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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Meet Yarnthology & Win Some Yarn!

May 11, 2016 7 Comments

Get to know Yarnthology, a company that does things differently by carefully selecting yarn brands based on how they treat people, animals, and the environment.

I’ve always loved all kinds of yarn. Affordable yarn, colorful yarn, handmade yarn, specialty yarn – you name it. But as a designer and someone whose interest in ethical consumerism has only grown with age, I started to realize that there are some questions to think about when you consume yarn, just like anything else.

Where does your yarn come from? If you’re knitting in a certain country, it might be a priority for you to reduce your carbon footprint by working with domestically made or sourced yarn.

What sheep used to wear your wool? There’s such a thing as being a vegan knitter – some knitters avoid working with animal fiber altogether.

Did you know that it takes a heck of a lot of water to make and dye yarn? Some yarn companies strive to be more eco-friendly by being thoughtful about their water consumption and disposal methods.

Now, I’m by far no expert on any of these issues, and the above questions are by far not an exhaustive list of questions about how to ethically consume yarn. While I’m vegetarian, I’m not vegan, and I do work with animal fibers. My workplace doesn’t recycle (but I’m working on them). My apartment does not have a rain barrel. Nobody’s perfect, but if everyone is a little more aware of how they consume, it can have a big impact.

That’s why I partnered with Yarnthology this week. I think their site says best why these issues matter:

Yarn is a vehicle for expression and always has a story to tell.

Sadly, many fibers tell a story about a textile industry woven together with human rights abuses, child labor, unfair trade practices, animal cruelty, and environmental damage.

At yarnthology we do things differently by carefully selecting yarn brands based on how they treat people, animals, and the environment.

The Sixth Degree Shawl by Heidi Gustad is a free pattern designed with American made, ethically-sourced yarn!

The Sixth Degree Shawl was designed with Cestari Monticello, a yarnthology yarn.

Carrying brands like Blue Sky Alpacas, Cestari and Malabrigo (just to name a few), Yarnthology does things differently. You can shop the site with ethics-based filters. You can search for yarn by whether it’s eco friendly, vegan, cruelty free, American made, or ethically traded. It shouldn’t be totally innovative and mind-blowing that they do this, but it totally is! Of course I’m going to keep shopping a site that takes the important (but sometimes-confusing and/or time consuming) work out of ethical yarn shopping.

Get to know Yarnthology, a company that does things differently by carefully selecting yarn brands based on how they treat people, animals, and the environment.

Yarnthology is the site that sponsored Monday’s free pattern, the Sixth Degree Shawl. As with all partnerships that involve a new design, the first step was getting yarn from them. I was so excited to see that even their packaging is eco friendly! Yarnthology uses sustainable and biodegradable packaging, keeping even logistical aspects of their business in eco-check.

Cestari’s Monticello Collection yarn was so great to work with for the new design. If you take a look at the Yarnthology page for the yarn, you’ll see how easy it is to identify that the yarn is cruelty free, ethically traded, eco-friendly and vegan. And they’re completely transparent about the fact that the yarn’s 25% flax content is sourced from outside the U.S. With Yarnthology, you’re completely aware of all of the major ethics points as you decide whether or not to buy the yarn – no additional research required!

Get to know Yarnthology, a company that does things differently by carefully selecting yarn brands based on how they treat people, animals, and the environment.

Cestari’s Monticello Collection yarn in partridge blue

Enter to win a Yarnthology prize!

At this point, I feel pretty confident that you’re at least curious to try Yarnthology for yourself. Enter in the box below for your chance to win 2 skeins of Cestari Monticello yarn (a.k.a. enough yarn to make the Sixth Degree Shawl) in your choice of color.

If you’re too excited to wait for the giveaway to end, Yarnthology is offering 20% off Cestari, 15% off the entire store, and free shipping with code HANDSOCCUPIED.

PS: If you’re not reading this on handsoccupied.com, you’ll need to visit the site to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post & giveaway are sponsored by yarnthology. All opinions are my own. I am not an expert in sustainable and ethical consumerism, so please be kind in the comments if my lifestyle or perspectives do not align with your own. 

Yarnthology - beautifully ethical fibers. Visit yarnthology.com, where they select brands and let you sort our yarn by the people who are making positive changes ranging from cruelty free to American made.

