What to Knit With when You're Allergic to Wool!
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
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You can see the previous video on Knitting with Acrylic Yarn here: • Knitting with Acrylic ...
Knit Eco Chic designs knits for yarns that are animal-fiber-free! You can see her designs here: knitecochic.com/ - Навчання та стиль
I do not have wool allergies - but I found this to be super informative and educational. Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
I can’t thank you enough for your posting on wool allergies! I only have a sensitivity, so I can knit with wool as long as I have the rest of my body covered, but if I wear it I rash and swell up. I have continued to knit with other fibres, but didn’t know there were so many options. Love your programs!!
Happy to help!
I learned to knit as a child when our family was stationed in the London area. And yes, I learned to say wool instead of yarn no matter what the fiber content!
I'm glad I was not mistaken.
Thanks for the suggestion to look up patterns for specific yarns. The search is working.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the shout out! Yes, working with animal-fiber-free yarns is a great way to enjoy knitting without using wool yarns. I highly recommend swatching a large swatch and take the gauge. Wash and block as you intend to wash and block your finished piece, and then taking the gauge again. Use this "washed/ blocked" gauge when checking to see if the gauge matches the wool pattern you're looking to try. Hang the swatch to see how it drapes and compare that to the drape of the wool pattern you're looking at too. Accessories are typically okay (except hats with beanie crowns). For fitted garments, I agree about finding patterns written specifically for the fiber you want to use.
I like big swatches and I cannot lie!
Thanks for responding so thoroughly to the viewer with a wool allergy. I have a huge number of allergies to odd things and its so darned irritating to get a response of "You're allergic to x? Are you sure? I've never heard of anyone being allergic to that, maybe you just don't like it." I'm NOT allergic to is wool, fortunately, though I am allergic to bunny fur, and thus to most angora which comes form angora rabbits. I use superwash wool or acrylic for anything I'm knitting for the grandkids. There isn't any point is using a non-washable fiber for clothing or blankets for 3- and 6 year-olds. Besides, it would only annoy my daughter...
Well, if you ask my mom, annoying me would be a plus not a drawback LOL. But she's a bit of a prankster. Allergies are truly serious issues and I would never question someone's experience. But I wanted to mention the sensitivity vs allergy thing because it might loosen up some options for some people.
Again, thank you for the great info. Now that I know to use a pattern with seams when using cotton...game changer!😁 I live in south Georgia and have avoided sweaters/tops. You've just gotten me a step closer to my knitting dreams.
You are so welcome!
Maybe you can try cotton that is made for weaving. It has a much tighter twist to it, so it's not likely to stretch very much. I knitted a top 100% weaving cotton and it feels a little stiff even. Not enough to bother me when I wear it, so it's cool.
I love to watch your videos while I knit!! You were also one of the first people I started watching when I was learning to knit! thank you so much for your content.
Oh thank you!
Great tip on the cotton lengthening!!! Always block your swatches !!
Yes! Thank you!
I love cotton cashmere or cotton mix. No etching !
That is a wonderful blend!
As always, an informative and very interesting video. I’m not allergic to anything, but I use lots of acrylic...and blends...because nearly all of my knitting and crocheting is for charity///or folks who would not have the time...or patience...to habit wash things.
Great point!
I learned to knit** with Cotton Yarns and doing Dishcloths which were SUPER well received. And most Dishcloths, Wash cloths, Dish towels, Home furnishings are designed for Cottons.
There are major differences in Cotton Quality. I highly recommend Dishie from Knit Picks over Sugar 'n Creme from Lily.
**I had crocheted for 30 years before learning to knit so I already knew how to tension.
So many beautiful cottons out there. Good to know about Dishie!
Could not click faster. Sadly bunny is the only animal yarn I can use so I wanted to see what you would say. On Ravelry you can sort patterns designs by fibers. I do hope you will do a video on subbing out yarns. Lots of good info there. Even just a wool for a wool in a different price. One fact I have found is that when subbing a different fiber your row gauge will differ. You will need to do some math for sweaters and such but it is possible.
Ravelry is great for these kinds of things.
This wonderful information. You always provide useful non-threatening information. I enjoy your channel. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
In Germany, most people would also say "Wolle" = wool. You can say "Garn" = yarn, but a lot of people would probably think that you mean thread for sewing. Maybe the german knitting community uses the "correct" terms, but non-knitters often use the terms above.
