Wellness Trends: 2025

                                  

The Never Ending Granny Square Afghan is a perfect project for calming your mind and enhancing wellness. Beautiful when make out on Noro Ito!

Crafting for wellness has become a growing trend as people recognize the mental and emotional benefits of creative activities like knitting, crochet, and other fiber crafts. Here are some insights and ideas to explore this trend further:

Why Crafting for Wellness is Important

1. Stress Reduction: Engaging in repetitive and rhythmic movements, like those in knitting and crocheting, has been shown to lower stress and promote a meditative state.
2. Mental Focus: Crafting helps improve concentration and mindfulness, offering a break from digital distractions and fast-paced living.
3. Emotional Benefits: The sense of accomplishment from completing a project can boost mood and self-esteem.
4. Social Connection: Crafting groups and workshops foster community, which is crucial for emotional well-being.

Wellness-Focused Crafting Trends

• Soft and Comforting Yarns: Yarn that feels good to touch, such as alpaca, cashmere, or blends designed for comfort.
• Relaxing Color Palettes: Soothing shades like soft blues, muted greens, and neutral tones are associated with calm and relaxation.
• Simple, Meditative Patterns: Patterns that emphasize easy, repetitive stitches such as garter stitch scarves, granny squares, or large-scale blankets, are ideal for relaxation. Create simple quilts with block patterns found in the Three Yard or Five Yard Quilts books from the Fabric Café.  

Ways to Promote Crafting for Wellness

1. Join fellow crafters during Stitch Social every Thursday night from 6-8pm and our last Tuesday of the month Sip and Stitch. Bring your friends along!
2. Take classes to meet other crafters that share interests with you.
3. Pick up ready made kits or bundles of soft yarns, calming fabric colors, and easy patterns

Advances in Textile Recycling

from Debra Cobb, Freelance Writer for Specialty Fabrics Review

Advances in Textile Recycling: New technologies help enable circularity

Many consider advanced textile recycling, including chemical, enzymatic and molecular technologies, to be the path to true circularity, making waste into materials not once but repeatedly.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 73% of collected textile apparel waste is landfilled or incinerated globally. Textile Exchange reports that of the 124 million metric tons of textiles produced in 2023, less than 1% consisted of recycled textile fibers. The organization also says that the biggest share of the global fiber market—64% in 2021—is made from petroleum-based synthetics: polyester, nylon, acrylic and others. In advanced recycling, synthetic textile fibers are depolymerized—broken down into monomers—and then recombined in various ways to create new fibers.

But to be successful, the use of these cutting-edge technologies requires partners to ensure a steady supply of textile waste inputs,
a reliable supply chain for sorting and processing them, and offtake agreements from downstream brands and manufacturers.

Economic viability

Reju™, a materials regeneration company, has created a game plan that will turn hard-to-recycle polyester waste into new textiles in an infinite loop. Owned by Technip Energies, Reju is led by apparel industry veteran Patrik Frisk as CEO and Technip’s Alain Poincheval as COO. The company was incorporated a year ago and has just opened its Regeneration Hub Zero in Frankfurt, Germany, where it expects to begin deliveries in 2025 of Reju polyester made from textile waste.

Reju utilizes VolCat, an organic catalytic chemical recycling process for polyester textiles and packaging, developed in a joint venture between Technip, IBM and Under Armour®, although Under Armour is no longer involved. The process extracts clean monomers while creating 50% less carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions than virgin polyester. Clean monomers result in better yarn and better fabric.

“We want to help the brands make better-performing products, such as fibers that shed less,” says Frisk. The process will also enable the circular regeneration of polyester waste for industrial, automotive and aviation textiles.

Reju has a team of textile and marketing experts, including textile aggregators, fiber and yarn spinners, textile mills, and major brands, and it’s teaming with Goodwill and WM® to secure a supply of unsaleable textile waste.

Textile donations in the thrift shop business that can’t be sold are processed into rags, fiberfill and insulation; exported to secondhand markets; or landfilled or incinerated.

Over the past two years, Goodwill took a deep dive into valorizing waste textiles as feedstock for new fiber, teaming with fellow nonprofit Accelerating Circularity for a pilot study funded with a $1.28 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. 

More than 25 local Goodwill organizations came together to form four regional hubs, based in Canada, Michigan and the Northeast and Southeast of the U.S., to focus on scaling textile reuse and recycling. Each hub put together business plans outlining a strategy to create feedstock from unwearable textile donations, including aggregating, sorting and analyzing fiber content.

A key finding of Goodwill’s study was the suitability of 60% of its post-retail textiles for use as recycling feedstock for current technologies. “Our sorting studies have primarily used near-infrared scanners to identify the fiber composition of textiles, which includes devices developed by Matoha and Sortile,” says Brittany Dickinson, director of sustainability at Goodwill. 

Dickinson adds, “Goodwill is focused on developing the skills and systems to transform textiles into a feedstock that meets recyclers’ various specifications.”

Reju is eyeing the eastern U.S. and Western Europe for its first regeneration hubs “because that’s where the waste is. Waste is local; offtake is global,” says Frisk. While initial volumes will be small, future sites will have a capacity of 50,000 metric tons (55,116 U.S. tons).

