Knitting, Weaving

Seven Things Acrylic Yarn is Good For

I don’t mean to sound snarky–at least not while this blog is so young–and I don’t mean to sound like a yarn snob (okay fine, guilty as charged), but here’s what I’m wondering:

Why would anybody use acrylic (aka petroleum or coal-based) yarn? I get that it’s cheap, strong, and easily available in every color under the sun, but it’s, well, a lot like plastic.

Given the number of hours of love and labor it takes to make even a small item out of yarn, why would anybody use material that is made from something similar to what you put in your gas tank?  Here are a couple links showing what acrylic yarn is made of:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6551284_acrylic-yarn-made_.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_fiber

With that in mind, here’s what I think acrylic yarn is good for:

  1. Acrylic yarn is great for the yarn mazes my husband and I make every year on Easter morning, leading our children to their Easter baskets.
  2. Acrylic yarn is great for learning to knit or crochet so you don’t mess up that gorgeous handspun merino yarn trying to figure it out.
  3. Acrylic yarn is great for trying out a complicated pattern so you don’t mess up your cotton, wool, alpaca, mohair, silk, or angora yarn. .
  4. Acrylic yarn could be good for a core for a corespun yarn, but so far I haven’t gone there.
  5. Acrylic yarn is great for making warp ties for weaving.
  6. Acrylic yarn is great for making knots around wool yarn you’re about to dye because it won’t take up the dye.
  7. Acrylic yarn is great for filling up landfills because I’m pretty sure it lasts as long as Twinkies.