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It takes 200 years for acrylic to biodegrade.

I love this topic! I started knitting socks with the Patons kroy, but boy do they itch when I wear them. I put the Etrofil DK on my list, thanks for the recommendation. What Canadian online store do you suggest? I’m in the US.

Drops is VERY difficult to get in the United States. Wool Warehouse out of the UK is about the easiest way to buy it. If someone knows of a shop in the US that offers Drops, what is it? Yes Drops mails to the US , but I guess I am looking for an American seller.

can u make a video about fav yarn stores in toronto :) been looking for more local shops since the romni on queen is gone!

Such a helpful topic. I love Hobbii Highland Wool, incredibly soft non-superwash and discounted for quantity. Also, Little Knits in Seattle has fabulous sales on my fave BFL and many high-cost yarns drastically reduced.

Lion Brand Fishermen's wool is also fantastic for a natural untreated wool in natural colors. It's more than $10 per skein, but the skeins are twice as big. $14USD for 8 oz. (the tweeds are 6 oz.) 465yd/425m (348yd/318m in tweed).

Stopped watching as you stopped showing the yarn skeins. I don't want to see garments that you've made out of the yarn I want to see the skein of yarn with the label.

Not me watching this while casting on with Berrocco Vintage dk for the first time! Glad to hear it's approved :)

Can you please show the labels. You do say the name of the yarn but you move on quickly and do a close up of the fiber. E.g. grandfathers sweater. 😢

the yarn recommendations are great. i think, however, that the reason that the reason so many companies have these complex supply chains is because it's cheaper.

Berocco vintage dk is a great yarn! Made a summer top with it. If you haven’t tried Drops Baby fine Merino, try it! It is a cut above most merinos because fine merino only uses the wool from the chest of the sheep. And THE BEST place to buy any drops yarn is Linde Hobby! Super low shipping and quick turnaround on orders.

Maritime family fiber carries Briggs and Lityle in the US. I also like Bartlett yarns in the US. The two are both wooly and local, and very reasonably priced. Then there is plotulopi, which is an acquired taste, but great for warm outerwear at a good price.

Me seeing this video pop up in my youtube feed as I’m literally knitting a pair of socks with the patons kroy yarn 👁️👄👁️ haha love this video!!! Budget craft supplies that are high quality like these are my fave ❤ thank you for highlighting these budget brands!

Hi Rachel! I have been looking for any Z Twist yarn for crocheting. Have you come across any? Thanks!

Re: your sewing considerations - you zigzag or serge the edges (predominately knit fabrics or around curves) to keep the edges from fraying or pulling out of shape while you’re doing the other construction work. If you’re very fast or overconfident you may not need to, but it’s generally safer. When you’re ironing the inside of seams, open is technically a weaker way for them to be finished but it’s not THAT different. It normally boils down to if you care more about seeing the allowance from the right side (when the two are different colors or weights so you press to the side that isn’t as obvious) or if it’s bulky (so you press flat to reduce bulk)

Thanks for this guide. I don't want natural fibers because of some sort of fad, I just hate wearing plastic. It doesn't breathe and it stinks.

great video. Thoughtful research. I like your 'midwestern?' practical attitude and presentation. commenting to help you get more youtube visibility. you diserve it.

Briggs and Little is pilly, (remove pills constantly) but I love its rustic feel and dye-ability. I use the singles sport weight a lot. What grinds my gears are 50 gram balls. Companies have moved to these half skeins as a shrinkflation technique. I understand the super lux 25 gram skeins, or even the 50 gram mohair/silk cuz that’s a lot of yardage. But sweater yarns? In 50 gram balls? At $8. If that 100 gram ball was $16, would we buy that seemingly pricey yarn?

Thank you for this video and recommendations. I found this very helpful as a newer knitter. I’d love a video that links these yarns to specific patterns that would work with them bc I’m new to the knitting world 😊

Omg I just made my mom socks for Xmas using the patons kroy you used in the socks you showed 😂

The knitting paige is a fairly new podcast that I’ve started watching

Patons Kroy has great colors but the socks do not wear well at all. In my experience, I’ll use another.

Loved this video. You are very articulate! Subbed!

Thanks for putting this together, great list! I have tried a few of them. Knitpicks Simply Wool is wonderful, I have made 2 garments and have a third on the needles. My other three favourite yarns from Knitpicks (some more budget than others) are, Wool of the Andes, Palette and Alpaca Cloud Lace. I have tried a few other Alpaca Lace yarns and Knitpicks is by far the softest. I have held it with a bunch of other yarns and it always turned out great (especially love it with Sandnes Garn Tynn Line!)

