I've been testing a new yarn, Bernat Future Inspire, that is rolling out to Walmart USA this month. There is also Bernat Future Impact and Bernat Future Hope. The trio is dedicated to a sustainable future using recycled materials and is appropriately labelled with Kraft cardboard and minimal dye.
Select stores and Walmart.com are loading as stock is becoming available. You will see some of it already out.
Yarnspirations joins the march of introducing 100% recycled materials for yarn for all three brands. In the world of fast fashion, and I may be a bit guilty for this, we wear things or use things just a few times before we lose interest. A second life for the materials can be done with yarn.
Bernat Future Inspire
I've had a chance to make a Crochet Cat Ear Hat for adults, and I just needed one ball, and I've nearly finished the ball. I did a lot of frogging while in design mode, and when you look at the project, you cannot tell. Which means that, for me, even if I make a mistake and backtrack, I don't notice the yarn peeling, splitting, or looking ragged in the process.
The recycled material is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. This yarn has the expected warmth properties due to the wool used.
I made an incorrect assessment by assuming it's the same as Bernat Softee Chunky yarn. I'm far from wrong. Bernat Softee Chunky is a #5 weight, but the new Bernat Future Inspire is a #6. It's even thicker. When you squish the ball, the yarn bounces back.
Although I am used to acrylic/wool mix, the yarn doesn't feel the same as brand-new acrylic and wool. To my touch, it feels softer. Visually, the yarn has a slightly hazy appearance.
It's one of those yarns where you look at the weight and gauge to match existing projects you already love. There is a sense of satisfaction in the yarn gliding through your hands and into your project.
I would save this type of yarn for smaller projects such as a cowl, a hat, or even extra-chunky mitts, to name a few.
You can search Yarnspirations and use the filters to look by the weight of the yarn to see if something catches your fancy.
If I hadn't crocheted the same hat three times during the design, I would have completed it in less than two hours, but fortunately for you, I did. I've been designing, so there will be a future project in the pipeline that I have done with this yarn.
At the time of writing, I have not yet tested the other two brands and will provide an accurate review once I have used them in a real-world setting.
The project below is the same weight of yarn. Using two colours (1 ball of each) of the Bernat Future Inspire yarn, you can do the same thing.
Suppose you are looking for social responsibility with recycling. This product may check all of your boxes, and you can crochet with sustainability in mind.
When I think of recycled, I guess thrift store, but in this case, I am pleasantly surprised and definitely have more items in mind for the future.
Caron Simply Me Merino came out this fall as well. Just wow, and you can read all about it to see if it checks off your other boxes in yarn desires, too.
Have you completed this project. Show me!