I want to start a gigantic knit blanket, but don’t want it to have to be dry cleaned. Any suggestions for yarn choice??
I’ve used Lion Brand Homespun yarn in big blankets before. I’ve used 4 strands of it together on size 50 needles.
And that yarn is machine washable/dryable.
Knitcindy
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Good call. It needs to be a wash and dry yarn then. Read labels. Blends are often the nicest because they take the properties of both fibers. What weight do you want to use? Bulky? Super bulky?
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Also Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick is a nice blend. It’s very soft.
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I want to point out, hand wash dry flat ≠ dry cleaning. I haven’t seen a yarn that called for dry cleaning, of course that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
I can wash my wool blend blanket in my washing machine with a hand wash setting, but drying in this house can’t happen so I can only wash it when it’s warm enough to put it outside. I also have fantasy yarn blankets that can wash without problem but I discovered the fuzz static felts if dried in the drier. They are light enough and small enough I can hang them over the bathtub to dry.
Handwashing may not be something you want for a blanket in constant use but if you have a machine with a handwash setting and place to dry it’s not that bad.
The size of your machine could make you handwash if you’re talking too large like a football stadium blanket.
Cost may also be an issue depending on what you call gigantic. My daily use 8’x8’ blankets are Red Heart Super Saver, and at 20-ish skeins they’re still not cheap (my bulky wool blanket would’ve been $360 if not on real cheap clearance sale).
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Thank you for all your time and help! I guess what I want is as close as possible to the look of roving yarn without the hassle & cost of roving yarn. Lol.
See pic for inspiration…
You might want to read @lorrenmeggs threads on her arm knitted blanket before you start.
I think you will be limited to hand wash fibers because it seems felting is important to hold the roving together.
I think even if you felt it in a machine you will be limited to handwashing or it will probably continue to change with every washing.
(I include my machine’s hand wash setting as hand washing. It’s more gentle than the gentle setting.)
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I don’t think you’ll find a spun yarn of that weight, but you can hold multiple yarns together that might give you a look that’s easier to manage.
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Love this blanket! I did something similar with Bernat Blanket Big yarn. It took me 6 skeins to make a twin size blanket (yarn held doubled on size 50 needles). The yarn is very soft and 100% polyester so washing should be less of an issue.
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