New Year, New Ewe
It wouldn’t be a fortuknit blog without a terrible pun now, would it?
I hope you all rang in the New Year just the way you planned. 🥂 If you’re like me, you fell asleep before midnight, woke up for the countdown, toasted, and then went right back to sleep. And hopefully you weren’t like me, bringing in the new year with an old cold. 🤧 But don’t worry, I’m shaking off what’s left of the sniffles so I can tackle the rest of 2024 with unwavering strength!
I always like to use the beginning of the new year to reflect a bit on the past year. As I do, I am so grateful for another year of fortuknit, another year of blog posts, beautiful knits, sales, custom orders, a growing social media following, and most importantly, my customers—old and new. I can’t express enough how much of a blessing it is to continue to excel. I’m also really excited to announce that, as of November 2023, fortuknit is officially trademarked!!! It means so much to me that this business, which is truly a piece of my heart, is an officially trademarked name and brand that I own. Congrats, fortuknit®!!!! 🍾 This is a very big deal that took a lot of behind-the-scenes hard work. And though the work is not done yet, I hope you’ll take a moment with me to toast and celebrate, fortuknit friends! Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and outpouring of love.
But enough about me, let’s talk about “ewe.” More specifically, let’s talk about my favorite thing about ewe—yarn!! (I promise no more bad pun usage for the rest of the blog.) Some of you who have used our custom order form may have noticed an option to pick a fiber type—natural, synthetic, or a blend. Some of you may have needed help deciding. You may have also noticed different fiber types in the products available in the shop. But maybe you don’t know exactly what any of it really means. So, I’m going to school ewe…ehh you…on different types of yarn fibers. Since there are SO many, I’ll start with part 1 this month. Let’s go!
Acrylic
Think of acrylic like the North American squirrel—it’s everywhere! I bet if you checked your closet, most of your clothing—especially knitwear—has some acrylic or is 100% acrylic. It’s inexpensive, versatile, and can be easily washed and dried without too much fuss. When it comes to knitting, acrylic is easy to source, it knits up quickly, and has a nice stretch factor to it. You’ve seen it in hats, scarves, sweaters, and more! If you decided to start knitting today and ran to Michael’s, I’m sure most of the yarn supply you find would be acrylic or an acrylic blend. It’s a synthetic fiber that is great for so many projects and results in practical yet beautiful pieces. Our fortuknit Cozy Cups are made with acrylic yarn…
…and so are these custom orders we made over the holidays:
Alpaca
I LOVE alpaca wool. I think I fell in love with it the first time I went to Peru, where I got to spend some time at an alpaca farm and learn about how the wool is collected, cleaned, and dyed.
Plus, it is so soft and so very warm. It’s great for socks, sweaters, hats—I even had a beautiful alpaca coat that I cherished until I grew out of it! It’s a natural fiber that tends to be very expensive outside of places (like South America) where it is commonly available. If you like the idea of wool, but deal with animal allergies, alpaca is a great hypoallergenic option that will keep you warm all winter long. And if you’ve never had the pleasure of petting a baby alpaca, I highly recommend it. I’ve got some alpaca stashed away for a special project, so you haven’t yet seen any alpaca items in the shop. When you do get your hands on some alpaca wearables, you do not want to put them in the dryer.
Merino Wool
Merino wool yarn is probably one of my favorites to knit because it’s luxuriously soft and creates beautiful textures. It’s not as durable as alpaca wool, but it keeps you dry and warm just as well. It wasn’t so popular in the States before the 1800s and even has quite an adventurous backstory that seemingly started in Spain. I think the phrase, “knit or die knitting” might be appropriate when talking about this yarn. This is another natural fiber, and the dangerous history makes me appreciate it even more. If you’re lucky enough to have a fortuknit Hidden Sunset Beanie, or one of our headbands, you’ll know just how soft and luxurious this wool feels. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly option that give luxe vibes, this is your choice. It can go in the dryer, depending on the washing instructions, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you really want to keep your merinos in beautiful condition. Non-merino wools might be itchy, so watch out!
Bamboo
An unlikely fiber that I’ve been having fun working with is bamboo yarn. Yup, bamboo—the plant! It’s super silky and feels like a dream. Plus, it’s another sustainable and natural hypoallergenic option if you’re not a fan of other fibers. If you love shawls and scarves and want to look and feel like the royalty you are, you’ll love bamboo. Between other projects, I’ve been working on a special bamboo something for someone (shhh, it’s a surprise 🤫). Since bamboo is a plant that grows in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, I hope to feature some unique bamboo items in the shop someday soon. Keep an eye out!
I hope that now when you shop at fortuknit.com, you’ll have more confidence knowing what your knits will feel like even before you get to unbox, and more importantly—you’ll know just how to care for them. Of course, we always recommend handwashing with Soak (available in the shop!) and avoiding the dryer to extend the life of your fortuknit finds, but now you have a better understanding as to why. There are so many other types of yarn fibers and I have more to share, so come back next month for part two of yarn fibers explained. Until then…wishing you all a safe, happy, healthy and fortuknit 2024 ahead!!