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I Knit With The World's Deadliest Yarn

Good Yarn Bad Knits

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What if I told you the softest yarn I've ever knit with is also technically an instrument of ecological warfare?

New Zealand has a possum problem. As in: approximately 30 million brushtail possums — introduced from Australia in 1837 for a fur trade that went SPECTACULARLY sideways — and they are eating the native forest alive. So at some point, someone looked at all of that and said: what if we made yarn out of it?

In this Fiber Story, I dig into the full context: how the brushtail possum got to New Zealand in the first place, what they're actually doing to the ecosystem (it's bad), how the possum fiber industry developed as a byproduct of government-mandated pest control, and whether buying possum merino is actually sustainable — or whether it just feels that way because the label uses the word "eco."

Spoiler: the ethical reality is more complicated than the marketing copy, and as always, I have thoughts.

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20 Comments

@starcop 1 month ago

its interesting to hear your mixed feelings on possum fur as a new zealander. for myself, and i imagine a good number of other new zealander's, i get this feeling of "good riddance" when it comes to possums, so i am always very happy to see more possum products knowing the harm they cause here, its just a nice bonus that the fur makes for nice wool. i have possum gloves which are very thin and lightweight while being warmer and less itchy than merino, now my favourite gloves.

@maswannie 1 month ago

Being from Aotearoa/New Zealand, I am so happy when I see possum yarn being produced and used. Through man’s mistakes they have destroyed whole ecosystems and brought many other birds and other small creatures to the verge of extinction. When I was a child, you would get paid by the government for every possum tail you produced but things have got more scientific and results are improving. Here’s to a predator free 2050!

@joanna871 1 month ago

Consider buying New Zealand made possum yarn (Zealana is one). I lived in NZ in the 90’s. You should add: possums are also nocturnal and creepy. Make noises that sound like cackling laugh, nest in attics and can be menace even in towns. Back then they paid per skin for hunting them. They basically eradicated wild kiwi birds.
I love my Zealana Sophie Scarf and it is soft and warm. It did knit like a mohair/angora/merino yarn.
Love your podcasts!❤

@battyrae1398 1 month ago

ayyyy i just sent my friend some of this! she absolutely adores it hahaha. yay to helping conservation efforts!

@KellyPole 1 month ago

Thank you soooo much for this episode. I live in Australia and loved hearing about the history between us and New Zealand. The differences in wildlife are astounding and kinda hilarious that most people don't know it.
I have some NZ possum in my stash and yet to use it...yeah I will get there when the right project comes along.
I love these deep dives into different yarns. Love your content!!!

@immaculatethreads 1 month ago

Thank you for this very considered discussion of what has happened to our flora and fauna in Aotearoa/NZ. All of this was underpinned by Darwinian theory. Thankfully a lot of our native species are making a comeback but it is always a fight against the hegemony of profit and continuing belief in the survival of the fittest!!!

@deidregoodrich7292 1 month ago

I’m not conflicted. Sometimes invasive species need to be eradicated. Making valuable possum yarn? Brilliant!

@Knitactually 1 month ago

Good yarn, bad possums

@shelleyfry 1 month ago

Loved this. My merino possum blend gloves are so good I have to take them off from time to time because my hands get so hot. And yes, luxurious is a great description for it. While possums aren’t evil, they don’t belong. I love kiwi, tūī, silvereyes/tauhou, fantails/piwakawaka and the forests in which they make their homes more than any introduced species. Thanks to local pest eradication efforts, including possums, these birds are all part of my neighbourhood. It’s only been in my lifetime that tūī are common. I had never seen one until I was 20 and got to visit an unpopulated island north of the country. A couple of years ago I counted eight of them feeding in a kōwhai tree in my garden.

@SouthernCharmaine 1 month ago

You’re like this brilliant investigative reporter who investigates topics I would never know about otherwise. Thanks for sharing! Very interesting. 😊

@anonamous9665 1 month ago

I'd like to try weaving with this yarn, a scarf would be so warm.
Thanks for raising awareness of this vital conservation work!

@Shetooktothewoods 1 month ago

I remember years ago toward the beginning of Knitty, there was a hat pattern called Possum that did, in fact, call for a possum yarn. I wondered how many (north american) possums one might need to brush to come up with a skein of that and who was even doing it. New Zealand’s yarn solution makes much more sense.

@patperrier4599 1 month ago

I made a hat with NZ possum, and it's very pretty. It shedded really badly the first few times I wore it, but it's not doing that now, and it's one of the coziest hats I have.

@Kereru 1 month ago

As a kiwi, it's funny to hear people talk about possum-merino blends as "exotic" because it's so common here! I'd certainly recommend it though, it's wonderfully light weight and soft yarn, and I actually feel better ethically about using possum-merino blends than I do about using cashmere, because I've seen the devastating impacts possums have on our environment, whereas I do worry about the sustainability of cashmere.
And please don't feel squimish about using possum blends. Possums have no such qualms or hesitation about striping our trees bare and killing our wildlife. They are a menace here. It's particularly tragic that they take out the old growth in forests first, i.e. our beautiful hardwood native trees that take 100s of years to grow and can't be easily replaced. In areas where possums aren't controlled, the whole ecosystem suffers.

@jennymiles4426 1 month ago

Living in Australia I’ve had a lot of opportunities to knit with Merino Possum both from Circus Tonic and another fabulous local hand dyer , Louie and Lola. I’ve knit several garments with it and it’s probably my favourite yarn . And just wait until you block it ! The furry fibres all fill in and make your fabric look perfect. I use fingering both on its own and also with mohair to get a larger gauge like in my Norma but the fingering is definitely lofty and knits up as at least sport even a drapey DK. I agree with you on the morality of knitting with possum, they’re being culled anyway why not make it count?

@beyondallmeasure 1 month ago

Cows with opossum licking bad habits was not a concept I expected to hear about. But I love your dives into these topics!

@angelinacrafts5385 1 month ago

So interesting! I would love to have just two inches of each of these fascinating fibers you find to sample the textures.

@sybil_the_cat 1 month ago

Thank you so much for reviewing this yarn. I have a lot of choice anxiety and I'm averse to yarn that is scratchy at all, and this one has been on my list for a possible buy for a while - this tipped the scale. Different note: knit the Elise scarf after it turned up on another list on this channel.

@MagneticTuatara 1 month ago

Possum fur and yarn is lovely and soft and lightweight; I love my possum items.

I get why people may feel bad about the eradication efforts and that such a luxurious feeling product is created through the death and (probably) suffering of an animal just doing its thing; but this particular animal is devastating (as you said) one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet.
I love our native and endemic flora and fauna, and they deserve more of a chance to thrive. Its obviously more of a problem than just possums though, the government did just disestablished the Ministry for the Environment... Humans are the most frustrating animals.

P.S. When I was a teenager (in Otago, NZ) one of our miniature jack russells climbed a tree after a possum and couldn't get back down. 😆She also got stuck in a rabbit burrow once, we had to dig her out.

@onemissingpiece6798 1 month ago

Hello from New Zealand, great video and analysis. It is great yarn, I don't use it much as it is a little pricey but shines in accessories I think where you don't need too much yarn. It is very warm! When or if Predator Free NZ is achieved, then the possum fur use will also end here naturally. I am hoping maybe for scientific advances where something could be introduced to the possum population that will make them unable to breed so that they will naturally disappear in a generation or two. Look forward to seeing your finished hat ! You've also made me realise I have taken it for granted that I can easily get this yarn and I should make more use of it :)