I mentioned in a previous post that I have gone full circle with my thoughts on synthetics. I had a brief dalliance with yarn snobbery, but it’s not a viable way of life for me.
I was talking to a woman on the bus this morning. I’ve seen her several times during my morning commute, but it was only after she saw me knitting that she started a converstion. Knitting is like that. You feel comfortable talking to strangers when they knit.
Today, she mentioned that she had enjoyed knitting a couple baby blankets, but she didn’t know any babies, so she was saving them for a possible grandchild in the future. I said to her, “If you like knitting small blankets, why not donate them to the Humane Society?” Her response was that she wouldn’t waste such a nice blanket on a dog, and that she only knits with natural fibers.
Oh, for pete’s sake. Is she going to die if she comes in contact with acrylic? I mean really. The ludicrousness, it hurts.
I love natural fibers. I really do. And I use them as much as possible. They are superior for most applications. There are a few instances, though, when synthetic fibers are the superior choice. When? Well, when you want something that can go in the washer and dryer. Like my EZ garter stitch blanket, for example. With two cats in the house, the fur is flying. I am constantly picking cat hair off my plate. I think I eat my weight in cat hair a year. Everything I knit has cat hair incorporated in it. I know this blanket will be covered in cat hair within minutes of it going on the back of my couch. Plus, it’s large. I am not interested in handwashing and lying flat to dry something that large. Plus, a run through the washer and dryer will get all the cat hair off.
Another instance when synthetics are superior has to do with cost. Synthetics are, for the most part, cheaper (although some of that frou frou yarn at the LYS that’s 20 bucks for a tiny skein is synthetic…read the label). I would rather knit with synthetics than not knit at all. I would knit with twigs and blades of grass that I spit-spliced together. Knitting isn’t just for wealthy dilettantes. It’s for anyone who is seduced by its charms…rich, poor, female, male, old, young, conversative, liberal, hippie, yuppie.
At the present moment, I can afford (the cheaper) natural fibers, and I am more than happy to buy them. When I buy cotton for summer tops, though, they are usually blends with acrylic (occasionally wool), because cotton is heavy. When I am making something that would benefit from being machine washable and dryable, I will use synthetics (not a fan of superwash for things other than socks). Such instances might be baby clothes, large afghans, blankets for the animal shelter, clothing for someone whom I know will not handwash the item, etc.
If I were going through an insolvent period, I would probably buy wool for smaller items that would benefit from the warmth, like mittens, gloves, and hats. I would probably use synthetics for sweaters (maybe even jackets/coats) or any large item.
No one should ever be made to feel “less than” for what they knit with, how they knit, or what they knit.
