Bamboo, the new wonder plant?

I remember in the 90s and 00s it was aloe vera... everything had aloe vera in it... it was the new wonder plant. For me now that we're in the 10s it's bamboo, bamboo is in everything!

People eat it (so do animals), we build with it, we use it for paper, bamboo extracts are used in medicine and now we knit with it!

The sleeve on my yarn tells me that it's a bamboo and cotton mix (all I know is that its super soft!). I've seen bamboo socks for sale, and have even found a retailer that sells nothing but bamboo apparel.

So I've decided to find out a little bit more about this new wonder material.

SOFT
People are surprised by the feel of bamboo, all my softies are silky soft (makes it hard to knit with but worth it in the end). Imagine a strong silk... they feel like that! But Bamboo's soft silky feel comes with other benefits...

CLEAN
It's naturally anti-bacterial (well antimicrobial), preventing skin irritation or allergic reactions naturally.

COOL
Bamboo is cool, no really t's usually 3 degrees cooler than cotton, and removes moisture away from the body quicker than other fibres - leaving you feel cool and refreshed!

PLANET FRIENDLY
Bamboo is a grass, and some species can grow up to 4ft a day when mature! So it's easy to regenerate once it's been cut down for use, a bit like mowing a lawn rather than deforesting a large area!

So bamboo, the new wonder plant and the new yarn of choice for my knitted softies, squishies and mice!

Monday maker... the pieces

Here's Sarah making some of her pieces

And here's some of the finished articles!

 

 

Monday Maker... with Sarah Davies!

Sarah – The Person

Name: Sarah Davies

Year of Birth: 1976

Current City: Guildford is my closest city!

Company name: u-ni-k gifts llp

How would you describe a typical Sunday?

Kathryn will wake us all up, usually by running in shouting “Morning Time!”. Daddy makes breakfast & the grown ups have a few cups of coffee. If the weather is nice, Kathryn & I will go out on an adventure while Daddy does his thing. If it's raining then we'll play painting or play doh. Sunday curry followed by watching TV in front of the fire is our family time before Kathryn's bath, book and bedtime routine.

And here a quite obvious question: How did you become a talented crafts person / designer? What inspired you to do this?

My Mum taught me how to knit when I was young but by the time I was a teenager I had cast aside my knitting needles for paint brushes and school books.

When I became pregnant with Kathryn I was keen to make her something traditional. So I picked up knitting needles again and started knitting squares. Once I'd completed the blanket, I looked for more challenging things to knit. A brief look around Ravellry brought me to the knitted softies. Not fond of knitting in wool or synthetic materials I started to deviate from the patterns I had to create my own little creatures. Now each one of them is lovingly made by me and has their own story to tell.

Not being the best seamstress in town, their embroidered faces usually gives me the character of the animal and from that their name. Dirty Dorris was so very cheery that she looked made for splashing about making mud pies and generally becoming covered in dirt. So the dream to become an archaeologist was an obvious choice for her story.

Its Fill-in-the-blanks time. So, please fill in the blanks:

I love photography because it allows me to capture moments to cherish forever. 

If I could live anywhere I'd live in New Zealand by the sea. 

If I weren’t a designer / maker , I would be a photographer. 

People who like natural things will like my creations.

Dirty Dorris, our tom-bunny!

I'd like to introduce you to Dorris, she's the little sister of Bella Bunny and is part of the u-ni-k gifts knitted family.

Our youngest family member!

Dorris is not like her big sister, Bella, she's still growing into her ears and most of her clothes. As the youngest member of the Bunny family, Dorris has a lot of preloved clothes. Not that this bothers Dorris, she's not a bunny that cares too much about her appearance. To Dorris one dress is pretty much the same as another. So she can usually be found in an old hooded jumper doing what she likes best. Digging!

Not your average hooded youngster

Yes, our Dorris is an explorer or adventurer – she's always off somewhere digging up ancient artefacts or looking for dinosaur bones. She's happiest outside getting her paws muddy while discovering the next big palaeontological breakthrough. This is how she earned her nickname – 'Dirty Dorris'.

Unlike her sister, Dorris is knitted in cotton. This makes Dorris more hard wearing for the rough and tumble life of an adventurer bunny. Also she can be put through a washing machine cycle for when she really is very dirty.

Both Bella Bunny and Dirty Dorris are knitted from the excellent Babara Prime's Fuzzy Mitten pattern for rabbits. As always, I've adjusted the patterns to the yarns I use but I try to keep as close as possible to the pattern.

Dorris and Bella both take me about a week to knit and their clothes take a couple of days. So if you'd like a Dorris or a Bella, please allow for about 10 days for making & posting.

Dorris and Bella are available to purchase on www.unikgifts.co.uk