Not just the rant I posted about yesterday. Recently, a similar rant was posted on another knitting list I used to be on. (Ok, technically I'm still on it, I've just switched my membership to no e-mail. That way I can still acess the patterns and links and such, but don't have to wade through this biased tripe.) Basically, this rant can be summed up as saying that acrylic isn't really yarn, it is icky stuff sold to the lower class masses that no serious knitter would even remotely consider using.
What's the big deal? I mean, if you don't want to use acrylic, don't use it. But why the vehemence against those who do use it? It's just another fiber. I happen to prefer acrylics and I'll tell you why:
1. Acrylic is affordable. This is key. Face it, there are those of us who just can't afford to drop $200-300 on enough wool to make a sweater. The same sweater can be made from acrylic for a tenth of that price. Even the $20 spent on a ball of sock yarn can be pushing it for some of us. We won't even begin to talk about the cost of yarn needed for a wool afghan.
2. Acrylic is available. For some of us, having to drive the 85 miles to the nearest yarn store is both expensive and inconvenient. Yeah, there's always online ordering, but when you do that, you don't really know what you are getting. The yarn you end up with may not be exactly what you saw on the screen, and if you just spent $300 on what you thought would be something else, well, I'd be upset.
3. Acrylic is durable. Sure, it pills a bit, but then so does wool. But it lasts forever. I still have an acrylic afghan that was knit by my grandmother for my 10th birthday. It looks just as good now as the day she made it. The afghan on my bed is 14 years old, and it looks just as good as new, in spite of the fact that I actually used it as an area rug for 6 months in my living room in my apartment in Italy. One of the common myths floating around out there is that acrylic will stiffen up over time. This is not true. If your acrylic is stiff, then you probably just need to wash it. Which brings me to my nesxt point:
4. Acrylic is washable. When it gets dirty or spilled on, just toss it in the washer and dryer. No need to worry about it shrinking or felting. It is naturally stain resistant as well. And if it does get stained, well, at least you're not out the $200-300 a wool sweater would cost.
5. Acrylic is cooler than wool. I know, I know, I've heard all the claptrap about wool insulating heat out as well as in. As soon as I can find a wool sweater or socks I can wear without burning up or being itched to death, maybe I'll change my mind. But until then, all my sweaters are acrylic. There is another common myth out there that acrylic yarn does not breathe--that it would be like wearing a plastic bag. This is also not true. There is air space between the fibers of acrylic yarn, just as there is in wool yarn. There is also space for circulation between the knit stitches, just as there is in a wool product. So acrylic does breathe.
6. Acrylic is unappetizing to moths. Several years ago, my sister sent me a lambs wool scarf from Iceland. Imagine my dismay when not too much later, I found moths had eaten huge holes in it. The fact that the dumb thing was too coarse and itchy for me to wear anyway is irrelevant. It was a gift from my sister. I didn't appreciate it becoming some creature's lunch.
So there you have it--my top 6 reasons why I prefer acrylic yarns. I'm not saying you should use them if you don't want to, but don't insult me and call me names because I do.
Cody is mighty proud of this:
J gave him an old gun rack that he wasn't using any more, so Cody was finally able to bring home his shotgun. It had been in J's gun safe for two years. Yeah, it's hanging on his wall, but there's not much he can do with it because J still has the shells in his gun safe. In regards to my little problem of yesterday, I was searching over at the PatriotPost website, followed a few links and found an entire list of organizations that send care packages to the troops overseas. I've been looking through the list and bookmarking those that accept socks. Once I am done, I will have to decide which one I will support. If anyone has any experience or knowledge of any of these, feel free to pass the info on to me.
A bit of good news! I actually got Monty to eat a mouse today! Yeah, he should be eating rats, but I'd thawed a mouse for Onyx, forgetting that he was in shed. On a whim, I decided to offer it to Monty and he ate it! This is the first time since March that he's eaten anything, so I'm happy about that. Now, if only Slider would eat...
One last thing, if you want to stop "Global Warming", then teach your cows manners!
13 comments:
I don't understand the acrylic wars either. I can't stand Redheart, it hurts my hands to knit, but more power to those who can. Some of the less stiff acrylics are really quite nice.
