King Cole yarn company brought out a brand new recycled yarn in 2021: the first 100% recycled acrylic!
I was overjoyed to see this launch and went yarn shopping as soon as it was available. I bought a few different colours to try out so I could tell you all about it. I started writing this review then, but wasn’t able to get back to finishing it until now (June 2022).
You might be wondering why they’ve named it ‘Limited Edition’… well I asked them about it and it’s about the colours, not the yarn. As it is a recycled yarn, they can’t guarantee to have a continuous supply of the same colours, so these may change over time as new batches are made.
It is a DK (Light Worsted) #3 weight yarn and comes in a 100g ball with approx. 308 yards (282 metres).
Recommended hook size 3-4mm.
Having used this yarn, I can tell you it feels like a true DK. It is very slightly thicker than Stylecraft Special DK but not as thick as Hayfield Bonus (both popular DK yarns in the UK). The difference is barely noticeable and is unlikely to affect the overall size of a finished piece.
This review is not sponsored, I bought the yarns myself because I wanted to work and design with them, and this is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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Eco-friendly Credentials
Made from 100% recycled acrylic.
I love that it is 100% recycled and made from a single fibre type. In future it might even be possible to recycle it again after the finished item is no longer useful (I live in hope recycling possibilities are advancing!), mixed fibres make recycling more difficult.
Ok so we all know acrylic is a petrochemical man-made fibre. Urgh that sounds so bad doesn’t it? Well we should be honest about it, it is bad, acrylic is very bad for the environment, but THIS acrylic is made from fibres that already existed and would otherwise be wasted. Reusing fibres, and especially the not-so-eco-friendly fibres, is much better for the planet than letting them go to waste and pollute the earth for evermore in landfill.
Acrylic, regardless of it’s un eco-friendliness, is a crafters (and clothing industry) staple. It’s cheap, durable, easy to work with and easy to care for. The reality is that the majority of people who knit and crochet are using it, a lot! But, until yarn companies step up their sustainable game and produce a lot more responsible yarns at affordable prices, this really isn’t going to change. So, I’m very pleased to see King Cole, a big UK yarn company has led the way in the right direction and am now, in 2022, seeing others are beginning to follow suit!
First impressions
It has great squish! It feels exactly like… umm… acrylic! Is that silly? Maybe, but we don’t really know what to expect from a ‘recycled’ version though do we?
The colours are so lovely. Most of them have heathery tones with pretty flecks of a darker or complementary tones throughout the ball. The more you look the prettier it is!
It is soft to touch and glides beautifully on the hook making it very easy to work with.
I often find acrylic too scratchy to have against my skin (neck especially), I’m a very tough customer to please and my kids are even more picky! So for us, unfortunately this yarn doesn’t pass this test. We find it too scratchy. Some colours are noticeably less so, with white being the best of all the colours I tried out and I could tolerate OK in a cardi. BUT please bear in mind that this is my ultra sensitive skin and few acrylics have passed this test! So don’t let it put you off unless you are as sensitive as me!
What to make with it?
Anything you’d use DK acrylic for! Wearables, toys, blankets, you name it!
- Blankets
- Throws
- Cushions
- Shawls/Wraps
- Clothing
- Scarves
- Hats
- Gloves
- Toys
What it’s like to work with
It’s lovely to work with, feels just like other premium acrylic brands.
Stitch definition is good and just as you’d expect from any acrylic.
It pulls down well, doesn’t go fluffy and it doesn’t split too easily.
It’s just as versatile as any acrylic, you can use it for so many items and it is durable and hard-wearing.
Dyes were even throughout the skeins and fully colourfast in wash test.
Occasionally there were some loose spun spots, nothing problematic and no worse than any other yarn, these things happen sometimes. I love that there were no knots in any of the balls I used!
Wash test: I washed a small crocheted sample by hand and a finished Shawl in the machine with no problems at all. Looks just the same after. The scratchiness improved slightly with the addition of fabric conditioner. Another suggestion I’ve read about to lessen scratchiness is hair conditioner.
Quality/Cost
This yarn is very good value and a good quality yarn priced from between £1.95 to £2.19 for 100g. It is in the same price bracket as popular, non-recycled brands like Stylecraft and can be a straight, much more eco-friendly, swap.
Pros
- 100% recycled
- Vegan
- Non-allergenic
- Versatile, with many uses
- Hardwearing
- Good stitch definition
- Glides well on the hook
- Doesn’t split badly
- Machine washable
- Easily available
- Highly affordable
- A practical yarn weight
- Sustainable swap for any DK acrylic
Cons
- Not biodegradable
- Somewhat scratchy, but is also soft
- Limited colour choices
- Colours are limited edition so be sure to buy enough to finish your project
Where to get it?
Lots of online yarn shops have it in the UK, I am not sure about other countries, check online and ask in your local yarn shop.
Buy at LoveCrafts: UK
(not currently on US site, sorry)
Overall View
I LOVE that this yarn is 100% recycled acrylic. It is a great alternative to normal acrylic for most things and the colours, albeit limited, are really beautiful. It behaves exactly as any standard acrylic so has all the same benefits, it washes well, offering a practical and durable yarn.
For me, the scratchiness is disappointing and limits what I can use this yarn for. This is unlikely to bother many people though, only those with the most sensitive of skins like me!
The lack of colour choice is restrictive, making it more difficult to just switch to this yarn over a non-recycled one. But when an available colour will work for your project, be sure to buy enough yarn for it, being limited edition, it may not be possible to get the same shade in future.
I designed my Vivienne Shawl with this yarn, and the purple and pink colour combination is really beautiful. It’s lovely to wear over clothing, is wonderfully cosy but still lightweight.
Eco Yarn Score: 8/10
It would be 9 if there were more colours available and would easily achieve 10 if in addition to more colours, it was a softer non scratchy yarn.
I hope you’ve found this a helpful review. Please share/pin etc to help others find it. Have you tried it? Will you be giving it a go? Please let me know, and tell me what you make, I’d love to hear how you get on.
For more eco yarn reviews, see the page Yarn Reviews.
For more of my patterns see the page: Crochet Patterns
Have you joined my new Eco-friendly Crochet Facebook Group? It’s a great friendly wee community for crocheters of all levels interested in eco-friendly creating. We’d love to welcome you there.
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