I love yarn. I especially love ‘knowing the yarn’ that passes through my fingers. Most of my Yarn Stash consists of wools, cottons, angora, alpaca, and blends of these yarns, etc. They are all yarns that used to be “worn by” a specific plant or animal! You can follow its transition to the ‘yarn state-of-being’!
I am knitting down the last of my Red Heart worsted yarn…making a CRAZY QUILT AFGHAN for a granddaughter. As this yarn passes through my fingers…I wonder to myself…where did it come from? What did it used to look like before being stranded into “yarn”?
Is it akin to the [B]Mystery Meat[/B] we call [I]bologna[/I] in USA? They say you’d be shocked if you saw the creation process of bologna!
Would I be shocked if I saw acrylic yarn in its embryo stages?
I googled the words ACRYLIC YARN…and saw thousands of links to the yarn itself…nothing about its creation.
Well…this is definitely not a hot topic…but…I like to know my yarns…do you feel the same???
I think my favorite yarn is NORO Silk Garden, both for its fiber content and multitude of colorways. My favorite favorite favorite project of all time was a Sausalito Coat using NORO Transitions! Absolutely a heavenly project. Almost sorry when it was finished!
So, would you mind…adding your 2 cents or dollar’s worth???
Do you know where ACRYLIC YARN comes from?
Acrylic is a man made product (in this case made into fibers) as opposed to a natural substance like wool or cotton. Acrylic we generally think of as a plastic but it’s made from [SIZE=-1] acrylonitrile and related chemicals. [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Acrylonitrile has a chemical structure a little like vinyl and again it is a base for the making of many plastics. This is one reason why some people find wearing acrylic materials too hot and sweaty however it is generally resilient and tough wearing etc. It can also be shiny which makes sense
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Acrylic and other synthetics are man made, so, generally they come from a factory. Most acrylics are scratchy, since it’s basically plastic. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with acrylic, those of you who prefer it.
And, there are [B]some[/B] benefits, for one, it’s machine washable, and often times cheap.
I really can’t give a nice, biased opinion, because I knit exclusively with wool, but there’s my two cents.
[COLOR=green]Thanks Susan P! I Googled that word…clicked a few links…and found this description of acrylic fiber…a direct copy/paste as follows:[/COLOR]
[B]Acrylic fibers[/B] are [COLOR=#0000ff]synthetic fibers[/COLOR] made from a polymer with an average molecular weight of ~100,000. To be called acrylic in the U.S., the polymer must contain at least 85% [COLOR=#810081]acrylonitrilemonomer[/COLOR]. Typical comonomers are vinyl acetate or methyl acrylate.
The polymer is formed by free radical polymerization. The fiber is produced by dissolving the polymer in a solvent such as [COLOR=#0000ff]N,N-dimethylformamide[/COLOR] or aqueous [COLOR=#0000ff]sodium thiocyanate[/COLOR], metering it through a multi-hole spinnerette and coagulating the resultant filaments in an aqueous solution of the same solvent. Washing, stretching, drying and crimping complete the processing. Acrylic fibers are produced in a range of deniers, typically from 1 to 15. End uses include sweaters, hand-knitting yarns, rugs, awnings, boat covers, a precursor for carbon fiber, and beanies. Production of acrylic fibers is centered in the Far East, declining in Europe and now shut down (except for precursor) in the U.S.
Acrylic is lightweight, soft, and warm, with a wool-like feel. It dyes very well and has excellent colorfastness. It is resilient, retains its shape, and resists shrinkage and wrinkles. It is quite varied in form and sometimes has an appearance similar to wool or cotton.
Acrylic has recently been used in clothing as a cheaper alternative to [COLOR=#0000ff]cashmere[/COLOR], due to the similar feeling of the materials. The disadvantages of acrylic is that it tends to fuzz (or pill) easily and that it does not insulate the wearer as well as cashmere. Many products like fake [COLOR=#0000ff]pashmina[/COLOR] or [COLOR=#0000ff]cashmina[/COLOR] use this material to create the illusion of cashmere to the consumer.
Acrylic is resistant to moths, oils, and chemicals, and is very resistant to deterioration from sunlight exposure. However, static and pilling can be a problem.
[COLOR=green]In the vernacular of Paris Hilton: [B]“Eeeuuuuuugh!” :shock:[/B][/COLOR]
“Acrylic is lightweight, soft, and warm, with a wool-like feel…Acrylic has recently been used in clothing as a cheaper alternative to [COLOR=black]cashmere[/COLOR], due to the similar feeling of the materials.”
