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julesnoctambule
2009-02-13 01:18 am UTC (link)

I'm allergic to wool (with the exception of cashmere, o joy); I can handle it enough to spin, knit and crochet it, but wearing it is out of the question. I don't feel in the least bit guilty about wearing synthetic fibers because I'd rather be rash-free than an itchy fiber snob! There are some fine synthetics out there and some shitty natural fibers, but some people don't want to believe that. My personal pet hate is everyone's god, Noro yarn. That's one of the few wools that will kickstart a reaction if I so much as touch it, but you'd think I kick puppies the way some people act when they find out I don't like it!

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	poisonyoulove 2009-02-13 01:26 am UTC (link)
	That's the thing I don't get. I've seen people say that acrylic hurts their fingers to work with, but I've touched wool in stores, and it's mostly scratchy. Much less pleasant to touch than my Caron Simply Soft! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

julesnoctambule
2009-02-13 01:32 am UTC (link)

Some wools are very soft once you get them going even if they feel a little rough in the skein; others are just awful no matter what! I find that acrylics tend to snag a little on my skin while rayon glides and nylon feels a little sticky sometimes. Caron has some nice yarns, but the Dread Red Heart Super Saver makes me itch just to look at it in the skein! I have an afghan my grandmother made of acrylic, probably. . .hmm. . .30 years ago or so, and over time it's worn to a cotton-like softness. I'm glad she didn't use wool, because I love to snuggle down underneath it!

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	waitwut 2009-02-13 04:33 am UTC (link)
	What do you use for rayon yarns? I can't wear 98% of wool because it makes me itch (no Noro rash, for better or worse) and acrylic is... actually usually the same. (I wear a LOT of cotton) blah blah talking about myself. Thanks for any recs you give?! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sailorcoruscant 2009-02-13 04:47 am UTC (link)
	Jumping in to talk about myself and offer some recs... :) Last year I discovered the joys of tencel/acrylic blends for my doctor who scarf. Very soft, and it was priced between wool and acrylic too, so not that bad on my student budget. My favourite non-wool to knit with was the handmaiden sea silk, but that was a gift from a mother who loves me. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	waitwut 2009-02-13 04:50 am UTC (link)
	I do have two, I think, skeins of the handmaiden sea silk (in different colors, of course). I'm keeping them for now simply to pet. Thanks for the recs!! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sailorcoruscant 2009-02-13 04:54 am UTC (link)
	I love the smell of the seasilk when it's new. :) And the colours are great. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	julesnoctambule 2009-02-13 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, damn. . .if I hadn't been asked, I could remember! I think I got it at elann.com but I'm not sure; I have a terrible time with brand names of items. All I know is that my husband is going to knit me a cardigan! I've had a lot of luck with bamboo blends, too, which is a rayon-like fiber, and I have a purchased soy silk cardigan I adore. (Reply to this)(Parent)

chibikaijuu
2009-02-13 04:31 pm UTC (link)

Acrylic makes me twitch and it really does feel much worse than... anything. And it doesn't breath at all. There are a ton of other synthetic and non-wool natural fibers out there to be used. Nice wool isn't scratchy, but if the fibers are too short it can be, or it can just feel that way if you react to the lanolin (there are only some wools that I can wear next to my skin, but my skin's Sensitive Button is also totally unpredictable. Sometimes I can wear anything, and sometimes all I have to do is roll over in bed and I have a rash.)

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napalmnacey
2009-02-18 06:13 am UTC (link)

HAH! These people don't know history. Back when the Spice trading was starting with the east Asian countries, they tried to trade stuff for wool. And they were like, "WTF?! GTFO! We have silk! What the fuck would we want that shitty stuff for?"

I have never, ever been able to wear a real wool jumper. I just start itching like a bitch. If it makes me cheap and nasty to wear synthetic fibres, then cheap and nasty be I.

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	julesnoctambule 2009-02-18 05:35 pm UTC (link)
	I'd rather be cheap than covered in hives! (Reply to this)(Parent)

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