Scaling up molecular recycling

In 2021, Eastman Chemical Company commercialized two technologies for the transformation of hard-to-recycle plastic waste into new material for high-quality polymers. In March 2024, the company’s molecular recycling plant in Kingsport, Tenn., achieved on-spec initial production, moving toward reaching its capacity to recycle 110,000 metric tons (121,254 U.S. tons) of plastic waste annually, including plastic packaging, carpet and polyester.

“Today, with one plant, the level of feedstock is manageable,” says Chris Killian, Eastman senior VP and chief technology officer. “But the infrastructure challenge is to grow.”

Eastman’s polyester renewal technology employs methanolysis to convert polyesters back to their basic monomers and create new materials. Eastman’s carbon renewal technology processes a wider spectrum of plastic waste materials, deriving syngas used in the production of fibers such as Eastman’s Naia™ recyclable cellulose acetate.

While much of Kingsport’s recycled output is durable consumer plastics, Eastman recently collaborated with apparel brand Patagonia to recycle 8,000 pounds of pre- and postconsumer clothing waste into new fiber.

The company has an additional molecular recycling plant in the works in Longview, Texas, partially funded by a U.S. Department of Energy contract. According to Killian, the Texas plant will leverage solar energy with thermal battery technology for heat and power, lowering CO₂e, and will also feature a polymerization facility. The goal for the two plants is to recycle 250 million pounds of plastic annually, which the existing plant has reached, and double that by 2030 with the second plant coming online in 2028.

Eastman will build its third molecular recycling plant in Normandy, France. “We are currently working on offtake contracts,” says Killian. “Europe has a stronger regulatory environment as well as more advanced collection systems. Ultimately, our commercial customer base, as well as our inputs, need to be regional.”

Recycling at ‘hyper-scale’

Syre, a textile impact company based in Stockholm, Sweden, launched this year with a mission to establish textile-to-textile plants producing circular polyester worldwide. The company’s goal is to have multiple production plants up and running at capacity by 2032, producing more than 3 million metric tons (3.3 million U.S. tons) of circular PET.

Funded by H&M Group, Vargas, Volvo, TPG Rise Climate and other investors, Syre employs a depolymerization process that produces Bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET), which then undergoes a polymerization process to become PET. More sustainable than rPET created from postconsumer plastic bottles, Syre’s textile-to-textile production can also handle polyester blends and reduces CO₂e by up to 85% compared to oil-based virgin polyester.

Syre is working with the apparel, automotive and home interior industries. Emma Stjernlöf, chief communications and people officer at Syre, says H&M’s commitment includes an offtake agreement for $600 million worth of circular PET over seven years.

Syre is also putting down roots in North Carolina. The company acquired its technology with the purchase of N.C.-based Premirr Plastics, which has spent the last nine years developing ways to turn consumer waste into circular PET.

The company’s next step is a blueprint plant to be built in partnership with Selenis, a global supplier of high-quality specialty polyester. Syre’s facility will adjoin Selenis’ production plant in Cedar Creek, N.C., to create a continuous production flow. Scheduled to be operational in mid-2025, the plant will be capable of delivering up to 10,000 metric tons (11,023 U.S. tons) of circular polyester annually.

Advanced recycling from ‘Down Under’

Australian enviro-tech innovator Samsara Eco is creating infinitely recyclable nylon 6,6 from textile waste through a patented technology using plastic-eating enzymes called EosEco™. According to Sarah Cook, the company’s chief commercial officer and COO, the enzymatic process is capable of recycling polyester, nylon 6 and blended textiles.

Backed by Main Sequence and Woolworths Group, Samsara launched in 2020 out of Australian National University. With a facility near Canberra and R&D at the university labs, a new Commercial Innovation Hub in Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, is due to open in mid-2025.

“We’re also planning to build the world’s first nylon 6,6 enzymatic recycling facility with NILIT® Ltd. in Southeast Asia, which we’re targeting to be operational by late 2026,” says Cook. “Our facilities in Australia have already enabled us to produce a sold-out clothing line with lululemon. … Our supply chain for offtakes is with spinners, yarn and textile manufacturers as well as global brands.”

The company also plans to scale its tech to infinitely recycle all forms of plastics and tackle other supply chains such as automotive, electronics and consumer packaged goods. “EosEco reduces the end-to-end recycling time, while also operating at a lower temperature and pressure to ultimately reduce waste and carbon emissions. By solving the circularity piece of the puzzle for all plastics, we’re making it possible to imagine a more sustainable future,” CEO Paul Riley states in a press release. 

Debra Cobb is a freelance writer based in North Carolina with special expertise in the textile industry.

 

Sewing Double Gauze

from Carol J. Freesia, Senior Technical Editor for Threads Magazine

Double gauze consists of two lightweight, sheer gauze layers lightly joined in a grid of about 1 inch. The resulting fabric's open weave makes it cool, soft, and breathable. It's more opaque than a single gauze layer (lining is optional) but no less delightful to wear in hot, humid climates.

