Bamboo yarn - NOT needles!

#1

OK, I was in Target with my DD yesterday and I saw something new (to me anyway! :rollseyes: ) There were sheet sets and they were made from Bamboo! I swear to you, they were amazing! They were soft and silky and smooth and cool to the touch and… just lovely.

I thought about Bamboo all night and did a search and, sure enough, there is bamboo yarn! Now, it seems fairly expensive to me but… maybe someone else will not think it so - the early search results found 100 g, 250 yrds. @ $13.35 (use 6 US or 4.25mm needles)

This is the on-line description: “Made by processing the bamboo grass stalk and combing the fiber strands from the actual plant itself, this yarn is 100% bamboo with nothing else added! Often compared to premier ramie, it’s cool and silky soft to the touch and works up beautifully in sweaters, tops, dresses, skirts, really anything where a flowing drape is important.”

So… has anyone ever knit with Bamboo yarn? These sheets were just amazing so I wonder if the yarn knits up as soft and silky. I haven’t felt the yarn in person and this is just a new idea for me so any input is welcome! Since Spring and Summer are coming… it might be a fun yarn to work with! (I hate to work with wool in the Summer. :crying: )

Thanks guys! Angela

#2

I haven’t knit with it, but I’ve felt it up at the LYS many times. :smiley:

#3

OK, Julie… when you were “feeling up” this yarn ( :rofling: love the mental image here!) , what did you think? Are we talking, “oh, baby!” or “hmm… that’s different” or “OK, what were these people thinking?” or “I’d have to be out of my mind to pay that for this!”

Those sheets were seriously tempting and now I’ve got this yarn on the brain. I would love to know what you thought about the feel of it since I haven’t had the opportunity to “cop a feel”! :rofling:

Thanks, Ang

#4

I want to try bamboo yarn so badly!

I cloth diaper my boys and have a bamboo cloth diaper that is unbelievably soft.

We also have the bamboo sheets from Target and I love them! :heart:

#5

:shock: Oh, that’s not good! You should not have told me that! I wanted those sheets SO bad!

So… I know that I’m sounding obsessed here but… is the yarn as amazing as those sheets? I would just love a summer sweater out of that if the yarn is as amazing as it looks!

Thanks for being a bad influence! :wink: Ang

#6

I haven’t seen any bamboo yarn IRL, but will probably now be obsessed about it.

I have bamboo knee socks from Target and they are really nice.

candice

PS: Found this at yarn.com

http://www.yarn.com/yarns-knitting/bamboo.html

#7

The nice thing about bamboo is that it grows quickly and can be replenished easily. In other words, it is a very renewable resource. I have a friend who will not knit with animal fibers because she thinks it is cruel (I don’t agree with her, but she’s entitled to her opinion). She only knits with synthetics, cotton and … BAMBOO. Anyway, she says it costs more, but she sees it as more earth/nature friendly.

Course, what we need is for Target to carry the Bamboo yarn, then we’d be set.

#8

i think the $13.35 is a better deal even though i like them perdy cuhlerz down there at the bottom of that list. this kind is only 77 yards…the other was 250 yards.

Carmen, talk to your friend about the stuff sythetic yarn is made of! not too environmentally friendly either! sigh sadly unless you are growing your own supply or are very closely attached to the people who are growing or producing it, it is hard to make sure that all sources are working ethically. and of course it becomes easier to stop being ethical in production of any goods and services when we are willing to trade cheaper products for it. :frowning:

but of course NOW i am obsessing about those sheets. i saw them when i was in target the other day but someone was hovering around them and i couldn’t get to them (ya know, one of those people who stops their cart right in front of where you are looking and doesn’t move AND you can’t get around them?! yeah it was THAT woman and her entourage!)

good excuse to go to target i think… :rofling:

#9

I’ve used it! It’s nice and drapey, but not too exceptionally soft, imho. I got it 1/2 off, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bought it.

Here’s what I made.

#10

Ohh that bamboo yarn looks heavenly :drooling:

I’m going through the same thing with my mom and sister. They think that shaving the sheep is ‘torturing’ them :??

#11

I’m going through the same thing with my mom and sister. They think that shaving the sheep is ‘torturing’ them

there are some people who do it in an inhumane manner but i think the majority of sheep farmers would like to keep their critters as happy as possible. ask them if getting their haircut is torturous to them!

#12

I think the sheep like it… Just think of how much dirt and particles get trapped in that fur :frowning: I think I’d rather see a shaved sheep that can feel free rather than a unshaved sheep. Plus I think that it’s alot healthier for them too, isn’t it? :??

#13

But don’t they HAVE to be shorn? I know they try to do it themselves if no one does it for them (rubbing on trees and fences and whatever).

#14

lol i meant ask your mom and sister if getting their haircut is torture.

i believe they do have to be shorn or they will fall over from the weight of the wool. I can’t recall where i read that but i do think i read that somewhere.

#15

I have always wanted to try the cellulose fibers. They ARE soft.
There are also yarns and rovings made of corn, soy and banana leaf.

Hm…sounds like a salad!

#16

It’s probably best to at least handle the bamboo yarn prior to buying it. I saw some at The Point in NYC and one color (red) was gorgeous and silky. THe others (which were from the same manuf. but slightly different lable) were scratchy and not so supple.

#17

I had another though in regards to cellulose fibers.
I dont want to offend anyone but I probably will.

The point I want to make is that in harvesting all fibers there is a human element that may experience extreme discomfort, a harsh enviroment and even strict and unnessicary punishment while doing their job.
Silk is a prime example of a industry that does not put the workers needs first. And sheering sheep can not be done entirely mechanically - meaning someone is breathing in fine wool dust, enduring kicking hooves and sharp cuts from the sheers.

In all there is no really cruelty free fiiber. If it isnt an animal with 4 feet suffering (though I personally dont think sheep suffer) its an animal with 2 feet enduring the cruelty.

#18

I have a friend whose family raises sheep for shearing, on a ranch in Colorado. I wish I got treated as well as her sheep! :rollseyes: :rofling:

Oh, and Mer, that scarf is beautiful! :smiley:

#19

:thinking: OK, here’s what I’m getting so far:

Julie has felt it up but has yet to tell me what her reaction was.

Mer used it for a fantastic looking scarf but it wasn’t as soft as I’m thinking. (Thank you so much for your honesty! The scarf is so pretty though!)

Acmesarah advises feeling before buying - I’m liking this idea!

I have started a debate about sheep and natural yarn products! :shock: Um… sorry. That kinda caught me off guard.

So… anyone else? I am hoping that this yarn is silky and cool to the touch and would work for a summer sweater but… I’m still looking for advice from people who have used it. Did Mer get a wonky batch or did Acmesarah find some red that just happened to be super silky? What’s “normal” for this yarn?

I did not make a mad dash to the LYS today but… tomorrow is always an option! :happydance: I will hope to get some more input!

Ang

#20

I have started a debate about sheep and natural yarn products! Um… sorry. That kinda caught me off guard.

That made me giggle!