BettaKnit Love My Jeans is back at Knit With Attitude and perfectly timed for some warm weather knitting. With an ethos in sustainable fashion BettaKnit produce fibres from recycled material and by-products from the fashion and food processing industries. They design their yarns with an eco-friendly mentality. This is done in a variety of ways; Through a recycling process which pollutes very little and consumes little energy. Spinning with the lowest amount of toxic or polluting chemical substances and focusing on fibres that are easy to recycle.
Love My Jeans is a beautiful sport weight heathered yarn made from recycled denim, in a range of lovely washed out denim colours. The fibre comes from old jeans and jeans reclaimed from textile waste. These jeans are processed in Prato, Italy. Prato is arguably one of the most important textile recycling centres in Europe, having built on expertise for over a hundred years.
The process begins by collecting old worn jeans that are cut into pieces. Only the buttons, zip and other metal parts are discarded. Specialised machines are used to process these pieces of fabric by shredding them and reducing them to fibres. These fibres are then reintroduced into the production cycle and transformed into yarn again.
The recycling process gives the yarn its unique quality and depth, as the yarn is not dyed twice and the fibres keep the shades they originally had. By mixing 95% Recycled Denim with 5% Other Recycled Cottons the yarn has a depth of colour unique to the original material used. By eliminating the need to over dye the yarn not only are you preventing garments going to land fill you are reducing the need for water and eliminating the use of chemicals that would be used in the dyeing process. For example to dye 1kg of yarn 100litres of water and 9kw of electricity are needed, with Love My Jeans unnecessary waste is reduced.
Love My Jeans bears the ‘Recycled Blended Claim Standard’ mark. A certification standard to track recycled raw materials through the supply chain. Providing assurance that materials in the final product are genuinely recycled and processed more sustainably.
The yarn is 100g – 310m/339yd – Sport Weight. It is sturdy in the hand but also soft. I would happily wear this against my skin and I think it would make great summer garments. It feels like the type of yarn that will reward you the more you wear it. I think it would be great both crocheted and knitted and I could also see this making some really nice homewares. For some pattern inspiration read on:
Ancient Orchid (link to Ravelry) by Anna Daku. This top down sleeveless vest has a cute picot neck edge that is worked at the same time as you knit the straps so no picking up stitches. The straps are knit using the double knitting technique which creates a sturdy and polished look. This would look great in the Peony colour.
Crumpet Cardigan (link to Ravelry) by Park Williams. This lace cardigan is a great summer garment. It pairs well with the Crumpet Camisole also by Park Williams. It is knit all in one piece from the top down and features an all over lace repeat. A straight forward 1×1 rib that is worked at all the edges frames the lace. I would choose the Ecru colour for this.
Sivu Tee (link to Ravelry) by Linda Skuja. This stunning crochet top features an amazing leafy yoke. Crocheted from the top down starting at the neck edge. The leaf stitch extends from the neckline over the shoulders, front and back. The yoke is divided and the body is worked simply after that. I would go all out on the nature theme and choose the Army Green for a real leaf vibe.
Giulia shirt (link to Ravelry) by LelaArapi. This light and airy mesh top is designed to be worn with lots of positive ease. Great worn over a summer vest to add something extra to your outfit. Crocheted back and forth from the top down. You can easily adjust the length for different styling possibilities. Go for the cool Cloud colour for this one.
Athena Owl Bag (link to Ravelry) by Irene Strange. How sweet are these owl bags. I had to pop in a little accessory into this post. Using different crochet stitches to create the different elements the bag has feather details and characterful owl eyes. I would choose the earthy Havana colour for a natural looking owl.
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