Double gauze is usually made of cotton, but bamboo and linen varieties also exist. Cotton double gauze is absorbent and nonclingy, with a distinctive lightly rumpled texture once laundered. At Silk Road Textiles, you'll find double gauze in solid colors and a wide range of prints, from kid-friendly designs to richly colored abstracts, geometrics, and florals.

Double Gauze is suited to tops, tunics, skirts, and dresses with relaxed ease. Opt for gathers rather than darts, and don't attempt to use this fabric for highly structured pieces. Loungewear and pajamas are especially appealing in these fabrics, as are children's and infants' clothes and swaddling blankets. And cotton double gauze makes wonderfully soft quilts. 

One of the attributes of double gauze is its cooperative nature. It's machine-washable in cold water and line-dries quickly. The yardage may be flat when you purchase it, but once washed and dried, it develops a soft, wafflelike texture. You can iron the fabric, but it will never be completely flat and smooth-so enjoy its characteristic lightly rumpled effect.

Prewashing and machine-drying is a good idea, as there may be some shrinkage. Once you've done this, you can safely wash and line-dry your finished garments with no further shrinkage. Drying by machine may cause further shrinkage or leave your garment more crumpled than you like.

There are no special techniques for working with double gauze, but keep in mind the fabric's loose weave when sewing. The following tips are suggested by ShannonFabrics.com.

Press before cutting. Wash and dry the yardage, then steam-press to flatten it slightly.

Stabilize when needed. Use spray starch, sizing, or a layer of wash-away stabilizer for easier cutting and sewing.

Follow the lines. For straight cuts, follow the gridlines.

Mark without clipping. Use chalk or water- or air-soluble markers; clipped notches may ravel and weaken the seams.

Reinforce and interface as needed. Use a lightweight fusible or sew-in interfacing and apply stay tape at shoulder seams or other areas where there may be stress during wear.

Staystitch or tape seamlines. This prevents distortion along cut edges during handling.

Baste with glue. This is a quick and easy way to align seams before sewing; choose a wash-away adhesive.

Choose sharp pins and needles. Silk pins and 70/10 or 80/12 microtex needles minimize snags.

Opt for a longer stitch. To avoid puckered seams, try a 3.0 mm or 3.5 mm stitch length and reduce the thread tension.

Finish the seam allowances. Double gauze frays, especially along on-grain cut edges. Use French or flat-felled seams, serging, or binding to prevent raveling.

Play with fringed edges. If you like the frayed look at hemlines, patch pocket edges, or elsewhere, straight- or zigzag-stitch one half inch from the cut edge to control how far the fabric ravels.

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Tips for Substituting Yarns

from Pauliina Kuunsola, Senior Editor and In-House Tech Editor at Laine Publishing

Did you fall in love with a design but can’t find the yarn listed in the pattern? Or did you see something great in your LYS but don’t know of a pattern that uses it? Don’t worry! You can always substitute yarns. Pauliina Kuunsola from Laine shares her tips!

Yarn Weight and Yardage 

Patterns usually list the yarn the sample was knit with and photographed in. This does not mean you need to use the same. There are many beautiful yarns out there, and you should always feel free to substitute them with another suitable yarn based on what is available in your area or within your budget or preferences.

To help you with this, the patterns usually mention the yarn weight (lace, super fine, fine, light, medium, bulky, super bulky, and jumbo) and the required yardage for each size. Yarn weight is the information you need when you start searching for a substitute, and the yardage will help you figure out how many skeins of your chosen yarn you need.

Before we go further, it is good to remember that yardage is always just an estimate. Different types of fibers and spinning styles make the yarn meter-to-weight ratio vary. Also, the larger the project, the more individual gauge matters. Even tiny differences can affect the yardage needed in, say, sweaters. Designers usually try to consider this and add a little extra for the yardage requirements, so this is a good guide when substituting.

But back to the yarn weight. When substituting yarn, look for yarns of the same weight, e.g., substitute lace with another lace-weight yarn, worsted with another worsted-weight yarn, etc.

Fiber Content

In addition to the weight, it’s good to look at the fibre content of the original yarn. Choose a yarn with a similar fibre content if you want to knit a piece that looks like the one in the photos. As well as possibly affecting the yardage, the fibre content affects the characteristics of the knitted fabric.

For example, a sweater made of 100% alpaca will have a completely different fit and drape than one made of 100% wool, even if the yarns are the same thickness. This doesn’t mean you can’t do it; just be aware that the result will probably look different.

Combining Yarns 

Going a step further, you can also try creating your own yarn combinations. Say you want to knit a sweater that calls for DK-weight yarn, but the color that caught your eye only comes in fingering-weight. You can knit with two fingering-weight yarns held together to achieve approximately the same gauge as with a DK-weight yarn. 

The same works the other way around, too. If a pattern is worked with fingering-weigh wool and lace-weight mohair held together, you could knit it with a sport-weight yarn held single. 

Make a Swatch

When substituting yarns, a gauge swatch is always recommended. You can check your gauge, see how the yarn knits up, and decide if it’s suitable for what you want to knit. And if you feel unsure about substituting yarns, remember that your LYS (local yarn shop) can most probably help!

I hope this helps. We'll also be discussing yarn weights in our upcoming Laine issues!