Thursday, January 20, 2011

Real vs. Synthetic fiber

I've been thinking about this for a while, whats the difference between using wool or alpaca versus using nylon or acrylic in knitting projects. Heres a brief blurb about what what I found.

Synthetic fibre yarn is cheeper and easier to get a hold of it also is always perfect and uniform because its essentially plastic. However it can be really scratchy to the touch and might not last as long it also burns and melts when exposed to flame or high heat. And doesn't have the luster of wool or other real fibers.

Natural fibres all come down to the natural tendencies of the hair. Wool for example doesn't burn well at all (it smolders and goes out) while also repelling water really well making it ideal for mitts or socks, you can get it in many different styles some softer and some more on the scratchy side. There are also better for the environment. However they cost more and are not as easy to find (you have to look for the real fibre yarn in Wallmart or the equivalent store.)

another thing to consider is dye, natural fibres can be dyed almost any colour either bought or you can dye at home if you really wanted, while synthetic can almost never be changed and dont take dye well.

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