Linen comes from the stem of flax plants. It's true that some people are allergic, wool- mohair- etc. Like dog and cat allergies, some of it comes from the oils and dander of the animal.
If I've learned anything, it's that people can be allergic to anything LOL!
I sent a small swatch to a friend who said she had wool allergies before knitting her a wool scarf. She knew she was ok with merino as she did not feel any irritation after wearing it under her bra strap for an afternoon
That's such a smart idea for testing a possible allergy to a material.
Awesome, this is a great tip.
As usual, Barbara, you give so much good information! Love you! Thank you so much.
You are so welcome!
Thank you so much for this!! It is amazingly helpful and covers an absolute wealth of info in a clear way. The advice to get patterns designed for the yarn one uses is so useful. Since I hadn't started knitting yet, I wondered if you could just substitute any yarn of the same weight into any pattern. It makes total sense that you can't do that if you are a newbie (like you can't just substitute acrylic paints for oil paints and use the exact same techniques!). The discussion about the different properties of different fibers is invaluable. There are several things I never considered at all, like knitting fatigue, for example. I'll be watching this several times. I am super grateful for this video, thank you.
I am so glad it answered your question! Thank you for asking it and prompting me to wander down this alley LOL.
Really enjoyed this and chuckled a bit - I am English, grew up knitting with acrylic yarn but called it wool, now I knit with wool as well and have come to call it yarn because acrylic wool feels all wrong. 😂
LOL, that's funny!
I first became allergic to mohair when I was doing a lot of weaving, using mohair as my weft. Slowly I discovered I am also allergic to many animal fibers. I am OK with most superwash wools. On superwash, the scales are either shaved off, or coated. Apparently Some superwash methods work for me, and some don’t. Usually I can tell by holding the yarn for a few minutes. If I am allergic, I start to get little itchy bumps in the corners of my mouth. I am fine with alpaca, but cannot use cashmere or angora. Weirdly enough, I also seem to be allergic to linen.too, but not other plant fibers. BTW, they also call all yarn wool in Canada. 😁🧶
This wool = yarn thing is more pervasive than I thought!
It’s worth looking out for Vegan yarn blends, there are some vegan sock yarns which have a small amount of elastic to counteract the slouch you get with cotton.
Indeed. We carry Trailhead yarns at the store I work at and they only have vegan yarns.
Great video thank you 😊
Thanks for watching!
I'm in the UK and was asking my sister if they sold yarn in a new shop she went to. She said that she wasn't looking for "WOOL" I told her, that I wasn't either, I wanted cotton yarn. I've never seen her so confused, lol.
Two countries separated by a common language LOL.
Great topic!
Glad you liked it!
I'm so happy you have talked about this.
Yay!
Thank you for a great explanation 🧶
You’re welcome 😊
I love cotton and bamboo. 🌹💕
Me too!
Ha, ha, you are absolutely right about the U.K. I would say “I’m going to buy some wool today” even if it is acrylic. Could be an age thing because when I was young we could only buy Wool. (74years old). Then they brought out Nylon wool which would spark when you were knitting it on metal needles! Even Acrylic seems much improved these days. Thank you for your interesting podcast. X
I'm glad you enjoyed it, and also you took my wool = yarn in the lighthearted way I meant it. I was a little worried that I might upset someone.
Another well done informational video. Great way that you explained the “Wool” phrase. I have the same allergy to the lanolin in wool. The super washed wools work nicely for me. I too can’t use mohair way to itchy. I made a Tee Top out of Tencel (a wood fiber) and love it for my hot summers here in Arizona, so comfortable.
Agree I am allergic to food additives in food or to ingredients like coloring and fragrance and texture additives in lotions and soaps.
Tencel is so lovely for tops!
I'm in the same boat with regards to fragrances!
I want to buy Tencel yarn and knit or crochet with it.
Yes, here in UK the word 'wool' can be just another word for yarn, which I have found confusing on my crafting journey, I've learned to use the word 'yarn' when google searching for knitting material.
I don't know why everything has to be so confusing LOL!
Great video! I have a wool sensitivity, so I mostly stick to blends. Maybe I'll finally give cotton a try!
I love cotton!
Thank you so much Barbara. This video helps me to knit with other fiber. But I wiil try to used merino wool blend with other fiber.
Sometimes you just have to experiment!
I'm new to knitting and have very sensitive skin. This video has helped me a lot. I will try the merino wool blend. Thank.
I hope it works out for you!
