- Reduce. Stash busting! It's good for your wallet, good for the planet. Before you rush out to buy another ball of yarn, see if you've got something in your stash which might work just as well.
- Use up odd balls and yarns you don't love by knitting for charity. Scraps of DK yarn make great brightly coloured Teddies for Tragedy or Burundi Bears.
- Baby yarns are perfect for making preemie hats for Bonnie Babies or your local NICU and you can also send them further afield with Save the Children's knitted hat appeal.
- Chunkier yarns make great hats for visiting sailors – contact BISS for more details – or knit up into quick lap blankets for your local care home.
- Reuse. Other people's cast off needles and yarn could be your treasure. Start up a swap at your knitting group or...
- Check out the charity shops for odd balls and needles at rock bottom prices.
- Recycle. While you're in a charity shop, have a look through their rag bin and see if there are any knitted jumpers you could unravel...
- Or t-shirts you could cut up to make yarn.
- You can also knit plastic shopping bags into new, reusable bags – or other things. Plant pot holders, perhaps?
- Repurpose. There are loads of things in your home which can be turned into knitting tools. We love using the little tubs from M&S as yarn tidies – after we eat the biscuits, of course!
- You can also use a CD case to hold circular needles or a vase to keep your straight needles tidy.
- Use tap washers and small elastic bands as stitch markers.
- Waste not, want not. Scraps of yarn make great toy stuffing, and you can save longer lengths to embroider details or sew up seams.
- Dry flat. Keep your knits looking their best and save both energy and water (and a few pennies!) by skipping the tumble drier in favour of a drying rack.
- Shop greener. There are so many gorgeous yarns with green credentials that we're sure to miss something! You don't get much greener than a yarn bred, spun and dyed in Cornwall: Cornish Organic Wool.
- The Natural Dye Studio also uses British yarns along with their plant dyes.
- Shilasdair do a lovely organic cotton dyed in South America
- Turn to the Woolly Shepherd for some really alternative, sustainable fibres, including banana and nettle.
- And the big spinners are going green too. Sirdar have a new Eco Wool out.
- Rowan have a naturally dyed organic cotton.
- And Sublime have a gorgeous organic cotton – perfect for baby knits.
- And finally, don't forget to recycle your copy of Simply Knitting when you're done with it!
Tuesday April 22, 2008 Knit's Earth Day
Today, Tuesday 22 April 2008, is Earth Day so in honour of the occasion, here are 22 yarn related things you can do for the planet.
Trackback URL:
Comments:
Post a Comment:
