Here's a question for everyone...

[crochetrenee]

I am curious to know how many crocheters out there prefer synthetic yarn vs. natural fibers, wool, alpaca, angora, silk, etc....? I am working on some book ideas and wanted to know how many are currently using the natural fibers. Thanks!

[trsbrooks]

I also use mostly acrylic because the patterns I use usually call for acrylic. I have been interested in the natural yarns, though, since they are more, well, natural. However, the last time I went to look at yarns (at Michael's), I noticed that Bernat natural yarns were made in China and their acrylic yarns were made in Canada. I am Canadian and live in Canada, so I felt better about buying the yarns made in Canada to support local industry.

[Nahvrianna]

I would love to work exclusively with natural fibers but they're so darn expensive. So unfortunately most of my crocheting is with acrylic yarn or cotton thread.

I second that!

[Vickietoria]

Like many others, I use mostly acrylic yarn, but for me... If it were something really very special, I might buy a small amount of something like wool, soy, etc. for that. Cotton I use as much as acrylic; the worsted weight. I'm not a big thread crocheter, but I love the look of it!

 

Hope that helps!

Victoria

[breeze530]

I certainly understand your situation. I'm living poor myself, but I do buy nicer yarns for garments. I can't stand how 100% acrylics feel on my skin. They don't keep you warm in the winter & are too heavy & sticky for the summer. I save up my money when I want to make something nice. But I do use alot of Lion Brand yarns, especially Woolease. Just the 20% lamb's wool really softens up the feel & the items look so much better. I use their Magic Stripes (75% washable wool 25% acrylic) for socks & it's really inexpensive as the balls have so many yds.

 

I try to at least use a blend rather than straight acrylic (Usually. I do use alot of Homespun) unless it's for a child or a certain afghan. I just made 2 afghans with RH Heathers, but I know they will both be used roughly & it still looks better than SS. I'm also making an afghan with RH SS in Soft White in the center & RH Denim Healther (25% rayon) on the outside, so there are no hard & fast rules. But, where I live in CA, I have seen many people make gorgeous items for sale at craft fairs & shops & as soon as people see that they are 100% acrylic they are just passed on by. Also, make sure that your kitchen items are cotton. A potholder will melt if it's acrylic.

[crochetluvknot]

synthetic for me Im allergic to wool

[elcyr]

Hi

I only use natural yarn (wool, silk, linen, ...). However sometimes I prefer to work with an acrylic/natural fiber blend. It is superior for large pieces and often allows to make more durable tissues.

I would never go for less than 50% natural fibers though

 

It is more expensive - but you can find yarn on sales

Ellen

[appy_lover]

With a book I would like to know what yarn you used, and the weight and content for substitutions. I would prefer the yarn you use to be widely available, and reasonably priced for what I am getting. I would happily pay $40-60 on yarn for a wearable if I really liked it, but I want to know I am going to be able to find the yarn and that I am getting something really nice that will wear well and last. Sometimes though the yarns used in books are inordenantly expensive and hard to find. That doesn't work for me. I'll use acrylic or natural fibers depending on what I think is needed and will work best for the pattern.

 

If a fiber was better for a particular peice then I it would be great if the designer noted the reason..eg.: "I chose lace weight alpaca yarn for this shawl because it makes a wonderful draping lacey fabric that breathes well" or "I chose a cotton worsted weight yarn for this market bag because it has less stretch and will hold the shape of the bag better than the alternatives" or "I chose to work with worsted weight acrylic because it was a practical economic choice for this king sized afghan, and the color choices are unbeatable."

[eurolyons]

I love bamboo yarn, 100% cotton, wool and blends of those...I do like natural fibers, but it's not always easy for me to get them and get them at a price I can afford...however, I have access to the cotton and wool and the blends with no problems...

 

I have no fear of working with wool and so much of the wool now is spun in such a way that I never have a problem with things being felted that shouldn't be felted...also I don't have an itch problem with much of the new wool that's out there now.

 

I have no problem with acrylics...I don't even mind Red Heart that sometimes can be really stiff and "plasticy" feeling because it's great for the things I make with it.

[jura2908]

i use mainly acrylics, but i am using up my stash to transition over to more of the natural fibers. maybe not organic but more plant and animal as opposed to synthetic.

[Carol]

I prefer natural fibers. I love wool, silk, linen, alpaca, et al, but I use mostly cotton. After making my new grandson some wearables in natural fibers, though, his mom, my DD, requested I switch to acrylics so she can just throw them in the washing machine and dryer. So now I use acrylics for him.

[crochetrenee]

Great feedback! I really appreciate everyone's input on this subject...I didn't expect such a great response!!!

[MaryPat]

I bought a lot of different wools for several years figuring there had to be at least one wool I wasn't allergic to. Nope. Angora, meriangora, alpaca, sheep wool, cashmere. I'm allergic to them all.

 

I've worked with a linen silk mix. It worked up real nice.

 

I'm currently using a 5/2 mercerized cotton for a sweater. Love the feel of it.

 

My take along project is a geometric motif thaqt is being made from Bernat acryllic. Hope it doesn't pill, but it has a nice sheen to it.

 

I tend to do a bit of crochet each day and not in any great volume with 3 or 4 major projects per year. I buy the yarn to suit the project pretty much.

 

My next stay at home project will be some sort of tunisian I think. Either cross stitch on tunisian or just use a chart to do a photograph. It will probably be a lighter acryllic that's fluffy.

[crochetrenee]

I somehow haven't gotten any updates to this post for awhile...I actually thought no one was reading it anymore...then lo and behold, I get notification today and here are a whole bunch more responses! I appreciate all the feedback. I think the concept of showing other yarn options is a great idea!

