I love longies, but I fear wool-itchiness - advice?

[lalemma]

Hi mamas,

I'm a fairly experienced knitter, and I'll be having my first baby in a cold climate at the end of December. Naturally, this leads me to think one thing: LONGIES!

But my concern is that I often find wearing it next to my skin a pretty itchy endeavor. How does this work for babies in longies?

Is this an irrational concern? What are peoples' general experiences with this? Should I be looking at specific wools and avoiding certain other ones?

What about sewn fleece "longies" as an alternative?

PS, I usually find merino yarn to be the least-itchy alternative, but I also find it pretty pilly. Do people find that it holds up relatively well as a soaker/longies?

So many questions...

Any advice? Thanks!

[Logan]

I dont knit, but we love love love our alpaca longies. So soft and doesnt have the same irritation as wool. Im not so impressed with the wool ones we got as the feel itchy instantly and my son has told me some of his fine wool tops itch which dont even feel itchy to the touch, so those ones feel like they would itch like crazy. Hope that helps

[russsk]

I like merino for longies, but it does pill. Not really a big deal, though, at least for me. I also like BFL, its a bit more durable but still soft. DS has never seemed bothered by any itchiness or anything.

[roseselene]

Both of my kiddos wore longies or shorties at one point in time or other during their diapering days and i never had either of them complain about itchiness or appear uncomfortable.
Amy

[Woolly Meredith]

I agree with the pp, if you are sensitive to wool a wool/alpaca blend is a great option.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Well, if you knit, you should know that the better your wool yarn, the nicer your finished garment will be! I find that when people pick up my work and say, "oh, isn't wool itchy" they are just used to poor quality. I just made some really nice things with the softest silkiest wool. Also, keep in mind that the lanolin you waterproof them with will help take some of the roughness away.

If it where me, I'd visit a nice specialty shop and see what they can do for you. A lot of the smaller independent shops will have a wider selection than the same old Paton's Classic.

[Adasmommy]

Definitely some wools are less itchy than others. Organic might be less itchy, and merino and BFL as others have said. I think the itchiness depends on the wearer, so no telling how picky your little one will be about it. But soft wool don't have to itch!

You can try wearing some longies on your arm to test them, for reassurance.

You could also get a wool/silk or other blend for the legs of the longies and use straight wool for the wet zone.

DD had no complaints about her recycled sweater longies. Now I'm crocheting for a newborn and definitely looking for soft, which is more important to me than pilling or durability for that stage.

[ashleyhaugh]

im not much for knitted/crochet, but i love our wool interlock

[lalemma]

Well, if you knit, you should know that the better your wool yarn, the nicer your finished garment will be! I find that when people pick up my work and say, "oh, isn't wool itchy" they are just used to poor quality. I just made some really nice things with the softest silkiest wool.

Unfortunately, not true for me. I can wear wool as long as there's a barrier between my skin and the garment, but even really high-quality wool gives me the itchies after a while. I know everybody's different, but that's why I fear putting a pair of wool pants on a newborn who can't really complain about it.

The idea of wearing longies on my arm for a while is a good one. Thanks!

[mum06]

I knit my own using Lion Brand (Wool and Fishermen's) and Patons. I haven't noticed my child ever being bothered. I shave the pills off with my clippers when they get out of control. And I don't lanolize either. Keeping it simple leaves more time for knitting!