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Last week, Claire dove into the world of single-flock yarn - beautiful, small batch fibres. Today, I'll be looking at something that is a lot more easily found: superwash yarn. More specifically, why exactly is it that superwash yarn is not sustainable?

To answer that, let's take a little step back and revisit what 'superwash' actually is: Superwash yarn and fibre (yes, there's also superwash fibre for the spinners out there!) has undergone an additional processing step after it's been spun to make it shrink-resistant and therefore machine-washable.

Single-flock yarns have been a particular passion of mine from the moment I held a skein of yarn that was gifted to me by my sister;

'It's from this little goat farm near to where we were staying, it originally started as a rescue farm, and now they've grown their flock. The wool comes from each of the goats, and this skein is from one called Minnie!'

Up until then, I'd only bought yarn based on what colour I liked, but all I know was with that story and the feel of Minnie's curly locks between my fingers, I was sold. I'd been transported, and it felt as if I were holding a little piece of the life they shared there on that goat farm.

'Mulesing-free' - a few months ago, when I asked on Instagram what you, our lovely readers, look for in a sustainable yarn, that was by far the number one answer. So today we're taking a look at what mulesing-free yarn is, and to do that, we're going to dive headfirst into the world of sheep farming!

'Mulesing' is the term for a procedure developed by JHW Mules in the 1920s. During this procedure, strips of skin are removed around a lamb;s butt, usually when the lamb is between 6 and 10 weeks old.

Welcome to this weeks blog post, where we continue to delve into the confusing world of sustainable knitting. Today, we are getting to grips with local yarn, and what the heck that actually means!

When it comes to our yarn - the term 'local' can be a little confusing. Does it mean yarn from my 'local' yarn store? Is it yarn that is made in my country, region or street? Does it have to be made locally, or does it count if it's just a yarn I can buy locally?

'I only buy local yarn' - 'Superwash is really, really bad for the environment!' - 'What on earth is GOTS certified?' - 'I want to know exactly where my yarn comes from' - 'What is better, natural dyeing or acid dyeing?' 

Welcome to the wonderful and deeply confusing world of sustainable knitting! I'm Hanna Lisa, and I'll be one of your tour guides through the twists and turns of this exploratory journey. Without aspiring to know everything  - in truth, I know very little and will be learning alongside you on the way - I promise I'll do my best to help us not get lost on the way and shed a bit of light on what sustainable knitting actually IS. 

Hello folks! It's Claire here, and I'm so excited to be coming to you today at the beginning of a brand new blog series. Here at Making Stories, knitting sustainably is something we are wildly passionate about, but putting that into practice can leave your head spinning. What does it really mean, and how do you know if that skein you are holding is sustainably made? Over the coming months, this is what we are going to tackle - We're going to demystify what it means to knit sustainably. Are you excited? I am!