DH recently purchased about 35 to 40 pounds of 100% acrylic yarn for me off of eBay. He knows how expensive yarns can get after going to the lys with me. He is addictive d to eBay . We are trying to cut back on spending and he thought he found a great deal on yarn for me on eBay.
I prefer blends and natural yarns myself but I have to find something to make with all of this yarn now. I don’t want DH to think I didn’t appreciated the thought.
I started using some of it to make my Einstein coat and noticed it is a bit stiff knitted up. I am hoping this will change once it is washed. And the dye that they used is coming off on my fingers as I knit :shrug:
Has anyone used 100% Acrylic yarns before ? If so what do you make with it and will it still be this stiff after a washing?
I’ve looked for patterns calling for 100% Acrylic yarns .but I can’t find any. This yarn doesn’t drape at all , at least not while I am knitting it up it doesn’t .
I know I should love the yarn I use, I know most knitters prefer blends and more natural yarns. I know knitters say don’t waste your knitting time knitting with a yarn you don’t love. But, and that’s the problem here is ‘But’ I don’t want to hurt my D(sweet)H’S heart, he was only trying to help and at the same time ease the pain to his wallet .
I would appreciate any input or ideas on what to do with it .
I don’t care for acrylic to make garments. However, I think it’s great for afghans because it tends to hold up well. You might also use it to make small blankets to donate to animal shelters. They need stuff that’s machine washable.
I can tell you that in my experience, the stiffer acrylics (like the old fashioned Red Heart) do tend to soften up a bit when you wash them, especially if you use plenty of fabric softener.
ETA: That’s a LOT of yarn! Maybe you could donate some of it?
I think you must have a wonderful husband. If I was you I would knit up a swatch with the different yarns and hand wash them to see how they behave colour wise. The acrylic I have used do soften up with washing and a gentle tumble dry. You can use them for baby/toddler blankets or lap blankets to use in front of the telly. A lot of people use acrylic for children’s clothes for ease of care.
Does Nana of 6 mean you have 6 grandchildren maybe they all need a cardigan/sweater to run around the garden in.
You could always join the charity KAL’s here on this site
Acrylic yarns are great for kids because they can be easily washed, they are great for charity items that you don’t know how they will be washed or treated, toys, and they can make nice afghans if the are soft enough.
You can make anything with acrylic. That’s almost all I use.
91 skeins?
You could crochet me 3 blankets, all single crochet. Or 4 if you want to go HDC. Seriously that’s how much I would get out of that (I like yarn blankets for the weight so I know these things). Even at Walmart prices that’s $180 for 4 blankets.
The price of yarn for my wool blanket would’ve been $350+ if I didn’t get it on clearance.
How can anyone afford anything but acrylic?
It would help if you’d give the brand(s). Not all acrylics are created equal.
I have no problem with Simply Soft or Lion Jiffy for a sweater, definitely no problem with them for a cardigan.
I crochet afghans with Red Heart SS.
I do like clothing from wool until I figure up the price so I limit that to socks and hats although I do plan on splurging and making a wool sweater.
I don’t think “most” knitters prefer naturals, or maybe they’d prefer it but I doubt most use it all the time. I recall my grandmother, aunt and mother only using Red Heart and that’s almost all my sister uses. Other than cotton I don’t think one of them has ever touched a natural fiber yarn.
We get very little local wool that is not acrylic here in South Africa. There are some that are made of super acrylic that is slightly better, but if its giving off color thats maybe the reason it was sold on ebay. I thinks it fab of your DH to spoil you though and I think it would be fine to use for the grandchildren. You could always try a slightly bigger needle size if its very tight because that will make it much looser and soft. The idea with the swatch is a great idea. I like also making toys from acrylic because its so durable and it does not have to be washed that often. What about making teddy bears with it?
Good point. Even nice yarn knit at a dense gauge is rough and stiff, a larger needle makes the item softer. And then it softens up more with use and washing/drying.
i use acrylics for afghans. my afghans get so much use that they need to be durable and machine washable. I’ve done a few with lion brand and red heart.
I agree with the other’s answers. Especially Marria’s answer.
Here’s another thought about the afghan:
use the yarn 'doubled". Find a pattern that you can knit on one needle (no piecework) but use two strands and use a larger needle of course. That will suck up double the amount of yarn, and the blanket will be warmer and cushier.
I have bought very good yarn off of eBay before and I have not had any problems. This is the first time I bought a no brand, no name yarn. eBay has a lot of good deals on top quality ,name brand yarns . DH just hasn’t learned what to look for yet.But I’m working on that.
Acrylics = afghans for me. I can’t afford to make an entire afghan in a quality yarn. Too pricey for me. You got lots of good ideas here, especially using a double strand. Kids hats, sweaters, mittens, etc. are all good for acrylic. Kids clothing needs to be machine washable IMO. Pet items and toys too!
I would have said to turn around and resell some of it on ebay because that’s a lot of yarn but that would probably hurt DH’s feelings and we don’t want to do that. You’re lucky to have a hubby that will buy you any yarn. Mine just complains about yarn!
I use 100% acrylic as well. But Bernat. Lately my favourite Bernat yarn is the Automn Harvest collection which is softer than their old stuff. They also have new softer regular acrylics now. I just started knitting last year in August so I wouldn’t knit with expensive yarn until I got used to knitting a pattern without making too many mistakes. It costs about $6 for approximately 200g super saver ball. Is Red Heart cheaper? I just haven’t found a Red Heart colour I like yet. They tend to sell Red Heart in Toronto Zellers stores in solid colours only.
If I am going to use acrylic, I have a preference for Caron Simply Soft…
But that aside, I will only use acrylic for baby stuff…for washability and because Acrylic is cheaper for a garment that will be grown out of so quiclkly…
It was theknitter that told me to try washing acrylic in with hair conditioner instead of fabric softner…
I tried it once with a project I did in Red Heart super saver…did the job, imho…
I like the afghan idea. Are all the skeins the same color, or would the colors blend in an afghan?
I ordered several skeins of cotton yarn one time from Elann. The color was completely different from the color that showed up on my browser. Anyway, I decided to donate it to a friend of mine who teaches knitting to the ladies at one of our local halfway houses. She was delighted to get the yarn, and I was happy for the yarn to be put to good use. I think that the return postage on the yarn would have been almost as much as the yarn was worth!
i do make all of the above for charities
and quick gifts
i think acrylic behaves better than wool yarn
noro for instance which i love
but i do something else with acrylic
i try out new patterns and if they turn out nice
i donate it
i am not a yarn snob i do love noro
but if ifind pretty colour in acrylic i buy it
sylvia
I’m sure we have [B]all[/B] ‘killed’ a commercially produced acrylic knit at sometime in our lives! We washed it on a too hot wash, or the washer went haywire and spun permanent creases into it?
I’ve just bought several balls of budget acrylic to knit clothes for my first Grandbaby and am finding it scratchy, coarse and dense. So, I did a bit of Internet trawling and have discovered that heat and moisture knock the life out of man-made fibres - particularly acrylic! Washing garments in with the family wash gives the fibre a good bashing, and using a moderate heat in the dryer, works wonders too.
BUT, even better… if you wash and dry the yarn [B]before[/B] creating a garment, you don’t have the misery of wondering if you can bear to finish the project! Just the bliss of working with baby-soft yarn. :woot: