Tahki Stacy Charles has announced their newest yarn, Montana. Montana is an interesting new edition to Tahki Yarns’ new eco-friendly Terra Collection yarn line.
Montana is a 100% “unprocessed wool roving in a jumbo 100g hank.” Tahki blends natural undyed sheep’s wool with low-impact dyes to create a selection of natural heathered shades. Montana’s packaging is made of recycled paper, which is printed with vegetable-based inks.
The hand-knitting industry is already abuzz with alternative fibers. Soy, corn, hemp, and discarded shrimp carapaces have already proved to be popular additions. Could milkweed be next?
Best known as the friend of the Monarch butterfly, milkweed’s floss is comparable to goose down as an insulating filling. It was used as a substitute for kapok in WWII life jackets. Previous attempts at commercial production failed, but Natural Fibers Corporation is giving it another shot.
BNET reports that Natural Fibers Corporation has ramped up their milkweed production to 160 acres. Their research plots “have averaged about 400 pounds of floss per acre, but those results have not have duplicated under field conditions.”
As a weed which thrives in disturbed areas, milkweed crops could be expected to require less pesticide and fertilizer compared to traditional crops. (Certainly less than cotton, the most pesticide-heavy crop in production today.)
Some great advice on hand-spinning milkweed fiber can be found in this archived Knitter’s Review forum thread.