Wool Baby
Posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 1:49 pmWhich wool is good for sensitive skin?
I would like to knit myself a jumper but I find wool itchy next to bare skin. As I live in a rural location I would need to buy it online. Can anyone recommend a really soft wool suitable for adults - not baby pink!! Can you also recommend a good website.
For sensitive skin, and people with wool allergies, the best natural fibers are alpaca, llama and cashmere. People who are allergic to wool generally are reacting to the lanolin in the wool. Alpaca does not contain lanolin and is generally hypoallergenic, and it's cheaper than cashmere. Baby alpaca is even softer. My favorite alpaca is a label called Prime Alpaca (naturally colored, undyed) and Peruvian Tweed (2 color twisted yarn from undyed, naturally colored alpaca). Alpaca is revered in the high Andes. (Previously in Peru, alpaca fibers were only worn by royalty.) Llama is similar to alpaca, but it's not as widely available. Cashmere comes from the cashmere goat. The cheapest cashmere yarns are imported and produced in China and inner Mongolia. One of the leading market producers of cashmere is Italy, which has quality cashmere yarns, but the prices are a little higher.
Other great alternatives, if you're not allergic to wool, are merino wool and merino wool blends. One of my favorite yarns that I get from a supplier is a 60%cashmere and 40% merino wool blend. Other great soft blended yarns that I like are merino/silk, merino/silk/mercized or pima cotton, and pima cotton/silk. Pima and mercized cottons are very soft and a nice alternative for people who have sensitivities to wool and mohair. Silk is awesome, but it can get pricey, so the cheaper and more common option is to find a silk blend yarn.
I don't recommend mohair for sensitive skin. Even though both cashmere and mohair come from goats, it seems that more people are sensitive and allergic to mohair. If you do like mohair and are not allergic to it, then make sure the you get kid mohair, which is much much softer. Regular mohair can be coarse, itchy and scratchy.
I don't know where you are, but these US-based sites are great because the prices are low, and/or they're for people who want to buy in bulk, like for a sweater project:
http://www.discountyarnsale.com (great bulk prices)
http://www.knitpicks.com (they have their own line of yarns)
http://www.elann.com
http://www.smileysyarns.com (outlet of yarns basically)
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 4 balls Angora Mohair Merino Wool Cashmere YarnFineRust Red19 $10.49 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 54m |
 1 balls Angora Mohair Merino Wool Cashmere YarnFineSea Blue24 $1.75 (3 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 6m |
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 1 balls Angora Mohair Merino Wool Cashmere YarnFineRust Red19 $4.25 (6 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 34m |
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 6x50g Cashmere Silk Merino Wool Baby Yarn LotDKLight Green114 $9.99 Time Remaining: 3h 18m |
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