When is Wool Yarn not 100% Wool?
When it’s coated with plastic. Like the kind I have to hide from Arya because things like this happen…
Two years ago, in my post about plastic-free kitting, I mentioned I was knitting slippers out of Superwash wool from Lorna’s Laces. I assumed that Superwash meant the yarn had already been washed and wouldn’t shrink anymore. I guess I was thinking of cotton. Anyway, an astute Fake Plastic Fish reader Rebecca left a comment on that post just a few weeks ago letting me know that Superwash wool is actually coated with a polymer to prevent the wool from shrinking. (It’s nice to know my posts hold up over time.)
Turns out, there are two methods used to create this stuff. According to About.com’s article on Superwash wool,
It can be made using an acid bath that removes the “scales” from the fiber, or it can be made by coating the fiber with a polymer [read: plastic] that basically keeps the scales from being able to join together and cause shrinkage.
So I emailed Lorna’s Laces to find out how their Superwash wool is made. Here’s the response I got back from Beth Casey:
Lorna’s Laces is not a mill so we don’t do the superwash processing, but I can tell you what I know.
The acid used is generally chlorine based and the polymer is polyamide or nylon. Our yarns use a two step process that incorporates both.
Oh my. Not only do they use plastic on the yarn, but also chlorine-based acid which is terrible environmentally. Guess I won’t be choosing that wool anymore. And maybe in the future, I’ll knit my slippers out of regular organic wool and felt them.
Do you have suggestions? What is the most eco-friendly yarn that also is able to be washed without shrinking? Things like slipper socks can get awfully dirty. (Or will I have to just soak them in cold water?)
Wool can absolutely be washed at high temperatures: Presoak the wool garment in luke warm water, then fill a bucket with as hot tapwater as you get; add wool detergent and the presoaked garment. What you must NOT do, is rub the garment, just gently squees it. When you take it out to rince, just gently press the water out. Then make a slightly colder rince water. Rince and repeat with even colder water. The trick is not to give the wool a temperature shock. So, as long as the wool is not rubbed/agitated and not given temperature shock, you can wash it at a high temperature, getting stains out ?
I only just found out that superwash wool is problematic but now I don’t know what to use to knit a washable baby blanket. In my mind, a baby blanket must absolutely be washable. I don’t know if I should trust the organic superwash wool certified with Oeko-Tex or just give up and use organic cotton or recycled cotton.
I have to agree with some of what sprockets said, polymerized should not be read as coated with plastic. A polymer does not equate to plastic, there are natural and synthetic polymers. All a polymer is is a chemical compound or mixture consisting of repeating structural units. Examples would be DNA, suger, wool, latex, petrolium based plastics. Also, polyamide should not be read as plastic either. Polyamide is both a naturally occuring and synthetic polymer. Naturally occuring polyamides are proteins such as wool and silk, and synthetic ones would be nylons and aramids.
Have you ever heard of Qiviut wool? It’s the wool of the musk ox. Its truly an amazing substance. It’s softer than sheep’s wool, warmer, stronger, and doesn’t shrink in any temperature! As far as I know they are never “farmed”, The wool is shredded naturally and collected by locals. Because of this, though, it’s VERY expensive. If you want a really high quality piece of clothing though, its the way to go!
H E L P ! ! ! ! I have purchased a few customed made ?Merino Woolie diaper covers? They Do NOT feel like the german made covers so known about! they are Hard after lanolin washing,,,Oh b.t.w….they are double knited. I was told different wools & knitting styles make a difference. Ias there a way to tell if I was Hoodwinked & had something other then Wool put Over My Eyes? LOL ! I have become obsecced over Wool ! My new Found Love for my Gr’babies! Help a Granny trying to make a difference in My lil one lives as well as Mine!
Sincere Thanks~ Doreen
No need for hysteria here. “Polymerized” does not mean “coated with plastic.” Some of the facilities that create the superwash wool are in Germany, and Europe has much stricter environmental regulations than the U.S. I care deeply about the environment, but we can drive ourselves crazy without really trying on these issues. Is it better to use a handspun organic wool that has been trucked from the other side of the country? if we are responsible do we only knit with locally-grown, locally-spun and -dyed wools, even if we don’t like the way they work up?
I think we need to be conscious of the issues and make reasonable, balanced choices. So often, I see what looks like people trying to “out-organic” each other, as if this is a contest someone is going to win. It’s a process, and i hope we can just relax and have some fun.
HI Sprockets. Actually, “polymerized” does mean coated with plastic, as nylon is a type of plastic. Whether or not this type of wool is okay to use is a matter of personal choice. But I just want to make sure we have our facts straight. The E.U., by the way, allows almost 900 different chemicals to be used in making plastics, one of which is bisphenol a. So while it’s true that Europe has stricter standards than the U.S., we can’t say that if Europe allows a chemical to be used, it must be safe.
Animal cruelty issues aside (and trust me, there are plenty here) …
I don’t see how it could be better for the environment to buy wool rather than use petroleum-based fibers (or plant-based fibers). Animal agriculture is incredibly bad for the environment and I wager a lot more petroleum goes into it than would take to just make yarn out of the stuff directly.
You could always take up spinning your own wool. I’m a felter and don’t knit before I felt, but I’d love to learn to spin. If I spun my own wool, I think I’d be more excited about knitting it.
Oops! My post should have read, “a H+ ion makes it an acid.” Sorry for any confusion!
Chlorine by itself is neither an acid nor a base. An OH- ion makes a compound a base, and a H+ ion makes it a base. Chlorine bleach is a base, but hydrochloric acid, which also has chlorine, is a very strong acid. I’d suggest changing your text – it discredits the information here that probably is factual when you’re also presenting wrong information as fact.
I had no idea! I’ve been using Superwash wool thinking the same thing as you. Back to the drawing board! Thanks for the post.
Chlorine may be a base, but you can make an acid out of it, by, say, adding hydrogen to make hydrochloric acid (HCl). Maybe that’s what she meant by a “chlorine-based acid”.
here is some more chemistry for the folks interested in Rayon and Bamboo rayons-
Rayon is any fiber made from pulped cellulose/plant material. This makes it possible to use plants that are not normally fiber plants (think cotton, linen etc). Rayon is made by pulping, bleaching and then dissolving the plant materials in a solution of ammonia, copper sulfate and caustic soda (lye/sodium hydroxide). The solution is then put through a spinneret, kind of like a shower head with really really tiny wholes, and this produces the fibers that are then washed with an acid bath and then spun into yarns. The chemical used to dissolve the cellulose can cause neruological/nervous system damage if safety measures are not fallowed properly during manufacture, this is a big problem in countries with little safety regulation. The run off from the solvent is also and environmental issue.
Bamboo fabric and fibers are still just rayon, the nice thing about bamboo is how fast is grows back and how little care it needs compared to other raw cellulose supply plants. Modal is a rayon made from just birch trees. The single source of cellulose does effect the overall performance of some rayons because there are fewer irregularities then in rayons made from a mix of different plants. But it is still rayon.
The exception to rayon type fibers is Lyocell mainly known as the brand name Tencel. This is a process that takes raw plants and makes rayon with a solvent that can be totally recaptured at the end of the manufacturing process and used again, so it is a closed loop system with little waste and is therefore much more environmentally friendly.
The best rayon would be something like a Bamboo Tencel, a quickly replenishing cellulose supply with a closed loop manufacturing process. But I think at the moment this is a bit of a White Unicorn fiber.
Ugh, yet another insidious plastic invasion! I don’t knit with wool because I’m allergic, and have had mixed results knitting with cotton (it’s not as flexible as wool), but YMMV. There are some nice organic cotton yarns out there.
To the person upstream who wondered about bamboo fiber as an eco-alternative — I believe the processing of bamboo into fiber has a pretty bad enivronmental impact in terms of the chemicals used. A lot of greenwashing goes on with bamboo fabric.
I just have to correct the chemistry of your post, as a textile science degree holder misinformation in the field drives me a bit nuts. They do not use acid but a base, chlorine is a strong base. Acids do not dissolve protein fibers effectively but bases do. But I agree, plastic coated wool is just yucky.
Liz, thanks for the correction. I wonder why both About.com and Lorna’s Laces referred to the substance as an acid. I’ll add a comment to the blog post.
This made me so mad, too! I was really annoyed when I saw your mention on Facebook about it. But I don’t want to shoot the messenger. 🙂
I would second the recommendation to use wool and either felt them or wash regular knitted items in cold water. I think vinegar works well with wool because it is acidic, and if wool is not somewhat acidic (at least on the sheep/in the fleece stage), it can degrade somewhat/wear out quicker. But just a gentle soap, well rinsed, works fine too, with COLD water. The things that make wool felt are heat, soap, agitation. Rapid temperature changes will enhance felting. So if you wash in cold, you’re in good shape, because heat is mandatory. I’ve even washed some wool items in slightly warm and they come out fine, living dangerously as one commenter noted.
The other advantage to knitting & felting is you can use huge yarn and needles, so patterns go extremely quickly.
If you want packaging free yarn, I would strongly suggest going to a local sheep & wool or alpaca or other fiber festival — odds are good you will be able to purchase yarn directly from its producer (maybe even handspun) — it will be beautiful, unique, plastic-free, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions you like of the seller, as well as support a local cottage industry.
Just wanted to ad that any yarn that is superwash does say on the ball band that it is 75% or 80% wool and 25/20% nylon or something else. There are indeed as people have mentioned lots of smaller companies and farms and so on that do sell 100% wool but it will shrink or felt in cold water. Check out what is near to you or what is for sale at your local farmer’s market. You can wash them in cold water and then air dry, gets a lot of dirt out:)
That is entirely incorrect, I have a garage full of 100% superwash that does NOT have any amount of nylon.
Oh, I forgot to mention. One possible solution would be to use recycled yarn. You can find some on ebay. Just remember to ask them to forgo plastic in the packaging 🙂
Thanks for picking up on that comment, Terry, and doing the research. I’m sorry to have been the bearer (or inciter) of bad news for all of the commenters, but happy to see how one little comment, released to the world through your wonderfully informative and inspiring blog can have an effect. Thank you for the work you do!
As for DK’s comments about bamboo… You might want to read this thorough article (and the comments that follow it) which really breaks down the ways in which bamboo is eco-friendly and the ways in which it is not. It actually has a step-by-step of the process used to turn bamboo cellulose into a rayon-like fabric. The article focuses on bamboo fabrics, not yarn, but I imagine that the processing is the same to produce fibers and that the differentiation would occur when the fibers are either spun into yarn to be used as such or to be woven into fabric.
The article does not mention plastic and it does say this:
“Bamboo clothing (both mechanically and chemically manufactured) is 100% biodegradable and can be completely decomposed in the soil by micro-organisms and sunlight without decomposing into any pollutants such as methane gas which is commonly produced as a by-product of decomposition in landfills and dumps.”
Can we gather from this that it is plastic free? I hope so.
Geez, that makes me mad! I (like you) never thought much about what “superwash” meant. I have, however, been wondering what “permanently moth-proofed” means. I use soapnut soak and a tiny dab of lanolin (in a plastic tube but leftover from years of breastfeeding) to hand wash woolens. Also, if you have a frontloader you can probably throw them in there (on cold, delicate) and be fine–I knitted a bowl that I tried to felt by washing it several times on hot (with tennis balls, sneakers, a load of diapers, etc.) and it would just not felt…I had to give it to a friend with a toploader (and lots of wood-heated hot water) to get it to felt. You could also sew leather bottoms on your slippers to keep them cleaner, but making leather is a whole ‘nother mess, environmentally-speaking.
I knit with Lamb’s Pride. 100% natural. Even sort of smells like it’s fresh from the sheep. I’d imagine if the label assures you it’s wool that won’t shrink, it’s been coated or treated because ALL genuine wool will shrink when washed in hot water.
My mother scumbles (garbage picks) and buys old sweaters from buck-a-pound second hand stores, then she unravels them into balls and re-knits them into socks, stockings etc. A lot of accidentally felted stuff gets thrown out, and this is ideal for seweing into slippers. Generally second hand woolens are pre-shrunk!. To wash, use cold water. To deodorize, hand in the sun and wind.
Wow. This is the second post that blew me away — plastics where you would have least suspected them (the first one being about the gum). I know most people probably don’t even associate acrylic yarns with being plastic, nevertheless would we ever suspect wool yarns of being coated in plastic! Now I am wondering… what else has plastic incorporated into it that we don’t realize?
The “gum” post has changed a small part of my life, btw. I no longer EVER even think about buying gum at the checkout counter. When someone handed me a piece of gum the other day, I had to turn them down… and then explain why!
A couple of years ago in school a couple of friends got turned off of gum because of the BHT preservative in it– little did they know there was more than one crappy ingredient in there.
I guess I am still a bit mad at gum anyways because of the Wrigley ads from a few years ago where they tried to promote gum “as an alternative to food” for people trying to stick to a diet. That theme didn’t go over to well with me. (I actually submitted an ad to NEDA’s media watchdog because I thought it was so offensive to anyone who has ever suffered with an eating disorder.)
Huh! I fancy I know a lot about yarn, but I didn’t know about the polymer coating of superwash yarn! I hate the stuff, hate the feel of it, and avoid it whenever possible.
Just use an eco-friendly regular wool yarn, hand wash it, and add a big splash of vinegar to the water when you do so. What I’m getting from your original post is that you were concerned about germs. Vinegar will kill those, and it won’t harm the wool (wool is hair just like on our heads, and I use vinegar on my hair all the time with no ill effects).
For eco-friendly/sustainable yarn, I recommend Beaverslide. They raise and shear their own sheep, then take their yarn to a nearby family-owned mill which minimally processes the yarn and spins it up using a semi-ancient technique that’s better for the yarn and the environment. And they’re really nice people!
http://www.beaverslide.com/
Unap
Thanks for this information about the wool yarn. I have worked very hard to eliminate plastics from my world to improve my health. Recently I got tested for plastics to see if I had less of a burden since I started this. It was actually higher! I couldn’t figure it out, what was I missing…I have learned loom knitting recently and gee guess what ype of yarn I have been using. I bet this is a big contributing factor to having a higher test result. I spend time handling the yarn knitting, whatever touches our skin we take into our bodies. Arrrgghh! I don’t know about you but I don’t want plastic in my body! I just can’t believe plastic is in so many things.
Thanks for writing about this! I also recently switched to natural wool for my knit socks, and it’s awesome: my plastic-free socks are warmer and actually more durable. Maybe because the little wool scales are intact and can grip each other, for a denser fabric?
So far I really like the Imperial Stock Ranch sock yarn, Elsa Wool Company worsted-spun, and O-Wool. I handwash my knits with Eucalan and just lay flat to dry.
I hand-wash my woolens, which is actually getting easier the more I do it. Wool doesn’t get dirty in the same way as cotton, since it sort of naturally repels debris and is also naturally antimicrobial, so you can usually go a little longer between washes than if you were using another fiber.
Otherwise, felted slippers are lovely. 🙂
I get my yarn at my local place Fiber Gallery which specializes in more eco friendly yarns–they even have recycled yarns which I think is neat. I don’t know what would be best for not shrinking but I bet they would and they are supper friendly and have an online store. http://www.fibergallery.com/
i read that you can just use vinegar you may want to look into it more and maybe test it on a swatch or an old slipper first, but it might be easier than finding a wool alternative.
I had no idea that’s how superwash yarn was made. I crochet because I can’t yet coordinate both my hands to knit something that’s actually usable for more than an art object and I have gotten most all of my hooks in metal because I absolutely hate how the plastic ones feel to work with. I’ve been wanting to get into making my own socks for a while and superwash wool seemed like the way to go. Now I’m thinking bamboo is probably best. Unless there’s some sinister plastic-y goings on in making bamboo yarn of which I am unawares.
