Yarn fiber melt questions

[catwoman]

Hi.I was wondering if a person could use acrylic yarn or polyester mixed fiber yarn to make potholders or oven mitts?anybody use them without worrying about melting or had them not melt?I thought that a person can make anything with yarns?what do you guys think ?also do they melt in a hot car?what are you guys opinions on the matter? 

[Granny Square]

Hi there!

As I understand it, there's different levels of change that acrylic/plastic goes thru based on temperature.  At a low-ish temp, it will subtly deform/change the way it behaves and feels (depending on pressure), 85°-95° C, if you remember your high school chemistry 100°C is water's boiling point.  At a higher temp, it will actually MELT/liquify (160°C, or 320°F).    Notice 320F is lower than average recipe oven temperatures.

A hot car is not hot enough to melt acrylic but it might maim it.  I've never gotten it to the melting stage, but I've gotten it to it's deformation stage, which causes it to stop being stretchy, and become limp and sort of ...crunchy .  

I made a  'trivet' from acrylic that I've used to place hot casserole dishes on.  It hasn't melted, but it's gotten sort of ugly/squished looking.  I actually still use it.  I'd never use acrylic for a gift trivet, or never EVER for pot holders or mitts.  You want to use cotton, or even wool which has a higher flame retardance (wool catches fire at 570-600° C,  cotton at only 255° C).

edited to add the wool/cotton inflammation temps

[catwoman]

HI Villager.Can a person use a yarn that has a fiber content with so much percent of polyster,arcylic ,or cotton, wool,arcylic ?Theres a lot of yarn out there  that has that .thats mixed.Does a person have to use 100 percent cotton or wool or less?

[magiccrochetfan]

36 minutes ago, catwoman said:

HI Villager.Can a person use a yarn that has a fiber content with so much percent of polyster,arcylic ,or cotton, wool,arcylic ?Theres a lot of yarn out there  that has that .thats mixed.Does a person have to use 100 percent cotton or wool or less?

Are you still asking about potholders?  If so, i think Granny Square has answered your question:  synthetics are not a good idea for items that will be subjected to heat.  You should use a natural fiber like cotton or wool.  

 

[Bailey4]

I use what people around here seem to refer to as kitchen cotton to distinguish it from the softer cottons people use for baby projects etc.  I just checked Bernat Handicrafter one of my cotton favorites for kitchen use and it is listed as being 100% cotton, not a blend. 

I don't make lots of potholders, but those I've made have been all made from this type of cotton although the brands have differed, to avoid the the melting risks associated with acrylic yarns listed above.  I do have some acrylic ones given to me from DH's family that were his grandmother's but they clearly were decorative and never were used for any hot purposes.  Acrylic melts and you don't want it near your hands when handling something hot.

To answer your original question you can make lots of things with yarn, but not all yarn is the same.  Some yarn fibers work better for some projects than others.  I love kitchen cotton for a variety of projects, but there are lots of things I won't make with it.  Acrylic yarn comprises most of my yarn purchases, but there are some things I don't make with acrylic yarn because it doesn't work for those projects and I purchase different yarn for those projects.  You have to know what your making to determine what kind of yarn, what weight to use, etc.

[redrosesdz]

Think of yarn like fabric. You wouldn't make a winter coat out of silk fabric or an evening gown out of wool. Yarn is the same way. There are different fibers, weights and textures. 

[Avon Lady]

There is a test for yarn to tell if it is wool or not.  Light the end of the strand--if it melts, it is acrylic.  If it is wool, it will burn like a match.  I think cotton would be the safest yarn for potholders.  (My personal opinion!)