[frogrockr]

It is interesting, though, because I am trying to figure out what to use for an afghan that is light enough, soft enough and pleasant enough to work with and affordable in the quantities necessary for an afghan - I really want to make one, but have yet to find that mythical, magical yarn **goes off searching**

 

Cheers,

Hey Marika!

 

The worst squeaky acrylics have to be Panda's Magnum and the horrible horrible stuff that people were buying from Dollars and Sense.

 

This horrible woman from a knitting group I went to told me "I was wasting my money buying 100% pure Merino and I should just stick to this great stuff"....

Repeat after me : Yarn you buy for $1 a ball is never going to be Good Yarn:yarn.

 

 

Have you tried looking at Bendigo's :yarnyarn:yarn? www.bendigowoollenmills.com.au

 

Their range of 5/8/12 plys work out to be quite reasonable if you're looking for large quantities.

 

For toys (and I adore bilbies!) I would recommend Paton's Zhivago. It's absolutely washable and it's tencel, so fairly hardwearing.

 

----

And to get to our original poster - it would be fantastic if you could put in the details of the yarns so that people who want to substitute know how far they can go without losing the essence of your design.

 

 

Manda

[MaryPat]

I love working with wools, but can't wear them, so that limits it to gifts that someone else will wear. I like working with cotton, but cotton can be heavy for clothing or afghans. For my own clothing, I look for cotton thread patterns or acryllic yarn patterns.

[Beverooni]

One of my new favorite yarns is carried at Hobby Lobby and called "I Love This Yarn." It's a very soft acrylic. I have used wool for felting but otherwise, I don't particularly like using it. I also like all the Bernat yarns. I'm a bargain yarn shopper and will buy more expensive yarns when I can find them on sale. I have only used the really expensive stuff for scarfs (gifts), etc.

[Sleepystitcher]

Except for cotton I don't usually work with natural fibers. I'm allergic to wool so that's out & the rest are so expensive they don't make my list:eek

 

Same situation here. Maybe one day I'll try some bamboo, or maybe soy yarn, but it will have to be for a small project.

[crochetrenee]

I use a lot of cotton, (especially for garments)...most of the other natural fibres are out of my price range (bamboo, silk, linen, etc)...I've heard rayon is actually a "natural" made from bamboo...don't know how true this is, but I like the feel of it. I don't use wool...except I've used some to felt...because I'm allergic to all wool types of fibre..I guess that means all animal fibres.

 

I also use synthetics...this more for blankets/ghans/some baby stuff (the soft sport weight), and other, smaller projects.

 

However, the more I use of the cotton (like Elmore-Pisgah's honeysuckle) the more I like it. It's nice to see it coming more available and affordable!

Well........not necessarily true on being allergic to all animal fibers. Most people who are allergic to wool are actually allergic to either the lanolin or the chemicals used in processing the wool commercially. Most of those people find that other animal fibers like alpaca, angora, llama, cashmere, mohair, etc, do not cause these problems as they are all lanolin free and therefore, the chemicals needed to "cut" the lanolin in sheep's wool are not needed in the processing. So if you ever get a chance to affordably try any of these, I encourage you to do so!

[marikamum]

 

Personally, I dont like the 8ply (or worsted) weight acrylics - I hate the way they feel on the hook (that squeaky icky noise) and I very rarely use it for anything other than toys.

 

 

It is interesting, I was going to make a toy bilby and bush basket for my kids for Easter and I thought... "I will give this acrylic a go" and found one that felt reasonably nice to me in the store, but, darned if it didn't squeak on the hook and give me the shivers like running fingers down the chalkboard ...

 

I am now planning to go and get some cotton or wool for the toys... I'll check out other synthetics, too, but that 8 ply acrylic just wasn't working for me... ...

 

I am not opposed to synthetics, but I need to enjoy the process of working the yarn, as well as the finished project... no squeaks!!

 

It is interesting, though, because I am trying to figure out what to use for an afghan that is light enough, soft enough and pleasant enough to work with and affordable in the quantities necessary for an afghan - I really want to make one, but have yet to find that mythical, magical yarn **goes off searching**

 

Cheers,

[YankeeMom]

Acrylics, and some cotton.

[crochetrenee]

I agree, Kathy. The WPI is something I would like to see in more crochet publications. It is very helpful for not only substituting yarns, but if you hand spin your own yarn (as I often do) it is helpful to create a yarn that will work up to gauge. So, everybody, it's starting to sound to me like a book that perhaps showed garments made in natural as well as less expensive synthetic alternatives would be well recieved.

[Momcrochets]

I use a lot of cotton, (especially for garments)...most of the other natural fibres are out of my price range (bamboo, silk, linen, etc)...I've heard rayon is actually a "natural" made from bamboo...don't know how true this is, but I like the feel of it. I don't use wool...except I've used some to felt...because I'm allergic to all wool types of fibre..I guess that means all animal fibres.

 

I also use synthetics...this more for blankets/ghans/some baby stuff (the soft sport weight), and other, smaller projects.

 

However, the more I use of the cotton (like Elmore-Pisgah's honeysuckle) the more I like it. It's nice to see it coming more available and affordable!

[hhensler]

Natural...I'll take all the silk and cotton in the world!

[enCrochet]

My mother was a wool-aholic knitter, so that's what I grew up with and have inherited her stash for crochet work. I do look for the softer wools--I find alpacca especially nice to work with. I occasionally use synthetic yarn for extra softness and itch-free wear. I haven't tried cotton or bamboo yet. So many yarns, so little time!

[magiccrochetfan]

Like several people have said, the most important thing to me when looking at pattern books is being able to get enough info to substitute yarn. I like the way Interweave magazines do it: they show a photo of the yarn at actual size or 90% actual size, and give the fiber content, weight and wraps per inch. the WPI seems like a big help in comparing yarns.