Soaker patterns and where to get wool????

[hurdy]

So, I have an almost 90 year old Gramma who can pretty much do anything with yarn. She knits and crochets...although I think she likes to crochet better. I've been googling for patterns, but am a bit lost....anyone got some faves? How do you determine size and how many do you need in each size. I haven't thought much about wool before, but thought Gramma would love to have another project (she gets kinda bored some times)....so any info would be helpful! I know I will need to lanolize and know there are links here on how to do that.

Second question is where do I get the wool...what kind of wool works best (are there different kinds, I don't even know :shrug). Can you get wool in colors or do you have to dye it yourself?

One more thing....I live in Louisiana...hot, hot, hot!!! I thought I read that these are actually pretty cool, but want to make sure that I don't overheat baby. I know I probably won't need any longies though!

Thanks for the help!
Erin

[TestifyToLove]

Just stick with soakers and shorties and you won't overheat baby. As someone here so beautifully explained once before, wool is hot in comparision to cotton. When compared to PUL or disposable diapers, wool is MUCH cooler for summertime. Dd keeps getting a rash in anything but wool right now cause its so hot outside.

For patterns, here's the most comprehensive list of options I've seen online.

http://www.fullvid.com/wool/WSLinks.html

As for where to buy your yarn, the possibilities are endless, literally endless. You can buy cheap, you can buy expensive and you can break the bank on wool yarn.

Some of the best places to find wool yarn is Hyena Cart and Etsy. Other very popular options are purewool and peacefleece. You need at least 70% wool, but it doesn't have to be sheep's wool, it can be llama, alpaca, etc. You generally need about 3.5-4oz for shorts, soakers, wraps and about 7-8oz for skirties and longies. You need more yarn for crochet than knit. Measurements are based upon patterns. Some have a classic small, medium, large set-up, others are based upon actual measurements of the child. And, honestly, anyone who works with these things very long will get good at adjusting based upon the child's measurements anyway.