Yarn Snobs

If you have ever stepped foot in more than a few LYS, you've met them.  They are the yarn crafters who insist that one is truly not a real knitter unless they use quality wool products.  Often these yarn snobs are put off by those looking only in the bargain bins or for single small hanks of yarn.  You can recognize them easily, the ones who roll their eyes or say something rather mean spirited when big box discount or craft stores' names come up.  Or universally, they'll say something like:  "Well if you are going to invest all that time and energy into knitting something, the least you should do is invest in a good quality wool."  These yarn snobs can be fellow customers and even those working in the store.  This attitude can often be off-putting to those who are not only interested in using wool to create knitted items.

Now don't get me wrong, I love a good quality wool as much as the next person.  It has a smoother, softer feel and often literally slides right on and off the needles.  The colours are often spectacular and it is only in wool the heather effect of colouring truly works well.  So yes, there is a part of me that is a yarn snob.  But then there's a more practical side of me that causes me to fully understand why some of us just aren't willing to spend $25-30/hank for the top quality wool, all the time.  Let me explain.

Some big brand name acrylic yarns

There seems to me to be certain times when acrylic yarns are going to make much better sense to use than its much more expensive counterpart.  Here a list in no special order of when my previous statement would hold about acrylic yarn.

1. For beginners - This might actually be why yarn snobs can be so snippy at times; they naturally assume if one is using acrylic yarn that knitter has not yet developed the skills to do "real" knitting, whatever that might happen to be.  Grandmothers or mothers often give the beginner a bit of leftover yarn and some SPNs.  That scrap of yarn is generally acrylic because the odds of the first project being usable is relatively slim and acrylic yarn is affordable.  
2. Financial reasons - Some knitters knit just for the fun of creating something from string.  They might be on a fixed income or going to school or raising a family and simply don't have the disposable income to spend lavishly on wool.  They compromise a bit and use the much more affordable acrylic yarn.
3. Ease of care - If a knitter knows that the item being prepared is going to someone with little or no concern or time to properly launder the item, it makes sense to use acrylic yarn.  It is almost universally accepted that baby items need to be knit with acrylics so that the harried mom doesn't have to find time to hand wash, reblock and air dry a tiny sweater.  Ditto for knitted gifts to those who are college aged or single young adults.  Odds are just too high the item will end up in the washing machine followed by the dryer.  Projects knit in wool will felt and shrink making them virtually useless after the first washing.  When in doubt about skills of the person cleaning the item, go with acrylic.
4. Charity knitting - Many knitter chose to use their skills to make items to give away.  Not knowing the characteristics of the end user it is smarter to use acrylic than wool yarn, like described above in #3.  Additionally $20 of acrylic yarn will allow the knitter to more than double the number of items prepared than wool in most cases.  So there are two good reasons for charitable knitting to not be done with wool.
5. Wool allergy or sensitivity - There are knitter who are allergic or so sensitive to wool they cannot knit with it.  So rather than not knit, they choose to use acrylic yarn instead.  Although a rarity, their interest is acrylic has to do with health reasons.
6. Animal protection - Some knitters want to avoid wool yarn because from their POV shearing is stressful for the sheep or whatever animal the wool is harvested from.  They would prefer to use plant or man made yarns instead.  
7. Eco-friendly - Back in my early childhood synthetic material including yarns were sold as being a more desirable than natural fiber.  Today that attitude has changed 180 degree; however, there are some knitters who still believe man made yarns are better for the environment.  Additionally under this category some knitters choose to use recycled yarn because it is seen as more eco-friendly.  And the odds are very high recycled yarn will be acrylic rather than wool in its content.  
8. Prefer acrylic - Some knitters just prefer to use acrylic yarn because of the types of colour combinations found in variegated yarns.  (The colours can at times be more vivid and saturated in acrylic).  Others prefer to use it because it is lighter in weight, thus cooler to knit with than wool, in warmer climates.   Finally many name brand acrylic yarns have improved over the years to be just as soft and durable as wool.     

Some brand names in wool

So my message in today's post is this, yarn snobs, don't jump to conclusions when another knitter is interested in acrylic yarns.  There are at least eight legitimate reasons for that interest and all of them are credible.  There's no need to look down your nose at those who have an interest in not using wool, you might just be jumping to wrong conclusions about that knitter.