Acrylic, polyester, and rayon get a bad rap sometimes. To be fully honest, I was a synthetic-hater* for a while. By the time I had finished highschool my first projects (including a classy belt/scarf combo and a second, rather lumpy scarf) were completed. I had used polyester yarn from Walmart because I was young and lived in rural Minnesota and didn't know there were such things as yarn stores. And then when I went to college, a friend told me about Knit Picks and everything changed! I was knitting with inexpensive, beautiful merino wool, and I was loving life. Seriously though, I probably knit like 3 pairs of wool socks that year, to the benefit of my family members at Christmastime.
In all actuality, synthetic fiber can be pretty great, especially when blended with cotton or wool to make it extra-strong. And now you can even purchase premium 100% synthetic yarns! Here's an example of Brava from Knitpicks.
Yarn: Sport weight Brava from Knitpicks in Peapod
Needles: Clover Bamboo #1
Pattern: Made this one up on the fly, I think I started with about 100 stitches (50 on each needle) and worked a k2p2 rib for a couple inches, worked stockinette stitch for 6 inches and then decreased gradually to make a cute elfin point.
I also wanted to show off another acrylic project but I don't have a model to wear it for me. It's really cool though, I promise I'll post about it soon! And it's crocheted, so I guess I'll have to change the name of my blog. Hah.
*synthetic-hater: A person who refuses to use the likes of rayon, acrylic, and polyester in her knitting projects. See also "wool-snob."
In all actuality, synthetic fiber can be pretty great, especially when blended with cotton or wool to make it extra-strong. And now you can even purchase premium 100% synthetic yarns! Here's an example of Brava from Knitpicks.
Yarn: Sport weight Brava from Knitpicks in Peapod
Needles: Clover Bamboo #1
Pattern: Made this one up on the fly, I think I started with about 100 stitches (50 on each needle) and worked a k2p2 rib for a couple inches, worked stockinette stitch for 6 inches and then decreased gradually to make a cute elfin point.
I also wanted to show off another acrylic project but I don't have a model to wear it for me. It's really cool though, I promise I'll post about it soon! And it's crocheted, so I guess I'll have to change the name of my blog. Hah.
*synthetic-hater: A person who refuses to use the likes of rayon, acrylic, and polyester in her knitting projects. See also "wool-snob."
