Questions and Answers





What are the advantages and disadvantages of pure wool versus acrylic yarn?

 The advantages and disadvantages of pure wool are:

It is warmer than acrylic.
It is less likely to pill than an acrylic, though the more expensive acrylics.
Wools are less likely to pill.
It will last longer.
It keeps it shape better
It generally repels stains and spills.
Some wools can be machine washed on a gentle cycle, but most if not all have to be dried flat.
Some wools are 'itchy' but some wools, especially the Merino blends, are very soft.
What about allergies?
As wool is composed of the same proteins as human hair and fingernails, it is unlikely that one is allergic. It may be the dyes of chemicals used in the processing but not the wool.

The advantages and disadvantages of acrylic yarn are:

It is generally cheaper then wool.
It is moth proof .
Generally, it can be machine washed and machine dried, but read the ball band first!
It is mainly non-allergenic
It does have a tendency to pill.
It stains rather easily, particularly grease or oil stains.
It does not "breathe, so it is not nearly as warm as wool
It does not repel moisture.

You obviously have to select the yarn for the application.
In general, buy the best yarn that you can afford.
Most good yarn stores do have a lay-away program, 1 or 2 skeins at a time is generally not a shock to the budget.
Given the amount of time you put into a project, you want it to last.

Some people find that a wool/acrylic mixture is a good compromise.
Some wool/acrylic mixtures can be machine washed and machine dried.
Read the label!



I have unraveled a sweater and the yarn in kinked. How can I straighten it?

 Take a wire coat hanger and form it into a square.
Wind your yarn onto the coat hanger, spreading it out as much as possible.
Hang it in a shower stall and run hot water to fill the stall with steam.
The idea is to steam the yarn, not to wash it!
You can see the crinkles dropping out of it.
When it looks straight remove from the shower and rewind it.
Do not leave it on the hanger, incase the hanger goes rusty.

Another method is to skein the yarn on a swift of even the back of a chair and put it on the glass rack of your dish washer during the steam(or drying) cycle. The steam from that will generally unlink it. Remember the longer the yarn has been knit, the more difficult to unlink.



What if I am running out of yarn before I am finished my project?
Is there anyway to get more yarn of the same dye lot as I have?

 The first thing is to try the store where you bought it. A good yarn store will find it for you if at all possible.
You can use yarn of the same color but a different dye lot, and use this on the ribbing or the collar.
It is far better to use an odd dye lot on the ribbings, as the change of stitch and needle size minimizes the color difference.
You can also cut off the bands, pick up the stitches and knit the bands in a different dye lot or even a contrasting color.
That is the avenue of last resort.
You can even use the different dye lot on separate pieces of the garment, (such as sleeves) as long as there is a visual break such as a seam.
Check though that the new dye lot is close to the old one.

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