So I was looking at the Crafting with a Cause thing and that got me wondering about which fibers are warmest. I’m not a big wool fan, but I understand Alpaca and Yak/Musk Ox Down called Qiviut Fibers are really warm and great when blended with bamboo or silk. Do you know anything about that stuff - is it scratchy like wool? What about Allo (stinging nettle)?..that sounds BAD! Would it be something I can buy ready to knit or would I have to spin it into yarn, first?
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What I know about Qiviut is that it’s expensive as hell!
Good wool isn’t scratchy, but the thing about the Crafting for a Cause is that you will want your item to be easy to care for, AKA machine washable, and most natural fibers don’t do well in the machine to my knowledge.
Wool with a superwash treatment will do fine, or acrylic or cotton (surprisingly warm)
Quiviut, think cashmere soft but crazy expensive. Yak down, soft but usually very short alone and take special spinning techniques. Often blended (I got some silver yak/silk for Christmas I’m bring next Tuesday night Fiberfrolic if you’re around. Yak down is on sale at paradise fibers at the moment btw, has to be spun. Yarn I’m guessing is probably expensive). Less expensive fibers, alpaca is commonly available in fibers and store-bought yarns, and alpaca is 7x warmer than wool.
The thought is good, but charity knit/crochet usually have to be low-maintenance and/or non-allergenic, so most animal fibers like wool aren’t good unless you KNOW it’s ok. You’ll want to stick with acrylics and such. When I’ve done warm homeless scarves before, I think the stitch can play a part, like a denser stitch versus open/lacy/holes. And some stitch combos make a squooshier fabric that is warmer.
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On the stinging nettle fiber, that’s hard to find even for spinners. Not prickly, it’s gonna be from the inner core of the stem. Now if you harvested it yourself, processed it, yeah there’s precautions 
It’s a plant fiber so it’s not insulating and not stretchy, so not great for warm scarves etc but more in places where you’d use say linen (comes from stem of flax flowers).
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Meghan is looking to use acrylic for the exact reasons mentioned. We’re loading up a bushel at scrap. Thankfully it’s plentiful and inexpensive.
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