What the heck was that person smoking? Acrylic is not warm and feels nothing like wool much less cashmere! I used to think Wikipedia was pretty reliable but I’m gonna have to rethink that. According to something I read in a Vogue book (I think), acrylic is a by-product of the petroleum industry.
Well, when I think of plastic or acrylic, I think of Oil. And at the current $3.50/gallon of gas, wool, cotton, silk, cashmere, are all beginning to look much more desirable and affordable.
Frankly, I NEVER thought I would be a yarn snob, but these days I’m knitting sock almost exclusively and find that the 75%+ wool content for Superwash and 100% wool for merino is something I could never give up.
Yea for natural fibers. (If you can afford them and they fit into your life. If not, well then acrylics are good.)
Gladys, getting poked sitting on a fence (picket most likely).
Hi’ya Debi! Yup, know what you mean… my DD is [B]terribly allergi[/B]c to a lot of animal fibers. I mean, she can’t even touch them in a clothing store. I use cottons and acrylics to knit for her.
Fortunately, there are many improvements in the quality and softness of acrylic, man-made yarns.
This Red Heart I am using for the Crazy Quilt Afghan is just about the bottom rung of acrylics. Eeeeeuuuuugh.
I think I purchased them from Herrschnerrs…for the colors. Did not get to fondle them beforehand. Got some very bright, cheerful variegateds…crayons, beach, citrus…to mention a few. Combined with the solids RED, YELLOW, EMERALD, TURQUOISE, etc…the afghan will be a happy looking afghan.
The girls fight over the Crazy Quilt Afghan I made for the oldest granddaughter, who is 7. This new afghan is for Laila, who is 4.
I’m using old acrylic yarn to practice socks - made my first pair last week. One was too big, and the other too small LOL. Oh well, I’m on to the second pair with more practice yarn.
I’ll have to order some “real” sock yarn pretty soon. Suggestions?
Calamintha… cashmina or pashmina or whatever it is IS very soft. I have been in clothing stores and ran my hands over it and felt the material and it is soft as…but no…not like cashmere as such. The fake (let’s not use the word faux to mask something being fake is unreasonable feeling - which I know is odd phrasing but has that almost ‘too good to be true’ feel. A friend bought a pashmina jumper and it actually went flat in sections after six months and began to look quite sad.
Inis. I love cotton socks but depending on the weather I will go for cotton/wool blends or pure wools. I just find cotton so breathable and nice to wear but of course 100% cotton in socks is hard to find in stores and they can wear thin quite quickly.
I feel for ya. Until I was an adult, I was allergic to wool, goosedown, pet dander, dust, mold, tomatoes, grass… I’m certain there’s more. I couldn’t wear wool, sleep on feather pillows, have a pet, eat traditional spaghetti. I couldn’t even swallow a potato chip without it hurting. I was a delicate flower and had to wear cotton and polyester because silk was too expensive for my family, too. The horror! I forced myself to overcome it because I love dogs too much to live without one. I “outgrew” it.
Have you always had allergies? My sister developed them after she was grown. I think she merely caught mine.
I’ve been doing some research tasks for a media outlet and Wiki, whilst offering good inspiration, can never be taken as a primary or definitive source whilst in it’s current format. How good info is depends entirely on the knowledge of the person in the community entering the data. I’ve seen some very accurate sections and some sadly misinformed ones.
My allergies developed around my mid-teens. Although I’ve always been allergic to grass and weeds. It was horrible when I was little and all the kids were running around barefoot in the grass and I had to wear socks and shoes. :crying:
I used to crochet alot in my teens and that’s when I discovered the wool allergy. I just couldn’t figure out why my fingers and palms of my hands had a rash. The finger I wrapped my yarn around even developed small blisters.
Ahh well… we learn to live with things as they come.
There is NOTHING wrong with acrylic yarn.It may not be the best, but not all of us are able to afford much more than that. I save up for BIG sales or my freinds have given me yarn before. Mostly acrylic. I look at what I have and I am so thankful to be blessed with it. There are people who cant even afford what I have. Mystery meat is better than none!:knitting:
Until I was an adult, I was allergic to wool, goosedown, pet dander, dust, mold, tomatoes, grass… I’m certain there’s more. I couldn’t wear wool, sleep on feather pillows, have a pet, eat traditional spaghetti. I couldn’t even swallow a potato chip without it hurting. I was a delicate flower and had to wear cotton and polyester because silk was too expensive for my family, too. The horror! 
I forced myself to overcome it because I love dogs too much to live without one. I “outgrew” it.