Acrylic vs. wool is one of the rotating battles on the knit-list. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee actually posted a calander of scheduled knit-list flame wars once (January: straights vs. circulars, Febuary: throwing vs. scooping, March: wool vs. acrylic, etc.) and it was scarily accurate. What made me drop the knit-list was how pointless all the battling was. If you're getting the results you want, and you're enjoying the process, who the heck cares which needles you used, or which hand you hold the yarn in?
Ah...Purists. Every endeavor has 'em, and they're all the same: Pains in the A$$.
One thing puzzles me. I rarely, if ever, have spent $200.00 on a wool sweater. Cashmere is an exception, and I do have one Cashmere sweater. It might have been that expensive, but I bought it so long ago I've forgotten. Even pricey wool sweaters (like Pendleton ) rarely top $100.00. So...if manufacturers can produce a wool sweater...labor, overhead, and all... for less than $100 each, one gets the feeling the yarn makers are ripping you (knitters) off.
That said... ALL my suits and 90% of my sweaters are, and always have been, wool. That's preference, true. But it works for me! ;-)
My grandmother crocheted a few afgans using acrylic yarn. They're still in great shape. I've been making granny squares for an afgan and i'm using acrylic too. I like it. These yarn snobs are really kind of pathetic.
(And as soon as I have a working camera, I'll post pictures of my granny squares)
Cindy, Red Heart is actually my preferred yarn. It is what I almost always use, except for dishcloths and socks. I'm curious to know in what way it hurts your hands. The only fiber that ever bothered my hands was when I first started knitting with cotton. My hands got really sore because I wasn't used to a yarn with no give.
We had those same battles on the socknitters list. It's one of the reasons I left. I don't get it. Let people knit the way they want. Different is not wrong. All bottles are good.
Buck, I don't totally understand that either. You can buy a sweater for a lot less than the materials to make one. The only thing I can figure is that they buy bulk yarn in wholesale and most of those sweaters are made in countries where they pay their workers like $1 an hour. I guess...
frotoe, you are right, they are pathetic. It's like they are so insecure about themselves that they can't tolerate anyone doing something differently. I'm anxiously awaiting some pictures of your crafting!
Becky, it was a combination of lack-of-give and a bigger guage than I'm used to that did me in with the Redheart. Most of my knitting is on size 5's and down (I have and have used 000's), and most of it is wool or wool blends. The couple of cotton things I've knitted have either been in very fine guages or with yarns like Calmer that have significant give, so I suspect that a straight-up dish cotton would hurt my hands too.
You forgot to mention one other fact about acrylic, which is that with today's technology, acrylic is not your mom or your grandma's acrylic! Some of the acrylics are much softer and stronger than those yarns of yesteryear. It reminds me of something that we used to be told about the makeup brushes I used to sell as a TBSAH rep. With sable hair, that never improves, but with technology, nylons and other manmade fibers DO improve-- and can be even better in some cases.
As a crochet-er, I never even knew there was a big difference. I just always buy acrylic. Works for me.
Tell Cody that the shotguns look very cool on the gun rack.
windsornot, I didn't really forget that point. I just didn't mention it because I've always knit with acrylic. Like Lou said, I didn't know there was a big difference. I grew up with acrylic. My mom used it, and my grandmas used it. I suppose I knew there was different fibers somewhere deep in my mind. It just wasn't something I thought about.
Lou, same here. I told Cody what you said. He responded, "I know. They are cool." What can I say? He's thirteen.
Cindy, I never really noticed the lack of give in Red Heart. I had to go compare it to some wool yarn, and I didn't really notice that much of a difference. Then again, Red Heart is what I'm used to. I can understand the gauge issue, though. I learned to knit with worsted on size 8 needles, so when I knit with sport or fingering weight, my hands would get tired and sore easier. Now, I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me any more. Socks, you know...
I like your reasons to like acrylic. I too have wondered why there are some people who are so vocal about their dislike of it. There are some really nice acrylics and acrylic blends available now. I don't like mohair yarns but I am not starting a campaign to imprison those who do.
Tabitha, I agree. Nobody is forcing them to use acrylic, so just let people knit with whatever they want to.
Oh, and I'm with you on the mohair. The finished products are nice, but knitting with that stuff can be a bear!
This blog post is the best thing that I've read in the acrylic/non acrylic wars. She has other posts on this stuff; it's pretty cool.
http://goknitinyourhat.blogspot.com/2006/01/on-yarn-snobbery.html
Yeah, Babs. I read that post and was unimpressed. It was just another knee-jerk "Acrylic is crap" responses.
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