I from Canada and I alway call yarn wool. Then I started learn more and the big difference between everything. I only started with crochet granny square and knitting scarfs. And I live in a tiny town so we could only get acrylic.
If it's what you've got, it's what you've got! Knit on!
Thank you for yet another great and informative video.this info helps me understand the world of yarn better 👍. There is another type of fiber I just discovered well its new to me is yarn made out of milk! Kristin omdahl sells a yarn call Be So Baby yarn made out of milk! ❤️🧶🙂
I've seen but never worked with the milk yarn. I have no idea how it's made LOL.
OMG, thought you weren't doing youtube anymore, I haven't seen a video in months, and I have been subscribed and have the full notification bell 🔔 clicked. Not sure what happened, but was so excited to see your video, I literally hugged my phone that was I excited I was. LOL 😂😂😂 so glad to see you. Thank you for sharing today, very informative, don't think I'm allergic to anything, I'm so blessed. Again good to see you, until the next time. I'll be looking 👀👀👀 for you. 💞💞
I don't know why you haven't been getting notifications, but I have been posting at least every other week on Thursdays. You probably have quite a few videos you could binge now!
Thank you for such an informative video. I don’t have wool allergies but I am a spinner and weaver and enjoyed thinking about all the different yarns. I laughed when you mentioned the UK and ‘wool’ - I am in UK and until I began to spin last year, I too called everything I knitted with wool! I still have friends that do too and now it irritates me! (I now talk about Manx Loaghten and Whitefaced Woodland etc🤣🤣). Spinning has opened up a whole new world!
That's really funny, as a non-native speaker it was the other way around for me. I thought yarn refers only to wool/animal fibers. It took me a long time to get used to calling cotton thread yarn. :))
I have had friends try to get me to go down the spinning road and I really don't need another time-suck LOL.
This video was great! I have a wool sensitivity and have discovered that superwash merino is great, I can wear sweaters and socks without any issues. I live in southern Arizona so I only wear fingering weight sweaters most of the time and wool socks year round because we always have the air conditioning running. Anything labeled just "wool" will make me itch and turn red. High twist also makes a difference for me, I can't wear knitpicks Wool of the Andes without breaking out in an itchy red rash but they use the same Peruvian highland wool in their Hawthorne line and the high twist keeps me from getting a rash on my feet. My hands still turn red when I knit with wool but not to the point of hives or blisters.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!
Ive used milk protein yarn and peppermint plant fiber yarn !
That's so cool!
I enjoyed and learned a lot from your video about all the varieties of fiber qualities I hadn't thought about or known! I love this kind of topic so thanks!!
As a fun fact, possum in New Zealand, is non-native introduced critter and they kill some of their native birds, so possum are harvested for their fur as knitting fiber. I have only seen it combined with wool, but that may not be accurate. Possum adds a lot of warmth, is very dense, I think the fibers are shorter so it is combined with other fibers. If someone knows something different, please post.
I didn't know they were non-native. Where did they come from?
@@WatchBarbaraKnit I don't know offhand but they were introduced. There are no native mammals in NZ, just the birds. NZ landers are protective of their birds especially the kiwis which the possum prey upon. So possum are trapped and harvested for their fur.
I'm one of those people who can't wear animal fibers directly on skin. I can knit with them just fine, but when it comes to wearing them, they itch. I made beautiful scarves out of animal fibers only to then avoid them because they feel awful on skin. So I have turned to plant based fibers for pretty much all my knitting. I especially love blends with silk in them (cotton-silk feels amazing on skin). I wouldn't recommend it for expansive knitted lace panels, but other than that, I think any type of garment can be made with yarn that doesn't have animal fiber in it.
I adore cotton/silk blends!
Great subject. Being a fellow South Florida knitter I don’t need much wool. Do you have a favorite yarn type for garments?
Not really, but mostly because I don't knit garments LOL.
Hi Barbara I haven't heard you mention polyester yarn yet. Its something i have recently found and i really like it i find it has a lot of stretch to it.
I don't have a lot of experience with poly yarn except as a small percentage in blends. I'll look into it someday soon.
In Colombia we do the same.... we call wool (Lana) to any material
LOL, that is so fun to know!
Fantastically informative and interesting discussion. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Barbara! Also, what is the name of the beautiful piece behind you?
That is Shoot the Moon and it is in my book Big Yarn, Beautiful Lace Knits. There is a link in the description below the video! Thanks!
