Thinking of starting knitting again, what yarn should I use?

[Annainprogress]

I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to lambswool (itch if it's next to my skin), and I think I'd rather have real fibre not acrylic. What would you recommend? I seem to be fine with cashmere but that's pretty expensive :think

[milkmaidmama]

I'm making my dd a sweater with this...

ttp://www.spudandchloe.com/yarns/sweater/


it's heavenly, I find wool really itchy too depending and I wouldn't have even know this was.....it's expensive though...hence why I'm making a small sweater not one for me :)....

but maybe a blend with cotton? I've heard a lot of the itching associated with wool has a lot to do with how it's processed....

[Eowyn]

Alpaca and Bamboo are nice fibers to work with. I love Alpaca and silk blends. :yum

[mipennsn]

Cotton, linen (knitpicks makes a nice Cotton & linen blend), alpaca, silk, some acrylic blends are nice. About anything.

Cotton is usually easy to find locally.

[Kiara.I]

It kind of depends on what you want to make. Fibres have different properties. Bamboo, for instance, is very drapey. Cotton can be much stiffer. Hemp is very heavy (and can be hard on the fingers as it takes a while to soften up.)

Now, have you tried knitting with wool? Or just tried wearing it? Because there are lots and lots of different brands/styles out there. Some are very hard-wearing, but tend to be itchy. Others are very soft, but may be prone to pilling if they get rubbed much. It might be that you're not allergic, but were just using a somewhat scratchy wool that would be more suitable for a fishing gansey than a baby blanket. :giggle

Also, you could look into organic wool and see if that affects you, as it might have been the processing that you had a problem with.

And there are now yarns made of corn, muskox, possum, soy...really, the possibilities are endless. Have fun!

[KnittingHappy]

I'm sorry, but I'm no help to you. I want to make socks for a friend of mine and she is allergic to wool too. Eowyn sent me links for good yarns that aren't wool. Let me look and see if I can easily dig her PM out of my inbox. It is bedtime now, so it might be tomorrow before I get it done.

My first thought though was use alpaca!

[TestifyToLove]

For starting out, I would probably recommend cotton. It's easy to find even in just crafting stores versus yarn stores. It's fairly cheap. It works up well. It's natural and not acrylic.

You can easily find softer cotton online if you don't want the tougher kinds you can find at places like Micheal's, Hobby Lobby and Joanns.

Alpaca is fairly expensive, and while I've seen a few options in crafting stores, it can be hard to find in local stores unless you are in a major city.

Bamboo is another option. Most stores have some variety of bamboo now. However, it can be slick and hard to manipulate if you aren't used to working with it. However, it has a HIGH petting factor if you do work with it.

[Kiara.I]

A reminder that the OP is in the UK, so probably does not have Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Joanns available to her. ;) Nor knitpicks, for that matter.

[TestifyToLove]

Cotton is still a fairly accessible fiber choice, no matter where she lives. It's cheap, even nice cotton is cheaper than what I've found of wool or alpaca in the past. Also cotton is not as stretchy so your stitches stay put versus getting loose, or you tugging to make them tighter like stretchier fibers.

[Annainprogress]

I suspect it was acrylic I used to knit, I was a child and made stuff like a scarf I think. Thank you for the suggestions, I'll go look at my local fabric shop & see what they have. (we have hobby craft, I don't know if that's linked to hobby lobby or not. But it's further away so I'd have to make a special trip unless I need to go somewhere else that way, fabric etc shop is much nearer)

[UltraMother]

cotton, hemp, ramie, bamboo, milk, corn, linen, silk, alpaca, llama, qiviut, yak, camel, cashmere, angora, mohair, buffalo-these are off the top of my head, don't know what you have available.

You might also try different breeds of wool to see if you react to all of them or just certain ones. Most wool yarns are a mix of different breeds.

[Eowyn]

Definitely go for the qiviut. :yes You'll never be able to afford groceries again, but it's really nice stuff. ;)