Yarn is essential for knitting. Who am I kidding? Without yarn there would hardly be any knitting at all. (I say hardly any because I've seen plenty of projects that use wire, extra fabric and other materials, and of course there's always Carol Milne's
KNITTED GLASS!)
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| Holy mother of all things god-like, that is cool! |
But not all yarns are born equal, and I'm here to tell you 3 reasons why hand dyed yarn is a a knitter's best friend.
DISCLAIMER: Much of what is going to be said in this blog post is opinion, I have nothing against mass produced yarn, I just want to make that clear
For this demonstration I have volunteered 2 brands.
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| I love you guys, love your yarn, but I'm going to bash you a bit, sorry |
1: Colour variation (yes I spell colour the European way, and NO; I'm not changing it)
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| Yarn Carnival Magenta, 1859 |
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| Berroco weekend fuschia |
Can you say it? Because I can; the colours are similar (but then again it is really difficult to show the true extent of a yarn's colour in a picture). If you look at the Weekend DK you can easily tell that the yarn is the exact same colour throughout-and this sort of yarn has a place in today's indie world, don't get me wrong-but it looks flat in comparison to the Yarn Carnival yarn. Due to the way in which it is made, Magenta, 1859 has some colour variations, but these don't hinder the yarn, they enhance it. It make's the eye travel across the final knitted fabric as it notices subtle colour changes, and gives the yarn a sort of "life" that you don't see in industrial yarns. Indie dyed yarn just seems to have more personality than its mass produced counterparts.
2: Supporting your local economy
Here comes the economics talk! Hooray! But in all seriousness, support your local economy kids. The majority of hand dyers sell their yarns in their home state. This means that when you buy their yarns you support their business, and they in turn support other local businesses. Companies like Berroco have mass distribution, and while there is nothing wrong with this, it's always good to contribute to your local business community.
3: Developing relationships
The best way to ensure a customer's loyalty is to befriend them. This is especially true with the aforementioned Yarn Carnival. The creator, Ana Clerc is smart, funny, nerdy, she knows history, and technology, and music, and know a library's worth of information about crochet and knitting, and the way that different fibers and colours work. On top of that she's a great teacher, and affectionate, and has helped me grow as a knitter, and even wrote me a college recommendation letter and...If it sounds like I'm fangirling, it's because I am. I was one of Ana's knitting students and became her teaching assistant for summer camps. I've learned a lot from her, and I look up to her. Because of this, her yarn is the first brand I look at when I go to my LYS. I've even found myself looking for patterns that would specifically compliment different colourways.
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All in all, hand dyed, and indie dyed yarns are completely worth the extra cost. Factory dyed yarns have a place, and there's much more that goes into choosing yarn than just who it's made by, but that's a discussion for a whole other blog post entirely.
