This yarn is made of plant fibre – bast fibres of silkweed plants, and this is that could best describe this yarn: silk made from plants. It owes its existence to the fact that there have been a lot of experiments on how to create silk without using silk moths. If you take a skein of Mandarin yarn into your hand then you can satisfy yourself that they are getting very close to real silk. To the eye it is gorgeously glossy with a vivid colour, while to the touch it is soft and cool. (It is worth mentioning that its silkiness, which is a great benefit, is at the same time a drawback because it is slippery – if you don’t pay attention it can leap off the knitting needles, and the threads that make up the yarn can also slip apart if you knit too loosely. I have tried out a number of bamboo yarns and I have found this yarn the least problematic in this regard. It is composed of eighteen threads that are so fine and thin that there is a lower chance that you will prickle among the threads, but I still think it necessary to mention it so that no one will be surprised.) The bamboo is a little tricky to deal with at first, but the fabulous outcome is worth the extra effort. Neither is it a minor consideration that bamboo, as a renewable raw material, is very environmentally friendly, while yarn made from it is antibacterial as well as an excellent heat regulator, warming you up in winter and cooling you down in summer.