yarn yoga

"Yahaira, you are AMAZING! I can not tell you how much I am just beaming over here! I'm completely thrilled that you've taken such time and diligence to make a tutorial that shows so much vegan love. I never thought I'd try my hand at dyeing, but now I definitely will! I just hope mine comes out half as nice as yours. Your colorway is GORGEOUS!"

That's the most recent post I've put on someone else's blog. Yahaira is the BEST! Over at knit fix, she's created the absolute best tutorial on the web, maybe the only one on the web, for dyeing yarns that are NOT wool.


**Ok, so she demonstrates how to use silk ~ not so vegan friendly, but she does show off some mad bamboo dyeing skills!


May I take advantage of a teachable moment? This is in no way meant to offend or upset anyone. I am by no means the expert on silk and I am in no way perfect. Heck, I bought some Rowan summer tweed yarn a few months ago which is 70% silk and 30% cotton and I'm knitting with it right now! My thought at the time was that it wasn't wool, so it was ok. I've also got an unfinished chinese charm bag made with the recycled silk from tibet. If you look in the archives of this blog, you can see me struggling and trying to figure out how far I wanted to go with my veganism and if silk was something I should eliminate from my life. I'm human! I've ultimately decided that silk is something I can live without and will refrain from purchasing it again. So, if you use silk, I'm still your friend. I'm not judging ya or anything like that. No worries, ok? :)


This is the definition of veganism provided by the British Vegan Society:

"A philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, including humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."

This is the definition my mind goes back to when people ask me what a vegan is. I feel like this definition is the complete and perfect answer to questions like 'What is a vegan? Why are you vegan? A bug just hit your windshield; can you still be vegan?' - type questions.

Ok, back to the silk! Insects may not seem like animals, but they are in the animal kingdom, just like us. People roast/steam/cook/boil the silk worms while they are still in their little cocoons resting and growing up to become moths. The silk producers do this so that the silk strands are not broken when the moth emerges. All you ever wanted to know about silk.

More interesting facts:

Habitat
Today, the silkworm moth lives only in captivity. Silkworms have been domesticated so that they can no longer survive independently in nature, particularly since they have lost the ability to fly. All wild populations are extinct, although presumably old relatives exist in Asia.

One cocoon is made of a single thread about 914 meters long. About 3000 cocoons are needed to make a pound of silk.

To gather silk from cocoons, boil intact cocoons for five minutes in water turning them gently. Remove from the water and using a dissecting needle or similar tool, begin to pick up strands. When you find a single strand that comes off easily, wind the silk onto a pencil. Several of these strands are combined to make a thread.

Are there other options?

You betcha!

If you’ve just gotta have silk, try Tussah silk. One can never be completely sure how the worms are treated before and after the production, but if quitting silk is too unbearable for you tussah may be helpful. It’s described as being: "gathered after the wild silk moth emerges, making this silk organic or "Peace Silk."

We can’t forget the yummy soy silk and bamboo provided by SWTC. Classic elite also makes a bamboo yarn that feels softer than the one from SWTC, but is a bit more pricey. Keep a look out for Tencel yarn as well. It's really soft and light.


I love being VEGAN!