was 'Ebay soaker...' now Wool for Soakers Discussion

[Carolinamidwife]

I have seen some of her other soakers and they do look nice... but I though superwash wool was a no-no for soakers. Am I wrong?

[danaalex]

i think sometimes super wash is ok, but i recall there being an issue with the lanolin retention or something along those lines. i stay away from it, but hey, that soaker might be great, who knows.

whomever wins it (becca ) should let us know how it works out !

[pamelamama]

Eli's best soaker is superwash. Works great. Lamb's Pride.

I wonder who that knitter is... Beautiful work! She's in my neighborhood too. Hmm... Hey, if you are out there, send me a pm, Ms. Nothing But Merino For My Baby! :LOL

[allformyboys]

Superwash wool is similar to acrylic with the terms of working and lanolin. It has been treated and coated with a resin which does make it softer but also makes the shafts unable to absorb lanolin (or get wet and shrink which is why it is washable). SO it will repel but it won't absorb anything and it doesn't have the same antibacterial properties wool does (I don't think? I could be wrong on that point) but I know it doesn't absorb up to 30% of its weight without feeling wet like natural wool does, you can't lanolize (well you can but it won't help/work).

Anyway it is a trade off, I personally don't like the superwash wool, it is softer but I think there are lots of natural wools (including merino) that aren't superwash that are plenty soft too! But I don't like acrylic for soakers either, and others do, so it is a personal taste I think.

Just know that superwash doesn't act like typical wool.

[danaalex]

that's what i thought marnie, about the lanolin i mean

[Knittin' in the Shade]

yup, what MArnie said, but also wanted to add htat IME, merino is a poor choice for soakers because it just isn't durable enough to withstand the stretching, wear and tear a soaker takes. merino has a very low micron count (which is what makes it soft, but also makes it very non-resilient) and it just does not have the bounce back that a lot of other wools have. There are a lot of wools that are super soft, but have better resiliency and are able to withstand soaker-abuse, LOL. When I first started making soakers for AJI used merino occasionally, and I had to wash basically every time it was worn cause it stretched out too much. Now maybe he was just super rought on them, so YMMV

Edited to change high micron to low micron, I mistyped before, LOL

[art4babies]

what sorts of wool do you recommend, then?

[art4babies]

From what I understand, frequent changers do not have trouble with merino but it isn't recommended that you push the limits on their water-retention properties. They are probably better used in the daytime.

[danaalex]

i LOVVVVVVVVVVVE the wool that jess at www.fabriconnection.com sells

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I was rather fanatical (so says DH, LOL) about changing AJ, so the stretching I had definitely wasn't because of him beign too long in a diaper. Besides, I don't think that merino would give less wetness protection, just that it will stretch out. it's got the same water absorbtion capabilities as other wools

That said, here's a few wool breeds I would highly recommend: border leicester, romney, lincoln, corriedale (this one in particular I adore becuase it's a cross breed with merino, lincoln and english leicester, so it's soft, and yet super durable-best of all worlds!) and Rambouillet is another crossbred that is very soft and durable. My favorite yarn is columbia, which is a breed that was developed from Rambouillet and lincoln breeds. It's got the softness of merino (the micron count of merino is between 18-22, and the micron count of columbia is 20-24. The lower the # the softer the wool) but the durability of it's ancestors

LOL-that's my little wool lesson for the evening You may all carry on now, LOL!

[Muggins&Doody]

What about cascade 220 yarn? Is it good for soakers? It's soooooo soft.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

220 is merino, LOL. So, I'd say no, but as you can see, that's obviously a matter of opinion

I should clarify that my aversion to merino for soakers is not because it will leak or something terrible, it's just that it's a more high-maintenance wool than I care to deal with.

[Butterflymom]

Ok, wool experts--what's the skinny on knitting with cashmere/wool? I have covers made from that kind of fabric that I LOVE, and I just subscribed to Sherry's WOTM for 3 warm woolies, and I intended on using cashmere/wool yarn for the items, but I don't want them to get all messed up when a baby crawls around in them, KWIM? What about organic wool-would it be as soft? I think she said it's a 50/50 blend...is cashmere ok to blend with wool yarn as long as it's not over a certain percentage, in the name of preserving durability? There's some yarn I was thinking of buying for a LTK longies project that's 60% cashmere, 40 % geelong, which was described to me as the 'first cuttings' of merino...so I guess the same thing as merino? Help me out, oh wool goddesses.... (Theresa! Since we're knitting with your patterns, I feel especially thrilled to hear from you).

[mehndi mama]

The best yarn I've come across so far has been Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride - it's 85% wool 15% mohair, 1-ply, very soft, very resilient, has a beautiful sheen when knit up, and tends to hold its' shape better than the stuff I have that is made with Fisherman's Wool - it pills a whole lot less, too.

As far as superwash goes, I've used it, have been pleased with it, it lanolized just fine, didn't get stinky any sooner than any of my other soakers.....it just stretched out of shape a lot faster is all. But who knows, maybe I'm not as picky as others about the performance of my soakers :

[art4babies]

A washable (superwash) yarn can be created in two different ways. One way is to take the fiber through an acid bath that will eat the edges off of the scales that are found microscopically on the wool fiber. The other method, used by Brown Sheep, puts a polymer coating on the scales so that scales will not catch onto each other.

[LittleIslandMom]

Apologies in advance for the dumb questions, but here goes:

So is the sheen on the Brown Sheep as a result of the polymer coating?

And when you say resilience, that does refer to the way the yarn bounces back into shape?

Which wool would you recommend that is very soft, durable, bounces back into shape (the soaker) and springiness (the yarn) and resists felting at the crotch area from intense wear? Oh, and of course has all the water resistent/absorbency/antibacterial properties that good wool should have? And that is non-fuzzy (not too many little fibres sticking out fro the yarn - this causes the itchiness right)?

[huskrkid]

I've made part of a soaker with the Brown Sheep Lamb's pride too (& a pair of slipper for my grandma, heaven!!) & I really like it. Sooooooo soft.

[lestouffer]

What about shetland wool? I found a site with a "grab bag" at a pretty good price and wokdered if it would do, or is it too scratchy?

[mnnice]

Another yarn question. I saw a yarn at a farmer's market recently that was half wool/half mohair. They had some great colors and both the wool and mohair came from local farmers. It was a regular worsted weight. Would that be a good soaker yarn?

[kfranceschi]

This might be a little off topic, but do any of you have a favorite wool soaker pattern that you use? I'd love to make my own...even considering using some of my own, handspun wool yarn, but would like to get some opinions before using my own yarn. (It just takes so long to make!)

~katie