I’ve had the ultimate pleasure of being introduced to knitting in my late 20s by an ever-loving, sweet lady, my maternal Gramma. At the time I write this, that spunky lady is chillaxing in Mexico with my parents, the lucky bitch.
When she showed me how to put two needles clacking together in order to create something, I wasn’t hooked right away. I’m not sure if it’s because she had me knitting a baby sweater that I had no use for or that I was introduced too early to a pattern a little beyond my skill. Either way I didn’t get really into yarn works until a few years ago. That’s when my love spurned into full-fledged obsession. I even thought of advertising to people who I’d make their stuff for them if they bought the yarn.
And oh the yarn! You cannot fathom how much yarn there is to purchase. Sure, the noob can walk into Hellmart, or Tarjay and find their aisles enticing, but just a small glimpse of the beauty online can turn any average knitter into a full-frenzied knitting-zombie. Knitting whore? Yup. Like it.
As a knitting whore I often spend leisure time just looking at patterns I want to try. I even signed up for ravelry.com in the hopes of finding nice patterns to attempt. What I came away with was this: people who obsessively knit are yarn snobs.
For the snobs, wool is the only fabric to use, most especially of the über expensive mohair variety. While true that it really does knit up the best, do knitters of the world have some sort of untapped wealth I don’t know about? Local yarn stores are few and far between, and I don’t shop at Hellmart, so a non-snob like me has to try these patterns with cheap acrylic to see if it works. Online skeins of wool can run to $25 each. I cannot fathom making kid’s gloves and scarves that cost close to $40 to make when a decent acrylic one will cost me a scant $3.
When you find a pattern you want to try, it’s typically based on the image shown. Only after choosing do most even notice the yarn used. When a pattern calls for wool, you have to decide if you want that exact look if you’re thinking of skipping the wool thing. Sweaters and jackets often don’t work properly if you try to switch to acrylic, even with keeping within the same size chart (ex. 2 – fingering yarn, 5 – bulky, etc) and sock yarn is hard to find in non-wool yarns.
My first attempt at skipping the wool has worked out quite well. Above pictured is a simple pattern from revelry for men’s gloves. I was making a set for me out of that pretty pink Bernat Satin 100% acrylic but found that due to the bulk of the yarn, the fingers were a smidgen too tight for me, so I sized it for my eldest daughter.
They aren’t complete yet, but it really is working fine to substitute the wool out for acrylic and I don’t care who knows that I prefer the cheap acrylic! I’m a whore, not a snob!
I should note that not all knitters feel this way, but many more feel this way than not. I will resist wool as long as I can for my skin isn’t a fan of it, but for the planned Siwash I’ll make in the future.
Keep your needles together,
A self-proclaimed knitting whore
Jan 30, 2012 @ 13:03:51
The gloves are really cool and they will be nice a soft not scratchy. You really shouldn’t call your Gramma a ‘bitch” no matter how loving. *snort* She will love it when I read this to her. Oh by the way she hasn’t knit one stitch since we got here. I save my crocheting for the boring plane ride because it makes the entrapment more tolerable and I usually make either 1 potholder or at least three dishrags come down to Mexico and going home.
Jan 30, 2012 @ 16:28:10
Totally agree with you Jody! I go to a knitting group on Monday afternoons and there are 2 yarn snobs there! “Oh, you’re using an acrylic again!” “Yup, I am!” I knit with what I like! I do order a lot of yarn from Elann.com for some nicer stuff, they have great sales and Is usually shipped within 2 or 3 days!
Jan 31, 2012 @ 18:44:36
Oh man, I’m totally one of them. I’ll admit to it. I did want to address the scratchy issue though, because I was under the impression that wool was itchy for the longest time, until I ran across something called Malabrigo (and others, but that is my fave).
The hat I’m wearing in my photo there is made out of the stuff, and if I could roll myself in that fiber head to toe all day, I would. While not all projects call for the expensive stuff, if you find a pattern you like and knit it up with acrylic to find that it’s almost a perfect fit, I would so encourage you to give it a second try with something extra special. Especially if it’s for you. You spend all this time knitting, treat yourself a little!
My checklist for projects to splurge on: is it for me or someone I really like? is it going to be touching skin? does it need to keep me really warm?
I feel like each kind of fiber has its place. They all deserve some love.
Oct 31, 2012 @ 09:48:31
One very good reason to use natural fibers (sustainable resource), at least to me, is that acrylic is made from petroleum, a finite resource. The processing of acrylic and other plastics also create environmental toxins. Plus, my granny’s afghans were always so scratchy! I hate the way most acrylic feels.