Recommendation: Acrylic yarn for charity crafting.

 Dear Reader,

If you are of the inclination to make things for charity (like how I am making preemie hats for my local NICU), skip the fancy yarns and go with basic acrylic yarn. It is hypoallergenic. It washes easily at any temperature and can handle a bit of bleach with out the colors fading too much. It also is warmer than wool when dry (a bunch of us yarn nerds did an experiment about three years ago making cozies for coffee mugs to determine what yarn worked best for insulation. Acrylic was the clear winner followed by wool/alpaca blend).

There's long been an argument that acrylic yarn isn't too good for projects that are going to be against the skin because it's really abrasive. This  might have been true 30 years ago, but changes in technology and how acrylic yarn is produced have created yarns that are just as soft as lightly spun cotton and woolen spun Merino wool. Acrylic yarn doesn't have the spring or the memory of wool yarns, which means it is less prone to stretch when worn and will be less inclined to shrink when washed. (Honestly, I have yet to have an acrylic project shrink on me when I've washed it. And I've been working with acrylic yarn now for over 13 years.)

If you are concerned about the scratchiness of low cost acrylic yarn, wind it into a skein and soak it in a basin with fabric softener for 24 hours. Then rinse the fabric softener out before washing it. Make sure before you do this process, that your have tied your skein of yarn in at least three places or it will become a tangled mess as you run it through the washing machine and dryer. (Yes, you can throw acrylic into the dryer on high and that will help soften it up too but that process takes longer than the soak with fabric softener.) You do not want to use acrylic yarn treated in this fashion for garments intended for individuals with sensitive skin, such as babies, because you never know who is going to react to the fabric softener.

Acrylic blends are a risky proposition. They can have the traits of both fibers but they introduce a potential allergen into the mix. Tread carefully with these yarns. If the recipient isn't allergic to the second fiber blended with the acrylic, you're in great standing. If there is an allergy, don't use it no matter how small the percentage of the second fiber is in the blend. Having experienced an accidental allergic reaction to yarn that I was unfamiliar with, it's no fun and can be a serious problem for people with severe allergies. Fortunately, mine was mild and my skin just got itchy and red. Some people have a serious allergic reaction. This is why I avoid mystery yarns when I'm crafting for charity and stick with acrylic that I know is 100% pure. Sure, that grab bag of 5lbs of yarn at the second hand shop looks like a great deal, but you don't know what's mixed in with it all. Play it safe.

Happy crafting!