Acrylic Alternatives

You know the story...

You make a beautiful gift for someone out of hand washable wool. They throw it in the washing machine and voila - beautiful project is now felted and not wearable.

Or, you have an anaphylactic reaction to wool and break out in hives all over the place when you wear it.

Or, you're sensitive to wool and it scratches you too much.

So should you turn to acrylic in these situations? There's a couple of things to keep in mind when deciding to use acrylic or not. In my previous life, I was a chemist and I've recently done a little research into the way acrylic is made.

Acrylic - A Very Brief History by Nicholette Hoyer

Acrylic was produced by DuPont in the 1950's. It was first used as a protective coating on warplanes during World War II. DuPont no longer produces acrylic. In fact, acrylic is no longer produced in the United States because of its hazardous and explosive qualities. Where is it produced? Yup, China.

The raw materials used into today's acrylics are called methyl methacrylate. It is a compound that is created with cyanide, acetone and alcohols. The storage, handling and processing of acrylic has to be done under highly controlled situations in a laboratory. Toxic gases are released into the atmosphere when acrylic is created, and we can only hope that the companies making it are using the most advanced environmental remediation techniques as possible. Not to mention, the potential safety of the employees that are making the substance.

Acrylic is plastic and is not easily recycled. It can irritate people with sensitive skin or eczema. Most acrylic ends up in a landfill.

I personally find it ironic that many people will knit baby items with acrylic. Lots of babies are born with eczema, so why make them something that could irritate? Not-to-mention the fact that acrylic doesn't last long. You spend all your quality time knitting or crocheting a garment only to have it disintegrate. Acrylic yarn also melts - not something you want your baby underneath in case of fire.

So what can you use that's natural and non-irritating to the skin? Consider these alternatives:

Cotton
Cotton blends with silk, soy, bamboo
Silk
Tencel
Bamboo
Soy
Linen
Hemp
Alpaca

And if you're sensitive to wool, sometimes just a blend of wool with another fiber can soften things up so much, you won't even believe there's wool in it.

What about machine washable? While there are many machine washable yarns made from natural fibers, I really like to hand wash my hand made garments. If you think about it, it really doesn't take that long. It takes longer to dry, but it's quick to hand wash. I think it takes longer to put your garment into a machine, put the powder in, transfer the garment to the dryer and then fold v. filling your sink with water, adding a drop of your favorite sweater wash (the one we sell, you don't have to rinse), rolling it in a towel to get the excess water out and letting it air dry.

But if you need, there are plenty of machine washable offerings in the shop - just ask us to help you find one in the gauge you need. We have gift tags that you can purchase with an area for washing instructions and fiber content. Sometimes it only takes a gentle reminder to your recipient about how to care for their heirloom.

Shown Below:
Blue Sky Organic Cotton
Queensland Bebe Cotsoy (Cotton/Soy blend)
Knit One Crochet Too Babyboo (Bamboo/Nylon blend)
Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (Cotton/Hemp/Modal blend)
Spud and Chloe Yarns (Organic Cotton/Wool blend, Silk/Wool blend)
Blue Sky Alpacas (Alpaca, Alpaca/Silk, Alpaca/Merino blends)