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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. .
- Acrylic yarn could be good for a core for a corespun yarn, but so far I haven’t gone there.
- Acrylic yarn is great for making warp ties for weaving.
- Acrylic yarn is great for making knots around wool yarn you’re about to dye because it won’t take up the dye.
- Acrylic yarn is great for filling up landfills because I’m pretty sure it lasts as long as Twinkies.