Touch Yarns
Touch Yarns use softer superfine kid mohair, merino and polwarth (merino/Lincoln cross) wools to produce a range of knitting and weaving yarns that avoid the prickle factor of coarser knitting wools on the market.
At Yum Yarn, we carry the merino (60%)/possum fur** (30%)/silk (10%) skeins. The beautiful colours are quite simply, DELICIOUS!
Possum Fur: For those who may worry that wearing fur supports a cruel industry, it is important to note that possums are an introduced species which threaten New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna. Unlike in their native Australia, possums have no natural predators in New Zealand and have therefore been able to breed unchecked, leading to astronomical numbers of the creatures. Their fondness for unique native trees, the eggs and chicks of endangered birds, and insects which form a vital part of the diet of many of the country’s endangered birds, is having disastrous consequences.
21,000 tons of vegetation are demolished by possums each night and native bird life is being driven to the point of extinction. As a result, the New Zealand government has declared possums a serious threat to the country’s biodiversity and an official pest, and has begun measures to eradicate them. Possum fur is most often a by-product of the government’s cull on the animals, the majority of which are left simply to rot in the bush.
NZ Nature. (2017). A beginner's guide to possum merino and its qualities and uses in clothing. Retrieved from: https://www.newzealand.com/int/article/a-beginners-guide-to-possum-merino-clothing-and-why-you-need-it/
