Comments on: Focus on Fiber: Acrylic Yarn

By: Colleen McCaffrey

Colleen McCaffrey — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:21:45 +0000

I am the same way with acrylic. But I am also allergic to most animal fibers, so I can only crochet with the really soft acrylics, bamboo, or cotton. I really wish my skin weren’t so sensitive.

By: Perry

Perry — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:41:48 +0000

I use more acrylic than I’d like because it’s cheap, but I dislike the fact that it’s plastic yarn. I much prefer cotton over acrylic, especially for towels and things, as acrylic doesn’t absorb AT ALL (I’ve tried washing dishes with acrylic scrub pads, talk about an exercise in frustration!)

However, for outerwear, because I can’t afford wool, acrylic with a cotton lining (for wicking) is what I prefer to do. It’s a lot of extra work, however.

By: Judi Gums

Judi Gums — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:11:27 +0000

I use super saver for my afghans all the time, yes it isn’t nearly as soft as many of the other brands,but I just put them into the dryer with 3 dryer sheets and soften them up. I do so many afghans and need to save as much as I can on each. Plus I give a lot of them away to nursing homes, homeless shelters and such and it helps with the expense.

Judi G

By: Judi Gums

Judi Gums — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:08:07 +0000

I too have used the acrylic yarn for pot holders and have never had any problem with them melting. One I made way back in the ’80′s and it is still going strong.

Judi G

By: Heidi

Heidi — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:28:59 +0000

Acrylic yarns are the best for yarn bombing! I tested! Amongst cottons,wools,bamboos and acrylics, acrylics hold their color and shape longer when exposed to the elements. Some of the brighter shades held their color for a full 6 mos of sun, rain, wind and snow! Love yarn bombing! Don’t wrap trees!

By: Carla

Carla — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:47:14 +0000

I don’t care for acrylic because it pills so badly. If I’m going to put alot of my time into a project, I’d prefer to avoid pilling. I love using cotton and bamboo. Also wool. Wool and nylon blends are very durable. This winter I’ve enjoyed working with mohair and cashmere. Lovely.

By: Judi Gums

Judi Gums — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:22:53 +0000

Since my passion is mainly afghans in different textured stitches I use acrylic yarns for them, mostly Red Heart Super Saver as it is the most accessible for me. For clothing I would prefer some of the softer yarns, they don’t have to be wool, but I do feel wool is warmer then acrylic for clothing. I make hats, scarves and hand warmers, but I don’t do clothing, I don’t like the fitting to get the patterns adjusted.

I too love the colors in acrylic yarns, and they work nicely for many types of projects.

Judi G

By: M J

M J — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:43:37 +0000

I prefer wool as it is insulating even when wet and fire resistent unlike synthetics which melt and stick to skin and burn releasing toxic gases.
Fine wool particles inhaled can be absorbed by the lungs as it is organic unlike the inorganic nature of the synthetics
Wool is biodegradable whereas synthetics takes hundreds of years to breakdown

By: Mandy

Mandy — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:31:13 +0000

I love love love crocheting with wool, I would take it over acrylic any day. That said, I do most of my crocheting with acrylic. It’s so much more affordable and I just can’t afford to pay for enough wool to make anything big. The biggest thing I’ve made with wool was a hat. I also love the wide range of options as far as color, size, and texture for acrylic.

By: Simone

Simone — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:49:55 +0000

Acrylic can serve a purpose, and it’s a good bargain mostly. I sitll have some in my stash, and I used recently 100% acrylic for an amigurumi.
But in direct comparison, acrylic doesn’t have the same soft feel (at least for my hands) as wool mixes.
I’m not an experienced crocheter, and though I do like the color choices acrylic offers, at the moment, I tend to use sock yarn for my projects.