Kelly Ryan felt her job in IT was “sucking my soul away”, so she decided on some lifestyle changes. She took a part-time admin job at Oxford University's department of computing — and joined a knitting group.

"A year later I went vegan and I realised that a lot of yarn stores were selling animal fibres.

They are marketing luxury yarns which look really attractive, but it makes life very difficult for someone who does not want to use animal products. I realised there was a need — they did not have anything that was vegan-friendly."

So Ms Ryan, 31, has set up the Vegan Yarn Store, an Internet site where people can buy products which do not use animal fibres.

She said: "A lot of yarn is acrylic, which is a great low-price yarn for beginners but if you want to create beautiful products in natural fibres it is more difficult. You get to the stage when you want more of a variety of feels and textures. That is where I come in."

She has searched around to find more unusual yarns like bamboo, hemp and banana, and also mixed fibres which are suitable for particular uses such as socks or baby garments.

"Hemp is quite rough so it is good for things like bath mats, a back scrub or dishcloths. It took me a few months to find suppliers. They are not necessarily vegan, but I cherry-pick the products."

Craft makers are big users of social media and Ms Ryan has combined her IT skills with her passion for different crafts to market her products to key users.

"Crafting is my life. A couple of years ago I came across amigerumi, Japanese crochet and I did a lot of toy making. At the moment I am making a lot of baby stuff because everyone around me seems to be having babies."

She says crafting encompasses a wide range of people, each with their own needs and interests, and feels she now has a core of customers who follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram and suggest new ideas for stock.

"There is a group who believe crafting is a feminist tool — that we can be strong and intelligent and still make crafty things. I can see it might be like that for some people — but for me it was just a way to get out of the rat-race.”

Contact: 07980 437952 Web: www.veganyarnstore.com