A Guelph woman has started a new business selling eco-friendly yarn in smaller quantities to reduce waste.
A long-time knitter, Christine Laframboise loves the craft because it allows her to unwind and feel grounded.
But as the years went by, she became increasingly dissatisfied with the amount of leftover yarn she had left after completing her projects, so she founded Waxwing Yarn Company.
Yarn for fiber arts is typically sold in 100 gram format.
“There are a few brands that offer 50 grams, but that’s pretty rare,” she said.
“If you always buy in the 100 gram format, your project will cost a little more than if you could buy smaller amounts of yarn. It really made me wonder: Why doesn’t anyone offer smaller sizes of the exact same yarn without limiting the color options?”
Waxwing offers a collection of 20 colors in 25 grams and 100 grams.
“This allows anyone who uses my yarn to examine the needs of their project and tailor their purchase even more to their needs,” she said, adding that she hopes to offer more color variety in the future.
One of the biggest advantages of the smaller format is cost savings, but also the purchase of a smaller supply and therefore less waste.
Even though you might plan to use leftover yarn for another project, she says, people often get distracted by new patterns and colors, and “the whole thing ends up building up to the point where you “Has pockets full of leftover yarn and isn’t really motivated to use them.”
For smaller projects like a bonnet or for pops of color in a sweater, knitters may need smaller amounts of yarn.
“So you end up spending a lot of money to have lots of different colors. But with my brand, I can reduce the amount of leftovers and therefore reduce the cost of the overall project,” she said.
Laframboise came up with the idea years ago when she had trouble finding the yarn she needed.
“It’s one of those things that kept bothering me, like I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t buy the yarn I wanted in smaller sizes.”
She also wanted to buy locally produced yarn and had difficulty finding it. When she did, there was a lack of variety.
“I just wonder why there weren’t more, because I knew there were quality sheep locally in Canada,” she said.
Two years ago, she took the business idea seriously, started a business plan, started working with the business center and moved on from there. Although it remains a side hustle for her, the company was officially launched in November.
With the help of Jane Underhill from the Canadian Wool agency, she sourced high-quality Canadian wool and a Canadian manufacturer and selected the colors she wanted.
“And then it came back to me as a finished product,” she said.
Not only are you reducing leftovers by buying smaller quantities, but you are also buying less, thus reducing the amount of resources used to produce the skeins.
It is also durable and biodegradable.
“The yarn I sell is of very good quality. It does not contain any petrochemicals. There is no nylon. There are no superwash additives applied to the yarn,” she said.
“So it is a garment that is extremely durable and can hopefully be passed on to the next generation and is not harmful to the environment. You can put it in your compost and nothing will be left behind.”
The response to her launch so far has been enthusiastic, although she is still trying to illustrate the benefits of using less yarn.
She recently launched a pre-made kit for a project based on a specific pattern in different colors.
“The response was very, very positive from the start,” she said.
The same project might cost $260 if you bought full-size skeins, but the 25-gram bundles mean she can sell them for less, about 44 percent cheaper.
In addition to expanding her offerings, she hopes to host in-person events in the future to bring the community together.
“It's a great way to connect with other people. I think back to the time when my grandmother showed me how to knit. I remember her sitting in her rocking chair in her living room, surrounded by friends,” all chatting, knitting and socializing.
“I really try to be as inclusive as possible because I think any type of craft that involves working with your hands is a really welcome break and slowdown in everyday life, which I think a lot of people need.”
You can see and purchase the wool online or in person at their first trunk show on February 8th from 10am to 3pm at Woolwich Fine Yarns.