Crochet

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Got Milk – Yarn?

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Have you heard about QMilch?  It’s fabric made from milk!  From spoiled, curdled milk!  Right here, you can see a very brief description of this fiber.  In this picture, you can see various steps in the process that goes from liquid milk to spun qmilch.

While I can’t find a source to purchase the yarn made from milk, I feel sure it will make its way to retail stores in time.  Bamboo, corn, and soy are three of the more recent additions to the yarn market over the past few years.  Each fiber has its proponents.  Producing milk fiber is quite expensive at the present time.  But, with more research and a growing number of designers interested in using milk yard goods, the production costs will go down.  This is certainly a sustainable fiber source!  I look forward to having a chance to work with milk fiber (qmilch) in the future.  How about you?

Comments

  1. Kollage Creamy is a yarn that says it is 80% milk. It is available all over the internet. Might not be the same stuff though.

    I do wonder if this is a faux-eco fiber, much like bamboo. The process to make bamboo yarn is not as green as we like to think the fiber is.

  3. I have some from diamond luxury collection called Milky Way. It’s 65% viscose, 35% milk sourced viscose. I’m not sure where my friend bought it, but she had to pass it on to me because she had an allergic reaction to it.

  4. In the Western world (and apparenly China too), we produce much more milk than can be consumed (and is therefore with the aid of governments dumped in poor countries, making life hard for the local farmers) so additional uses for milk could be welcome for many groups. And odd fibres are always interesting.

    According to one yarn shop that sells odd fibre yarns, including a milk yarn called Viking Pure Milk (from Viking of Norway), during WW2 they tried to make milk yarn in Sweden, but with no success. Due to the restrictions in import during the war, they experimented with all sorts of things to create substitutes for rubber, coffee and much more. And apparently they needed new fibres too.

    As for eco-friendliness, all fibres produced according to the same methods as viscose are debated, but many claim they aren’t the worst (comparing with e.g. conventional cotton)and that modern methods are a bit better than they used to be. So hopefully the development will continue in the right direction.

Have you read?

Christmas Tree Crochet Scarf – A Fun and Festive Pattern Worth Revisiting

Some crochet patterns are practical, some are pretty, and some are just pure holiday fun. This Christmas Tree Crochet Scarf from CraftBits falls firmly into that last category, and honestly, that is exactly why it caught my eye again. It is quirky, cheerful, and the kind of novelty scarf that makes people smile before you have even had a chance to explain that yes, you really did make it yourself. The pattern comes from CraftBits and creates a scarf made up of Christmas tree motifs joined together into one gloriously festive wearable.

If this scarf looks a little familiar, you might already have spotted it in our roundup of 18 Free Christmas Crochet Scarf Patterns To Make As Gifts or in our collection of 15 Fun And Silly Crochet Scarf Patterns. It has definitely popped up on Crochet.CraftGossip before, and for good reason. It is one of those patterns that manages to be both wearable and wonderfully ridiculous, which is a very fine line in the world of festive crochet.

What I like most about this design is that it does not try to be subtle. It fully embraces the novelty Christmas vibe, and sometimes that is exactly what a seasonal project needs. The scarf is made using repeated tree shapes, so it has that satisfying motif-based construction that many crocheters enjoy. It also gives you the chance to play with embellishments like pom poms and stars, which adds even more personality to the finished piece. According to the CraftBits pattern, the scarf uses Red Heart Super Saver yarn, a size I hook, and simple decorative extras including felt and pom poms.

This would be such a fun project for a holiday party outfit, an ugly sweater event, a handmade gag gift, or just for someone who genuinely loves festive accessories. We all know at least one person who would wear this proudly while serving Christmas lunch or turning up to school pickup in December like the absolute queen of holiday spirit.

It is also the sort of pattern that feels a little nostalgic in the best possible way. CraftBits has had this project around for years, and it still holds up because novelty crochet never really goes away. It just waits patiently for the rest of us to catch up again. And let’s be honest, there is something refreshing about a project that does not take itself too seriously. Not every scarf needs to be neutral, elegant, or sensible. Some scarves are allowed to be actual Christmas trees.

So yes, you may have seen this one before in our scarf roundups, but I think it deserves its own little spotlight too. If you are in the mood to make something playful, memorable, and completely unapologetic for the holiday season, this one is worth another look.