Acrylic Yarn... - Page 3

knittingachiever · 02-12-2006, 10:52 PM

A lot of the cool specialty yarns that are so fun to make kitschy scarves with are 100% acrylic (or some other oft-maligned synthetic yarn), like Crystal Palace Splash. So I do plenty of knitting with synthetic fibers.

BUT...what held me back when I first started knitting from really enjoying myself was picturing the look I had to plaster on my face when my grandmother would present me with a horribly scratchy, misshapen sweater she had knitted. It made me sad that all the work I was putting into my creations would ultimately result in generally non-plussed reactions. Once I discovered my LYS and all the beautiful natural fibers that would knit into garments and accessories that people would WANT to wear, that's when I became an addict.

knittingdoula · 02-13-2006, 05:34 AM

For all those who are holding their breath about the soft yarn at Michaels', I will go tomorrow and check it out and get back to you. Sorry to be such a yarn tease!

Ingrid - for my baby longies, I use Malabrigo yarn. INCREDIBLY soft and scrumptious, though it does pill a bit. But my little girl seems very happy in it. For baby socks, I use Art Yarn supermerino, which is a nice washable yarn that knits up nicely. For a hat I'm making, I'm using Debbie Bliss baby Cashmerino, which does have 33% microfiber in it. It knits up beautifully, though, and has a lovely drape and touch.

I'll probably use more of the Baby cashmerino for a sweater. Oh yeah, and I ordered 4 skeins of Sheepsdown from EZ/Meg Swansen's site to make a baby blanket. It knits up at 2.5 stitches per inch

and s a little rougher than I thought it would be. However, decent washing in Eucalan, plus some blocking, should produce fine results. I'm considering using the yarn for a sweater for myself, however, and finding another wool for Miriam's blanket.

Now I'm kind of curious to try alpaca yarn. Does anyone else have any experience with it? How does it wear? Lots of pilling?

Alison

Ingrid · 02-13-2006, 05:38 AM

Alpaca is wonderful! Soft and warm, just lovely to work with. I haven't done anything but a scarf and a bag (shaped like an alpaca), so I don't know about wear, yet. I do have some lovely, gorgeously hand dyed alpaca that I will be knitting up after I'm done caressing and admiring it. So, so soft. . . .