knits which features a few patterns using Summerlite DK that are just adorable.
Even better for children’s garments however is Cotton Glace which is machine washable. Cotton Glace is a mercerized cotton in both beautiful strong jewel tones and lovely neutrals. Because it is mercerized it has a lovely shine to it and holds a deeper colour than cottons that haven't been mercerized. It also very strong, with a high twist and is perfect for projects where stitch definition is important.
In addition to the cotton yarns from Rowan, Rosarios produces a couple other vegan friendly yarn options. We sell Caricia, an 8ply, and Bambino, a 10ply both with 85% acrylic and 15% polyamide. These are sturdy machine washable yarns often chosen for baby blankets and garments because they are hypoallergenic and less likely to irritate skin.
Rosarios also produces Cork Yarn, which is made up of a mixture of natural cork, cotton, and polyester and really fun for something different. It is a tape like yarn and can be used for making bags, baskets, or even garments. Rosarios has a free pattern on their website for a dress made from it!
In addition to vegan yarns, we also have other crafts that are vegan friendly such as cross stitch using DMC Stranded Cotton or doing a tapestry with DMC Soft Cotton instead of the traditional tapestry wool. If you’re stuck on ideas of what you can create at the moment that is vegan, the possibilities are endless. Let us know what your favourite natural or man made fiber to create with is in the comments below!
Happy crafting,
Amy