I discovered this winter that wool bothers my eyes...I use eyedrops and put my work down for a while...thanks for great info...
That had to be frustrating!
Wool bothers my eyes also. It feels like I have tiny hairs stuck in my eyes and they itch.
Mohair silk makes me ich like crazy but brushed alpaca silk dosnt
Mohair and alpaca are so very different. It's good to know which you prefer.
Great video, I just wanted to point out - you cannot get possum yarn in australia because brush tails are protected and native here. However they were introduced into NZ and are now considered a pest, to it's available there. :)
Thanks for the info! It seems like NZ has a lot of introduced pests and that has to be frustrating.
Very informative.Thank You. I just started crocheting and wool does not work for me. I get too itchy.
Glad it was helpful!
In Spanish, the general term for yarn is “Lana” ,which means wool. So, if it matters to the person, it helps to be specific. Thanks so much Barbara for this video.
I have been looking for a video that would describe the tendencies of the various blends. I have knit some blends like bamboo/silk into cowls. They knit up nicely in a closed pattern but after a gentle, cold water hand wash and air dry, they shrink and maybe bloom a little. (I don’t have much experience with wool.)
So, I wonder what is a better pattern style (open lace?) or needle size to use with these blends? The blended yarns are exotic and intriguing with their colors and textures that I want to do right by them by making something nice. Sorta Star Trek-y, in the search for a suitable patterns for my blended yarn stash! ha ha ha
(And the Borg is the biggest square shaped yarn stash! Conform! Escape is futile! You will be added to the Collective.)
LOL. you're so funny! I have a couple of videos on different fibers. They all act so differently. Silk is awesome in lace and bamboo provides good drape. The best thing to do is swatch and experiment on a small scale.
I use mainly Acrylic yarn but get rashes on my arms and it's getting worse. The rash used to be gone by the next morning but it takes a couple or three days now for it to go away and itches and burns at times and is warm to the touch. Could it be the dyes and chemicals in the yarn? Oddly enough, my hands aren't bothered, only my arms. Even wearing long sleeves doesn't always protect me. I sure don't want to give up working with yarn! It's my favorite thing to do! But, my reaction is getting worse so I'm going to need to do something about it. And, I'm sensitive to wool.
I'm a crocheter, but I'm also allergic to wool (technically to lanolin - skin care products will be the death of me!). I thought once that I could get away with using it once, and my cuticles started to swell, crack, and bleed. It was not a nice time.
As such, I have no idea how it works up, so despite how long I've been doing fiber work, I never know what fiber is going to be best to sub in for wool in a pattern.
Thank you for this lovely video.
I am also allergic to lanolin and found out the hard (but a different) way. I mostly have to avoid more "rustic" yarns. I have never had a problem with superwash or other highly processed wools. The superwash and dying process tends to remove most if not all of the lanolin.
I learn so much from the way you put things, thank you for making this. Since we're on the topic of yarn, could we talk about plys? I recently purchased a hank of a silk-merino blend, 80 and 20% respectively, that happened to be 2 ply lace weight. The hank had little twists all throughout but was not knotty. When I went to wind it it was a total nightmare. Long story short, I spent the good part of eight hours untying knots. Somehow I feel like this was the fault of the two ply method, I feel like it was over twisted, and has made me extremely adverse to buying it again. Am I right to think this? Do less of more plys make a yarn less twisty? I really liked the yarn but if I'm going to have the same experience every time I will not buy it again. Thanks and sorry for the long inquiry.
It sounds like that yarn was poorly balanced. Two ply is not inherently a problem, but if the plys aren’t of the same twist and energy you end up with a product like you describe. I wouldn’t stay away from two plys, but I would avoid overspun yarns.
So is acrylic a good blend for cotton because it has elasticity or because it's "grabby"? I don't think of it as grabby, so wondered why it is a good blend to give cotton some structure? My daughter seems allergic to wool (even merino makes her itch). I really want to knit her a stranded cowl and wonder what sort yarn (non-wool) would be good for colorwork/stranded knitting? Maybe acrylic? (but I don't think it's grabby....) Thank you so much for your videos!! They are so great! I learn so much.
I think it's more because it just doesn't lengthen the way that cotton does. It's not particularly stretchy. A cotton alpaca blend would be great for colorwork. I've done colorwork in 100% cashmere too, but that gets a bit pricey LOL.
