Felting Yarns Problem

#1

I am very allergic to animal based yarns. I made the mistake of picking up a skein of wool yarn to look at at my LYS, and bam, my hands immediately got swollen and blotchy :verysad: So obviously I can’t knit with it if I can’t even hold the darn thing for a minute w/o breaking out in hives.

This is very sad, because I want to make the felted poinsettia wreath I was on Knitty Gritty last week. I know acrylic and cotton don’t felt, but is there any other yarn that will felt and won’t kill me :teehee:

Or is there any other method I can use besides felting to get the same end result, cause that wreath sure was cute and very festive.

Thanks

#2

You could try Alpaca. If I remember, it felts more softly but hopefully it is of a different animal that would be less allergy prone for you…?

#3

I’m afraid that all animal yarns get me.

Thanks, though.

#4

Technically, alpaca is hair, not wool – i.e., it’s more like what’s on the top of your head rather than what’s on a sheep. Many people who are allergic to wool are able to use alpaca. You may not be one of them, but I wouldn’t necessarily rule it out just because you are allergic to other animal fibers.

#5

This may be a dumb suggestion, but could you try wearing latex gloves (like surgeons gloves)? I know it might not be much fun knitting with them on, but it might work.

#6

This is what I was going to suggest. I can’t think of any other solution. :shrug:

#7

I was going to suggest the glove solution also. Except, you may want to buy some “vinyl” gloves instead. Latex has a tendency to cause allergic reactions in some people and vinyl is a good alternative. You can pick up some of them at any of your pharmacy type stores or even Walmart in the med aisle.

#8

I would definitely avoid latex gloves - people can become allergic to them. I work in a research lab, and we use only nitrile gloves for that very reason.

These are what we use in the lab, and they’d be great for knitting, since they’re super thin. I think each box has 100 gloves, if I remember correctly.

#9

Only natural fibers from animals will felt. Have you tried all of the animal fibers? alpaca, mohair from goats, angora from rabbits, etc.?

#10

I think cotton gloves may be better than any rubber-like material. Anyone who has to resort to this, let us know!
Sarah