Amid your stash of wool, alpaca, cashmere and silk, sits a dark secret. When you artfully display your collection of yarn (as one does), you hide it under the cotton and bamboo blends. I refer to, of course, acrylic yarns. Yes, acrylic, the gateway yarn to the knitting world. Perhaps you picked up some aluminum needles and a skein of Red Heart left over from the 70’s, or you grabbed a few colors of Caron’s Simply Soft so your friend could teach you her new hobby of “knitting.” However you were introduced, chances are you first struggled with two sticks and a strand of acrylic.
But now you have mastered the knit stitch (and you routinely purl with only a minimum of tears). You are exploring the world of silk and cotton, of cashmere blends. But when you need a quick fix of fiber, you grab for acrylic. And you are not alone. Ravelry shows that some of the most popular yarns being used are synthetics. There’s the perennial favorite, Red Heart Super Saver, with all the itchiness of wool and the convenience of being machine-washable. You’ve gifted projects made from Lion Brand Homespun to your civilian friends, and passed it off as a very exclusive type of yarn. And Vanna White’s picture is printed on so many of your skeins, that under other circumstances, you might be considered a stalker.
So while 100% virgin cashmere yarn spun by blind nuns in the Himalayas is the softest fiber you have ever come across, don't forget your old friend acrylic. While you can afford to knit up a handkerchief in cashmere, you could instead knit an entire lap blanket out of acrylic. It may not be handmade by a vision-impaired ascetic, but acrylic is a versatile fiber that has endless possibilities.
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