In Canada yarn is often just called wool too, but we take a lot from the UK. I refuse but that's because I knit. My mom does call all yarn wool and it drives me nuts! "No mom, the red heart super saver is not wool!"
LOL, in Croatia is the same, but I grow up with that term,and it is ok to me.
LOL, I'm sure that's a fun discussion.
I recently discovered that. I found 'wool' that was a cotton bamboo acrylic blend, not even trying to be wool like textured and it was called 'wool'.
That just seems like false advertising LOL.
@@WatchBarbaraKnit
It seems as we might call any fizzy dark drink a cola or a Coke, some Brits are calling any yarn wool. I had wondered about the label that said milk sugar cotton wool and that label confused me.
I haven’t found any resources on how to swap out wool in patterns that call for wool. I’m not really interested in summer/spring knitting and I’m having a hard time finding patterns. I have so many patterns I want to make but they all call for wool. I’m currently knitting a sweater for a client in cotton from a pattern that calls for wool, did I make a mistake with that? I’m only a few rows away from finishing.
So it depends. Cotton can perform well in some patterns and not so great in others. Each fiber behaves differently and has different strengths/weaknesses. But you cannot just substitute willy nilly and expect good results all of the time. Patterns to keep you warm are almost always going to call for animal fibers because they have much higher insulation properties than cotton. Cotton is a poor insulator.
You might want to check out knitecochic.com/ this designer does not work with animal fibers at all.
Hi I'm interested in making shawls and sweaters and animal fibers can kill me. What type of yarn would/could use to make shawls including lace shawls.
Pretty much everything I had to say about this subject is in this video LOL!
Play with different size needles. You might find a fabric card boardy and then with bigger needles it becomes a nicer fabric. A soft fabric with no shape to the fabric might feel and act different with tighter stitches on smaller needles. Also learn to measure guage and how to knit a swatch, then you can do the math and get this many inches with this many stitches per row and this many rows.
All great skills to learn!
Hello Barbara, I don't have a wool allergy, but I am allergic to nylon and rayon. I mean skin turns red, peals, and itches. Is there a substitute fiber or fiber blend I can use to make sweaters, tanks/tees, and socks which call for nylon and/or rayon as all or part of the fiber content in the pattern. I love how you did this video and hope you can help me. Live long and prosper friend. Kathryn in Ontario, Canada
Both Nylon and Rayon were developed as silk substitutes ... so silk might work for you!
Thanks so much for the help! I really appreciate it. I didn't know that was the purpose of those fibers. I'll make the switch to silk and silk blends. You're the best!
I have contact dermatitis on my hands only, I've knitted for years but mostly with superwash merino sock yarn with no bother, I recently started a sweater with 1 strand of alpaca and 1 strand tynn silk mohair, I've been in denial but I think it's my sweater knitting that caused the worst flare up I've had in 20 years, both wools are red and when i wore cotton gloves to knit the sweater they are staining red everywhere, could it be the dye I'm allergic too or could it be the alpaca or mohair? Anyone had anything similar, I'm desperate for advice 😢
There are definitely people who are allergic to both mohair and alpaca, either of those could be your culprit. I would stop knitting the project and give your hands a break. Unfortunately this project might just not be in the cards for you. And if you are allergic to it, you aren't going to want to wear it anyway.
I am not allergic to wool, but I am allergic to lanolin and aloe vera which is in most animal fibers...so I avoid all wools.
It is good to know what sets you off!
Is it my imagination that cotton is way more popular with crocheters than knitters? It seems like the ravelry projects i look at and the general social media chatter knitters are less likely to use 100% cotton yarns unless making wash rags?? Is there a reason? Or is it just just an impression i get?
I think you're probably right. I don't know that there is a particular reason. It would be interesting to find out tho.
I think it's because the tighter crochet stitches hold the cotton in place much better than the much stretchier knitting stitches, so if you want a lacy piece made of cotton, it's a better idea to crochet it. I learned that the hard way. I knitted a lace scarf out of a cotton/silk blend, and the thing can't hold its shape no matter how aggressively I block it. But I noticed that the crochet edging I did on it behaves a lot better. So now I'm crocheting lace with that yarn instead of knitting it, and it's game-changing different.
PS... I was...for a while///totally confused by how people in the UK use the term “wool”.... 🙃
It can be confusing LOL.
Yes! I am allergic to cotton and wool! Had a doctor tell me that I was allergic to cotton and wool. I would love to live in a Nudist Colony!!!! Adam and Eve created this stinking mess!