Patty, Unfortunately (or fortunately depending upon your perspective) wool doesn’t shrink like plant-based fibers (cotton, hemp, etc). Plant-based fibers tend to shrink along the length of the fiber and so you basically end up with a shorter, sometimes thinner, sometimes thicker, thread or yarn. Wool fibers actually have tiny scales sticking out that, when agitated, heated or moistened (all 3 of which generally happen simultaneously in a normal person’s washing machine), latch onto each other to form a matted fabric that is impossible to separate. So if you wad up or wash folded up wool fibers of any form be it yarn, knotted/crocheted project, sweaters, and even sometimes other wool clothing like slacks or skirts, you can end up with a shrunken, mis-shaped, matted up mess.
I wash wool all the time! You just need to use a wool safe wash like euclan or ecover delicate wash either handwashing or in the gentle cycle in the washer if you want to live dangerously. You cannot put it in the dryer, and you have to make sure it says wool safe on the wash. Of course I suppose most of them would come in plastic bottles, but there’s got to be a detergent you can use or make.
Jenn, thanks for letting me know about yarn that is shipped with less plastic. We sometimes forget about packaging we as consumers don’t see.
Tameson, thanks for the tip. I didn’t know there were animals whose wool was less likely to felt, which I assume means less likely to shrink much.
I’ll either look into the kinds of yarn Tameson is talking about or start making felted slippers instead. I liked that the other slippers were stretchy because I offer to them to guests when I ask them to take their shoes off. Stretchy means they’ll fit more people. Felted slippers aren’t going to be very stretchy.
Patty, it’s a clever idea but it won’t work because wool does more than shrink like cotton, it actually turns into felt. If you want to make felt, you have to do the knitting first and then shrink it down. Don’t know if that makes sense. Anyway, it’s not like cotton.
I don’t knit, but if you were to buy a regular (plastic free) ball of yarn
would you be able to shrink it yourself before knitting? That way you would not have to worry about shrinkage.
Wow – that really bugs me. They should disclose at least the plastic coating on the label! You are not just buying wool but plastic and wool – could you even compost that?
Beth, try to get some wool from hampshire sheep – they don’t felt well and make excellent socks. In fact many of the breeds developed for meat have hard to felt fleeces. Alpaca also does not felt easily.
Geez. I only buy wooden needles and I try to only knit with natural fibers. And THAT apparently is not enough. It would never in a million years occur to me that my yarn might be coated in plastic. sigh. Thanks for the usual enlightenment, I will now do research into my yarns and try to improve. It might be easier if they had to list ingredients like with food….
Ugh! I didn’t realize superwash wool had plastic. You could try something like cotton, but that’s not going to be nearly as warm as wool. I’d probably make some felted slippers like this: http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTfuzzyfeet.html or https://www.etsy.com/listing/36456663/pdf-pattern-download-french-press-felted. You would still need to be careful, but I’ve washed the Fuzzy Feet I made for my husband in the washing machine (on cold!) and they didn’t shrink any further.
Vermont Organic Fiber Co. has some great yarns produced with the environment in mind. As a yarn store employee that sees just how many plastic bags all the yarns come packaged in (10 skeins of one color per bag, typically), I was really excited when our shipment of O-wool arrived without all the plastic packaging. One large garbage bag was used to line the box, but the hanks of each color were tied together with yarn remnants. Only two bags instead of 60! The color cards did not come in a plastic binder, but a paper folder.
As for the yarn itself, it knits up and wears wonderfully. The wool isn’t superwash, but they also offer a cotton/wool blend.
A good company to keep in mind for yarn!
I suggest knitting/crocheting big wool slippers & felting them. They can then be washed & I don’t worry much about shrinking them further because I use cold water. There are lots of great patterns on Ravelry, but my favorite slippers are the Fiber Trend Felted Clogs.
Sigh. I always find it amazing how much of my knitting/spinning hobby that seems on the surface to be so sustainable winds up actually being a problem…