Filed Under: Crochet, Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: cestari, cruelty free yarn, eco-friendly, ethical consumerism, giveaway, vegan knitting, vegan yarn, yarnthology

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Kristie

    May 11, 2016 at 12:57 pm

    I didn’t know this! This is wonderful. Thanks for letting us know.

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth

    May 11, 2016 at 7:07 pm

    I had no idea that animal cruelty could be a part of the making of yarn! I love to knit. I am self taught and feel so proud when I make something . Now I will look more into the yarn making not just the knitting . Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Sally

    May 11, 2016 at 8:29 pm

    Thank you!!

    Reply
  4. MaryEllen

    May 14, 2016 at 3:53 pm

    What pretty yarn!! And I love that it’s a yarn I can feel good about using. (ethical vegan of 40 years!!)

    Reply
  5. Deborah

    May 14, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    This is exciting! The yarn is beautiful!

    Reply
  6. Jody Hall

    May 14, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    Such pretty yarn! Thanks for the Giveaway!

    Reply
  7. Erika

    July 13, 2016 at 12:01 am

    That’s all well and good but how many knitters can afford a $13 hank of 100g of yarn? Or better yet a $24.40 hank, or a (gasp!) $70 hank! All this succeeds in doing is making people feel guilty for buying their more reasonably priced yarns, which may not even HAVE practices that are unfair or unethical. I love animals and people and want both to be treated fairly, but there’s got to be a better way.

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you add a stitch in between two columns of stitches that leans to the left. Similar to an M1L, LLIs allow you to increase nearly invisibly.
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To learn more about lifted increases, including when to use them and how they differ from Make 1s, head to the 🔗 in my profle. 
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Have you ever used lifted increases? I used M1’s almost exclusively for a long time when I needed to inc between stitches, but when I designed the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern, I needed something that would allow me to increase a lot near my cast on, and M1’s resulted in edge curling. The more you know! 🌈 
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Yarn: @lionbrandyarn Wool Ease from my Stash / Neddles: @boyeyarncrafts - Just remembered these are the needles I learned to knit on at age 8. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #learntoknit #howtoknit #sweaterknitting #knitinspiration #knittersofinstagram #liftedincreases
Last week I got to hang out with my family & helpe Last week I got to hang out with my family & helped babysit my red-headed niece and nephew. So here’s some plane knitting, and a couple pictures (shared with permission) of my babysitting adventures.
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Lessons learned: 1️⃣ Trying to knit around 2 toddlers, 2 cats & 2 large dogs is pretty hard. 2️⃣ I learned during water color time that pink and black make “colorful black.” 🩷🖤 3️⃣ Toddlers do NOT care about your rainbow sorting of their toys. 4️⃣ Toddlers are very good at finding mischief in a very short amount of time, what a surprise. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #placesyoucanknit #knitters #knitinpublic #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration
Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are both so useful for garment knitting! But for me, weaving in ends can feel like a chore while the latter feels like I’ve successfully done magic. 🧙🏻‍♀️ Does anybody else run into this phenomenon? Are you the opposite? Any theories as to why they feel different? 
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In this video, I’m finishing my brand new Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 I’m working with @universal_yarn Uni Merino & the pattern is available at the 🔗 in my b1o. 
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#handsoccupied #intarsiaflowerpillow #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #knitting #colorwork #knitpillow #knittinginspiration #knittersofinstagram
I independently released a knitting pattern today, I independently released a knitting pattern today, my first in 5 years! The Intarsia Flower Pillow is a 16” (40cm) round pillow knit with an intentional combination of intarsia, stockinette, garter and seed stitch. This pillow has everything you need to level up your intarsia technique while also knitting something you can use. 
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This pillow allows you to practice knitting intarsia while simultaneously increasing and decreasing. The Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern was designed to be a little knit-nerdy for learning and a little cute, arming you with many of the skills you'd need to knit an intarsia sweater. 
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Intarsia Flower Pillow is available in the Hands Occupied Sh0p and on @hi.ravelry . You can read more about the pattern on the bl0g, the🔗 are where you’d think.
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YARN: @universal_yarn Uni Merino in Antiquity, Fjord and Conch / NEEDLES: US 2 (2.75 mm) / PATTERN: Intarsia Flower Pillow by Heidi Gustad
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