Best wool for Soakers

General Knitting
1

Hey girls!!

I’m not far off being ready to knit bub a couple of wool soakers, and was wondering what the best wool people have found to use?

Obviously it would need to be a superwash wool, or it would felt…

:smiley: I don’t mind ordering from o/s or if it’s Knit Picks, I have a couple of friends I could get it shipped via… :wink:

Thanks Knitterpeople!! :smiley:

2

Are you planning to use these over cloth diapers? If so, you do NOT want superwash. Superwash wool has been chemically treated so it loses most of its water repellant qualities.

Some nice brands/types of soaker wool are:
Peace Fleece
Lindon Merino
Blue Faced Leicester
Targhee

I’ve knit a ton of soakers – LMK if you have questions. :slight_smile:

3

I’ve made a ton of soakers from Malabrigo wool…it’s heavenly. Soooooo soft and it comes in the most beautiful colors. It’s not superwash, though, as they were all made for people who cloth diaper. As IrishBaby pointed out, in order to remain water-repellent the wool needs to not be superwash, and should be lanolized on a regular basis. :smiley:

4

Lucky I asked then!!! :smiley:

Okay… so I buy some lanolin,… how do I lanolise teh soaker? Just rub it in?

I’m just so freaked out about felting the soakers… LOL

5

I think you can use anything you want, from Malabrigo or Manos to Paton’s Classic Wool. As long as it’s 100% wool, and not treated as a superwash, it would work.

If softness is going to be a big factor, Manos is a good choice, or Treliske is the ultimate in softness that I have ever, ever felt. But, there are people who use Noro for soakers and think it works just fine too, even though it’s not the softest wool.

Here’s how you would lanolize the soaker :

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=443774&highlight=lanolize

HTH. :slight_smile:

6

Thanks guys!

The Treliske looks pretty good… :smiley:

What do you all think of this one though??

http://theyarnbarn.cart.net.au/details/77048.html

It’s pretty soft :smiley:

7

I’ve never tried that yarn. I would spring for the highest quality wool you can afford, as it will be near your baby’s skin and will wear better. Things like Paton’s and Casade 220 actually get rougher with age. Treliske is extremely soft, but pills like there is no tomorrow.

Felting requires temperature change, moisture, agitation, and often soap, so I wouldn’t worry too much about felting. :slight_smile:

8

I’ve knit many soakers and longies for my little babe and used a few different wools. I can’t afford to buy expensive wool, so I used Fishermans Wool and Patrons that I Kool Aid dyed and also WOTA. Kind of rough, but after you lanolize them and wash them a few times, they actually soften up a bit. My baby has not seemed to mind.

You DO NOT want superwash wool since it doesn’t have the same absorbant or antimicrobial properties that untreated wool has. You just cannot throw them in the washer to wash (ask my DH how he knows this :doh: ), you just have to gently rub out any stains in a sink of warm water. Because of wool’s antimicrobial properties, you only have to wash them around once a week or two weeks unless they get soiled. Very cool :thumbsup: !

9

Good price. I’d ask them if its superwash before you buy. Good luck :thumbsup:

10

It’s not… I bought some last time I was in Adelaide … :smiley:

11

Hey Tia!

I would have to make one out of Malabrigo! Its a dream to knit with.

This is a great getting sarted site.

http://diaperpages.com/soaker.php

12

After reading this thread, I want to make some soakers even though my daughter doesn’t wear cloth diapers. I know that sounds crazy, but with the warm weather upon us, it would be nice for her to have a diaper cover to lounge around in instead of putting on a full outfit. Plus, I think I might try the whole Kool-Aid dyeing thing for the first time, and what better way than on some soakers, eh?

I’m knitting a practice soaker right now. Out of 3 free patterns I printed off the internet, I chose to do the curlypurly one first. This one I’m making out of leftover Patons Classic Merino in Natural. However, I ran out and only had leftover Wool-Ease (only 30% wool, if that). But, that’s OK since this is just a practice soaker! This week I plan to buy some more yarn and some Kool-Aid to use for the next two patterns. This seems like it will be fun! :smiley:

13

most of the free patterns don’t seem to have a yarn requirement… i imagine it wouldn’t be much, but can someone give me an idea? for a very small size, in something like manos… thanks! :slight_smile:

p.s. i’m thinking of one that starts with the circumference of the waist and then just decreases down to a point… for the measurement i need, we’re talking like a start of 64 stitches ish. still working on the swatch.

thanks! :slight_smile:

14

You can usually knit a soaker with 100 grams of yarn. You don’t want to start with the waist circumference, though – you want to knit ribbing that is about 1" smaller than the waist circumference. Otherwise, it’s going to fall off after being worn for an hour or two. :slight_smile:

15

the pattern does state the waist thing, i said it wrong, sorry!

thanks for your help!!! i’m going to give it a whirl and see if i dont’ have enough yarn. i can always add a stripe if necessary. :wink:

thanks again!

16

So far I’ve only used Manos for soakers and it is wonderful. Love that yarn, and it wears really well. One of these days I’m going to do some soakers in Malabrigo. Yum.

Recently I knit a soaker for a newborn that will not be wearing cloth diapers underneath, so I did it in Bernat Cottontots. I was very pleased with how it turned out, and the cotton is so soft.

17

Does Manos soften up when you wash it?? 'Cause whenever I’ve felt in at the LYS, it seems really, really scratchy, not at all something I’d want next to my skin. The colors are so :inlove: :inlove: :inlove: …but I’ve resisted because of the scratchiness.

Then, of course, I found the Malabrigo. And the rest is history…

18

this is my first soaker ever, and i have only felted the manos thus far, so couldn’t tell you. i don’t plan on felting this soaker, but the scratch factor is definitely something to consider. i find it very soft to work with, so i’m hoping the washing and lanolization (word?) will make it even nummier. :slight_smile:

19

The Manos definitely is scratchier than the Malabrigo, but I do find that it softens with washing and lanolizing.

20

Well, I got some GREAT NZ Wool in cream and…

I’M ACTUALLY KNITTING IT!!!

:smiley:

I’ve done almost 1" of the ribbing on the Curly Purly waistband… it just looks so tiny… I can’t beleive I’m going to have a little baby to fit into this tiny thing!!!

:smiley: