Corn is a ’sustainable’ fiber and is spun from the by-products of corn … the remainder of what is left over from ethanol … it not spun from corn silk. It has many of the same qualities as bamboo and is also excellent for chemo scarves and hats and baby items. Crystal Palace carries a corn sock yarn called Maizy that is combined with nylon elastic. It is my favorite sock yarn and feels much like cotton. It is machine washable and breathes rather nicely. Kollage carries two types of corn yarn. One is is called Corntastic and looks like a plyed mercerized cotton. The second is called Cornucopia and is milled into a narrow ribbon yarn.

Cashmere is a luxury fiber in both feel and price.  It comes from a kashmir goat. The microns (how many strands will fit in a prescribed space) is very high so the yarn is fine and very soft. “A little goes a long way” really applies to this yarn as the yardage is superb on cashmere. Traditionally, cashmere is used for sweaters, scarves and shawls. It should only be handwashed in cool water or dry cleaned. Look for tried and true distributors such as Classic Elite, Rowan and Annie Blatt.