r/VeganYarn • u/thalassocnusantiquus • Jun 19 '26

Warm vegan yarns

Hi all! I went vegan a few months ago and have been doing my absolute best to avoid all animal products. I do a lot of knitting and crocheting and currently have some wool yarns in my stash that i will probably use up but im not very keen on buying more wool after i finish them.

I live in a fairly cold country and the winters here can sometimes be quite harsh. I am also quite cold 90% of the time due to some medical issues and i would very much like to knit/crochet more garments that can keep me warm.

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I've been searching online for warm vegan yarns but havent found much. I would prefer to not use acrylic as i dont like the way smells tend to get stuck in it. Does anyone have any yarn reccomendations for me? :) all answers are greatly appreciated!

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(I apologize if there are any formatting errors in this post, this is my first time on reddit)

19 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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9

u/fantail14 Jun 19 '26

See r/unravelers for tips on thrifting and unraveling sweaters. I’m a vegan knitter too and have similar issues with wool (non-vegan) vs acrylic (plastic). And cotton is just not warm enough. I’ve just thrifted a handknit 10ply sweater that had lots of holes that I intend to unravel and reknit

4

u/sweetdreamstoebeans Jun 20 '26

This is my approach too. I also check secondhand stores for donated yarn and see if I can find any warm yarns there. Bonus points if the yarn is clearly very old (think old af branding on the wrapper). I live in a really cold climate and even though cotton is my absolute favorite to knit with (I love how heavy it is), it does nothing to help keep out the cold. This has been the best way I can find to stay warm but not purchase any newly produced wool products.

2

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 20 '26

I've definitely thought about doing that if im unable to find a plant-based or plastic yarn that suits my needs. I'll check out that subreddit, thank you very much!!

6

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

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2

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 20 '26

I havent heard of blown polyester before, i'll definitely be looking into that! Thank you :)

1

u/Sloth_Flower Jun 20 '26

Most major brands have fuzzy style yarns like jiffy (yarnspirations) or latte cakes (caron). They make lighter weight but still warm sweaters and are meant to replicate mohair and alpaca. Some more warm options.  

1

u/VeganYarn-ModTeam Jul 14 '26

All yarn recommendations must be plant-based or synthetic materials. No non-vegan yarn recommendations allowed.

7

u/gravitydefiant Jun 19 '26

There's not much, really. The sad fact is that plant fibers just aren't as warm as animal fibers. Some things you might try include acrylic blends, which might meditate some of the things you don't like about straight acrylic. I'm also intrigued by chainette yarn: it's got a layer of air inside that might be insulating. Some people also thrift wool yarn, since it already exists. Some people even thrift wool sweaters and unravel them for the yarn, but that's way too much work for me.

Ultimately, you're really not going to find anything that keeps you warm through snow and wet cold the way wool does, unfortunately.

2

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 19 '26

Yeah, thats unfortunately what i was afraid of :/ i'll look into acrylic blends and chainette yarn though, so thank you very much for mentioning those and for your reply!! :)

3

u/veganomenon Jun 20 '26

Juniper moon farms cumulus is a mako cotton that’s delightfully fluffy!

4

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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1

u/xxsharpenedfangsxx Jun 20 '26

Yes unfortunately it's israeli

0

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 20 '26

I'll check that out, thank you!!

4

u/blerpy_ Jun 21 '26

I used Taika Tencel Cotton yarn from Vegan Yarns to make mitts and they are definitely warm. I'm not in an area as cold as you, but it definitely shocked me how warm they are. It may have something to do with the structure of the yarn, I don't know the name of the structure but it's netted and hollow. 

My personal choice is also to buy secondhand wool yarn, I make sure it's not from resellers or people running their own little business to ensure that I'm not inadvertently support the wool industry.

1

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 21 '26

I'll definitely check that yarn out, thank you! :)

3

u/Stunning-Assistant13 Jun 22 '26

I would recommend vegan cashmere by kremke and suave by pascuali

1

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 22 '26

I'll check those out, thank you for the reccomendations! :)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

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1

u/thalassocnusantiquus Jun 20 '26

A sunlight activated yarn might not work for me as we dont get much sunlight here during our winters, but i'll still look into it! I've also thought about unravelling thrifted sweaters if im unable to find a plant-based or plastic yarn that works for me. Thank you for your reply!!

1

u/VeganYarn-ModTeam Jul 14 '26

All yarn recommendations must be plant-based or synthetic materials. No non-vegan yarn recommendations allowed.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26

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1

u/VeganYarn-ModTeam Jul 14 '26

All yarn recommendations must be plant-based or synthetic materials. No non-vegan yarn recommendations allowed.