Peer gynt is my absolute fav!! I’m trying to work through some stash before treating myself to sweater quantity as I wear my louvre sweater knitted in it so frequently

Things may not need to be luxury to be wonderful, but I would argue that even a sweater in dollar tree acryllic is luxury if it's handknit. (nobody said luxury has to be comfy, I've heard Louboutin red bottoms are horrendously uncomfy lol)

What's that sweater you're wearing? 😍

Berocco vintage is my go-to for gift knits! Even my wife, who is super sensitive to itch, loves it.

Re: Kroy - be warned that for anyone with sensitivity to wool, it will be extremely itchy. Bums me out because I made the most beautiful pair of lace socks out of Kroy and can't wear them. :(

Love your videos. When you're doing a yarn recommendation. Can you hold them up for a little longer and show the label. Instead of bouncing them around in your hand. Unless there's a reason to do that where you have to pay if it's like a commercial. Oh wow those socks look nice🎉

Thanks for this video! It popped up on my list of suggested videos, and I’m now a subscriber. On my bucket list is to knit or crochet a queen-sized wool or similar animal fibre blanket for each of my grandchildren’s beds. I don’t even know what weight yarn to use but know it must be as economical as possible. If someone reading this has a suggestion for a dk, sport, or worsted weight yarn that is available in Canada I’d love to see it! (I simply can’t afford the brutal exchange on US dollars!) Pattern suggestions also welcome. Thanks!

Yay Canada!

Wow! Very good and interesting podcast...first time here, but you can count me in! I recently bought alpaca/wool from Filatures Lemieux. Very itchy but when you wash it on "delicate cycle" it felts very lightly, softens (but still itchy ) and gets a very nice halo. I decided to try some scandinavian slippers with it and they are gorgeous. Thanks again for your suggestions.

thank you this was so helpful. I used to knit with all hand dyed yarns, however, when the price started creeping up to $40/100 grams I had to find other options to feed the need to knit. This is not to say these hand dyed yarns aren't worth the price for the beauty, feel , individuality of the product, and expenses the yarn dyer has to make even a small profit on their yarn.

I remember wearing Shetland wool jumpers as a kid and tolerating the itch because I adored the jumper in wool rather than acrylic/nylon , which isn’t breathable.

Plastic yarns will be fazed out soon . ❤

Fantastic post. So much useful information.

Brava, girl! This was a great podcast. You are bang on about Patons Kroy. Omg, the socks I made ten years ago are still in my drawer! They won’t die 😂. And Briggs is terrific too. Great show. Thanks

I love berroco vintage and made a ranunculus in chunky it's my favorite winter sweater. I haven't tried to thinner weights but i've used the medium and bulky.

Love Briggs and Little! So many colours, and it is really versatile and affordable.

I'm in the UK and a big fan of West Yorkshire Spinners, especially their Shetland range. It's by no means soft but very durable.

I have used Patans Kroy Yarn, the Coboo Yarn and the Pima cotton and all of those have been great. I do want to try the drops alpaca silk.

I have used the patent Croix Sach Yarn, the Coboo Yarn and the Pima cotton and all of those have been great. I do want to try the drops alpaca silk.

Thanks so much for putting together this list, Rachel. A question about sock yarn (as I plan to knit my first pair in 2025.) The Kroy yarn was $8 per ball, but unlike most admittedly higher priced sock yarns that have 400+ yards per skein, Kroy has 166 yards. Bathe time you buy 3 or 4 balls in order to have enough for a pair of socks, you're up to $25. I guess I'm not seeing the savings at this low yardage....

A great list. I also love the DROPS brushed alpaca. I also like Knit Picks Palette and High Desert (sport). Both are very affordable and the Palette comes in dozens of colors. I'm sorry KP discontinued their Upcycle Alpaca Blend because I loved it.

Hi Rachel , I'm from TO and knit and live near Munich . Want to visit the Mercerie , the fun tweed is a good idea , also funfetti . Where was the wedding ? Lots of beer and Schweinebraten 🎉😊 Are you in TO too ? Hope you liked Bavaria 😊

I love Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. They have it in a lot of weights and a lot of beautiful colors. I live in Quebec and I order many skeins at a time to avoid shipping fees. Many sales before Christmas!

Hello from a Gatineau knitter! For weaving in toes, I would use duplicate stitch on the wrong side for a super secure and non irritating finish. For knitting content, not sure if these are new exactly, but the stash down diaries, the knitty stew, string things by Mel, high fibre knits, retro claude, engineering knits, aka Nora knits, wool needles hands, knitty natty.

I can’t seem to access you on Ravelry. @localgoblin

A wonderful, informative and well-put together video! Thank you so much, from one Canadian to another!!