Eco-Friendly Tools and Yarn

I have lots of supplies over the years. I got a lot of supplies from my Mom’s old stash of things she no longer uses plus she found a big lot of knitting supplies she got from a yard sale for me. I even bought some things if my own to try and I have one or two things from almost every brand. It’s been about seven years now of knitting and I found out what I like. Since I knit mostly for the sake of comfort and stress, wood and bamboo are the best for me because they are lightweight and have a nice sound when you click or use them. They are never too cold to handle during the winter and I never have trouble with them being too slippery. I prefer the straight needles because I have less tangling and less scooting of my stitches. I just use patterns that suit knitting in pieces or use double points. There is no plastic in them. It is a plastic-free tool that I can compost If I want to. I have turned one of my knitting needles into a cable needle and some of my needles became double points with the help of a hand held pencil sharpener and an emory board. I try and use only wood and bamboo needles. Use what you have is also a good idea. I have some vintage needles that I use in Nylon and Aluminum. I have a few in steel which seem heavy compared to my bamboo or wood ones so I don’t use them that often. But using what you have is also eco-friendly because you are not throwing them away in a landfill. It is also best to use bamboo and wood because they are less toxic than aluminum or plastic. Getting them from a supplier in your country or state is also good because they traveled less on a plane or a ship and involve less plastic and packaging. I am also looking for Made in the USA. Some products are made in a very eco-friendly way in India and Japan. I have vintage items that were made in Mexico and England but were purchased in the USA. There are different ways to be more sustainable but for me I feel best about using bamboo and wood single point or double needles. As far as brands go, Brittany Birch needles are made in California and I am in California. I also think the Clover ones have been very strong when I knit something heavy. I like blunt tips so that I don’t hurt my fingers. Sometimes I sand them down and make them smooth with a nail buffing kit. My KnitPicks wood crochet hook in size 7 (4.5 mm) is in my kit and it’s still smooth and works well. I hope to try onr of their knitting needles.

If you are a beginner and don’t want too many needles use 100% cotton yarn and size 7 or size 8, 9 or 10” length single point bamboo needles and practice making squares about 7 or 8” in length. You can unravel cotton and try again many times with different stitches without it having lint pilling on the surface. If i could go back in time, I would make useful washcloths instead of a long scarf when learning to knit. Get a steel darning needle to weave in ends. Any scissors will do to cut the yarn that you already have but if you don’t have any, try some all metal ones that you can buy locally or online in your country or state. I love eBay because most of the shop owners are small business people and there is a feature to find out how close the seller is to you so the product will travel less. For the cases and project bags, use shopping bags or pencil cases or cosmetic pouches that you never use. Usually eBay pressures the seller to offer their items at a discount to sell it faster but if you compare prices online, they are already low and I am not going to squeeze people for a discount if they want to make money in this bad economy. People like to earn extra cash by sewing up bags if you want to support other makers.

Find the yarn before buying the needles. My first project was a hat using chopsticks in cotton. It didn’t look good. Lol! Just thinking about it makes me laugh.

Well, most people use acrylic to learn on but it’s not very eco-friendly. I won’t buy acrylic anymore but I’m very tempted. Use it if you have it already. If someone gives it to you out of kindness or you have some from your Grandma’s stash, use it. Premiere Yarns makes a nice cotton yarn that is sold in a lot of places but it has 15% Polyester. They say it is for keeping the color of the dye. I still won’t use it anymore. The ideal is 100% organic undyed or natural hand dyed cotton or wool made in your country but if you can’t, then you can’t. Do your best. Try and find eco-friendly or sustainable yarns. Undyed or natural dye colors in cotton or wool. But like I said, do your best as far as sourcing and staying within your budget.

I almost forgot about recycled yarn and materials. That’s another category. You might want to research that as well!

https://youtu.be/v2KPg0PR8LA?si=ygkPt8YymLmpH5S9