What are your top 5 natural fiber yarns to work with? 🧶

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I’m trying to discover more yarns, and I want to start working with more natural fiber.
I would REALLY love to find 100% wool that is soft and not scratchy, or any blends that are super nice and soft…
What are your top 5 recommendations?

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Each fiber has characteristics that can be good for some projects or unsuited for others.

I love working with alpaca, especially lace weight for drapey heavenly shawls. Silk blends drape like a dream.

But wool has to be the most versatile! There’s also so much variety in the whole wool category between breeds and parts of the fleece.

Lol, the only fiber I am not a huge fan of working with is cotton because I am always expecting a bit of stretch and there is none! :laughing:

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I always love merinowool. Supersoft and not itchy at all. Malabrigo is my favorite brand.
My super sensitive skin is a big fan.

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Thank you! I will definitely check it out!! :purple_heart:

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completely true!
I want to use wool more because of its so much warmer and more eco friendly, but a lot of wool can be scratchy or can shed a lot…

Haha! :laughing: I actually love using cotton when making Amigurumi dolls since it’s very tight and sturdy!

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The malabrigo rasta is my first love. First yarn I knitted with when I started knitting (again) 13 months ago.

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super wash, merino wool, and wool blends are my favorite. Love working with the brand Malabrigo. Great quality and price point for beautiful hand dyed yarn.

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I can see this is a very popular yarn so I will DEFINITELY check it out! First time I heard about it so THANK YOU @Fiercehook and @LoveYarnWillKnit!!! :purple_heart:

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you’re welcome. be sure to let us know if you like it as much as we do :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I started to spin just to get better yarn that I can aford. I personally started with Alpaca, because there is a farm nearby. its supper soft but i realized after making a sweater it pills and isnt very durable to be used pure. I have since gotten a raw sheep fleace and its much nicer but because it was a male of an unknown breed its not as soft but still soft enough for clothes. I would recommend just about any sheep wool that is spinning quality, just make sure its not a really old sheep, or something difficult for a new crafter like Icelandic. Quiviut and angora (rabbit) are my favorite but do to rarity and because they are SO SOFT, I rarely use them and never pure, but if you can get some!

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I have numerous sweaters that are made with merino wool. It is warm, not scratchy, and if taken care of properly( don’t take your wool sweaters to the dry cleaners - it makes them brittle as it polls the lanolin that is in the wool out of it!) . I work part time in an Irish retail store and we sell Thousands of Irish knit sweaters! Merino wool hand washed is the way to go!!

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That’s so useful!! I didn’t even know that the age and location of the sheep are a factor in the yarn softness and quality! Thank you!! :purple_heart:

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Thank you!! I haven’t worked with merino wool yet, can’t wait to try it!! :purple_heart:

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Just finished two projects using Berroco Ultra Alpaca that’s half alpaca and half wool, and I couldn’t recommend it enough! It’s so much softer than full wool yarns but from what I understand, the partial wooliness helps the stitches stick together.

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Thank you for the recommendation! What did you make with it? Would love to see a pic!

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If you nare worried about shedding/ pilling you should look at the structure of the yarn. The more plies( strands) and the tighter the spin the less pilling.

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My favorite fiber for an eco-friendly yarn is Merino wool - it’s generally the finest wool fiber readily available from commercial and indie dyers.

Because wool fiber naturals have microscopic barbs along the outside of the fiber (these are what hook together to cause felting in non-superwashed wools) many people still find even Merino to be prickly feeling right next to their skin. Choosing a superwashed Merino helps eliminate the prickle.

There are two main superwashing processes: one where the barbs are stripped from the fiber, and another where they are bound to the fiber & either way it helps lessen the prickle!

The smaller the micron count on the wool fiber, the softer/finer it is. The softest I’ve ever felt is Western Sky Knit’s 17 micron merino wool. It’s superwashed and feels like cashmere! There are other indie dyers who carry it in the US - I’m not sure if it’s readily available elsewhere as it’s spun in Canada & relatively new.

For softness & durability, I love a combo of merino & bamboo. It’s extra strong because of the bamboo fiber and washes easily. I love it in the summer as it’s really breathable & light.

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Thank you so much for the information! That’s very helpful!! :star_struck:

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Thanks so much! I haven’t thought about it! :smiley:

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That’s true, you would have to find the perfect balance for what you want though because more twist = less pilling but also less softness.

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