Pretty Palette:
More and more knitters and yarn producers alike these days are taking the environment into consideration when they produce their yarns. One of my favorite environmentally conscious yarn designers is Jenn Wisbeck of Washington's Midnightsky Fibers.
She's a maker of environmentally friendly, naturally dyed and hand spun yarns, many of which are also friendly to vegans. While vegans don't knit with wool, her Rockfish yarn is surely a beauty for eco-knitters who do work with animal fibers.
Specifications:
- Content: 100 percent wool
- Yarn weight: Light
- Gauge: I got 20 stitches and 28 rows per 4 inches on size 6 US needles
- Yardage: 200 yards per skein
Note: because Midnightsky Fibers runs very small batches, this exact yarn is not always available. Check their website for current availability.
Knitting:
This yarn is a beauty. I love the subtle color changes in this hand dyed yarn that brought almost a stripey quality to my swatch.
The delicate little stitches were perfectly uniform, and I had very little splitting when working with the yarn on aluminum needles.
There's a slight variation in thickness within the yarn as you work with it, but it mostly runs on the thin side and after blocking the stitches look perfectly smooth.
Given the color I was working with, I was a little surprised that none of the dye came off, either while knitting or in the wash. That's certainly a good surprise.
Uses for Midnightsky Fibers Rockfish:
This yarn could be used for all sorts of purposes you might normally use a lightweight wool for, from cute wraps and shawls to a light sweater. Sensitive people might find the yarn slightly scratchy, but it didn't bother me either working with it or rubbing it on my skin.
I would love to see a baby sweater in this yarn, or it would be great for a lacy little scarf.
Bottom Line:
It's great that we have the opportunity these days to know more about where our yarn comes from and how it is produced. If you like the idea of a more ecological fiber that's also beautiful and easy to work with, consider Jenn's products.
