I need a substitute for wool yarn

[DragonfliiMama]

My skin just can't tolerate any wool at all it seems. I've managed to mostly do all right with Premier Serenity sock yarn(50% superwash merino / 25% rayon / 25% nylon) and I can do Cascade Pacific (40% superwash merino / 60% acrylic) for short periods of time as long as it isn't too hot. But that's the best I've been able to do. I've been working on socks using KP Stroll Glimmer (70% superwash merino / 25% nylon / 5% stellina) - I'm half way through the first sock, and I don't think I can finish it. :(

So, mostly what I've used is cotton, acrylic, or alpaca blends. Acrylic is somewhat hit or miss, there's one brand that's pretty reliably ok for me, but there's also a whole lot of acrylic I can't stand. :doh Cotton and alpaca don't have the same elasticity of wool, though. So what do I use for something like hats, socks, fingerless gloves, etc, where I need it to not get all stretched out?

[melliethepooh]

Qiviut? :shifty

[DragonfliiMama]

Ok.... how about something affordable/accessible? :p

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

If you can manage with a wool blend, I used a really nice Martha Steward yarn recently, 65% acrylic, 35% wool (I think), and it was so soft and nice to work with, I was absolutely shocked. (I never use synthetics, but I neede something affordable I could get a the craft store). It was $6.95 per skein.

Pediwick is a wool-free sock yarn that has good stretch. http://www.knitonecrochettoo.com/pediwick.htm

[Kiara.I]

Qiviut? :shifty

:spit :tu

Ok.... how about something affordable/accessible? :p

I know, right?
Well, one thing you can do is deliberately hunt for patterns *written* for cotton yarns. They would presumably be taking into account the properties of the cotton, and might be written so that they don't stretch out?

You could also experiment with corn or milk yarns. (Yes, they exist, lest you think I'm crazy. ;) I actually started a pair of socks in a corn yarn.)

There are quite a few allergic or vegan knitters/crocheters now, so it's definitely becoming easier to find patterns written for non-wool yarns. Do I remember that you crochet but not knit? It may be a bit harder, because crochet tends to produce a thicker and heavier fabric than knitting. :think

[Sonata]

I have no idea if this would help, but I heard it recently.

Have you tried organic wool? I heard that most reactive people are reactive to the chemicals in which the wool is processed, but do not react to organically processed wool.

[ncsweetpea]

Alpaca. Silk. Cotton. Can you do cashmere? I think KP has a book for non wooly knits.

[melliethepooh]

Soy yarn, too.

[DragonfliiMama]

Mostly I crochet. I know how to knit, but hardly ever do b/c it is sooooo slooooow. :shifty

What I've been using is a whole lot of cotton, a little bit of acrylic, and alpaca for "special/nice" things. I've never tried cashmere, so I don't know about that. :shrug I'm totally up for trying it, and soy, corn, milk, etc. I'd prefer something I can get cheap :shifty and at least localish, since I'm likely to use it a lot if I can find something that works well for me. Wool blends - there's a couple that I do ok with, mostly, sometimes. I can take a look at the MS one. But in general, even blends are too much wool. :( Organic wool is another good idea, I was also wondering about maybe the dyes (though I don't seem to have a problem with dyed alpaca, so maybe not).

The problem is that cotton and alpaca don't retain their shape - they stretch and they don't bounce back from it, they just stay stretched. So I've got a couple of hats that are now waaay big b/c the cotton is stretched out. I really specifically need something with a good elasticity to it so it'll keep its shape.

I wonder if there's a Rav group for people allergic to wool? :think I should just create a whole line of wool-free yarns. :shifty

[Wonder Woman]

have you checked out this book? http://www.amazon.com/No-Sheep-You-Amy-Singer/dp/1596680121

[ncsweetpea]

Mostly I crochet. I know how to knit, but hardly ever do b/c it is sooooo slooooow. :shifty

What I've been using is a whole lot of cotton, a little bit of acrylic, and alpaca for "special/nice" things. I've never tried cashmere, so I don't know about that. :shrug I'm totally up for trying it, and soy, corn, milk, etc. I'd prefer something I can get cheap :shifty and at least localish, since I'm likely to use it a lot if I can find something that works well for me. Wool blends - there's a couple that I do ok with, mostly, sometimes. I can take a look at the MS one. But in general, even blends are too much wool. :( Organic wool is another good idea, I was also wondering about maybe the dyes (though I don't seem to have a problem with dyed alpaca, so maybe not).

The problem is that cotton and alpaca don't retain their shape - they stretch and they don't bounce back from it, they just stay stretched. So I've got a couple of hats that are now waaay big b/c the cotton is stretched out. I really specifically need something with a good elasticity to it so it'll keep its shape.

I wonder if there's a Rav group for people allergic to wool? :think I should just create a whole line of wool-free yarns. :shifty

If you wash and dry your alpaca, it will shrink. Just ask my husband. :boohoo

[knitlove]

I haven't had trouble with alpaca not bouncing back :think What weights have you been working?

[DragonfliiMama]

Well, I haven't personally had a problem with it, but I haven't used it for anything that really needed it, either. In fact, the last thing I made with it is a shawl which I'm kind of hoping *will* stretch a bit, since I was kind of hoping it'd have a bit more length in the back than it does. But that being said, everything I've read or heard about alpaca is that it doesn't have a lot of elasticity and thus isn't a good fiber for things that need that, such as socks or hats.

I really really really want to find a way to be able to use wool. :sigh I've been doing a lot of reading about it, and it sounds like there's a really good chance it's something in the processing that I'm reacting to. I took the skein of sock yarn I've been working with, since it's already opened up and used anyway, and rewound it all into a hank, and I'm washing that with some blue Dawn dishsoap, since I had that on hand. It's soaking now, I'll give it about another 20 mins, then rinse and hang it up to dry. It felt totally different in my hands as soon as it hit the water, so I'm hoping this will "fix" it for me. Hopefully I'm not being totally naieve about that. :shifty

---------- Post added at 12:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ----------

Just noticed that the water is turning pink, so there's definitely some extra dye rinsing out. That's a good sign that washing it will help, right? :nails

[knitlove]

I hope that helps you.