Real Wool Vs Acrylic yarn

You might be a lover of acrylic or a lover of wool, wool lovers often get labelled 'Yarn Snobs' So I want to outline some of the reasons it pays to be a yarn snob!

1. Wool is better for the environment in so many ways you could almost write a university thesis on it.... there's the impact of acrylic fibres on our oceans (in a scandle so huge it makes microbeads seem insignificant!). There is also the impact of the sheep on land management, they promote biodiversity through selective grazing and plant fertilisation. No grown crop even hemp can boast that!
   
2. Wool is an excellent moisture regulator, it helps keep the moisture levels of the skin just right pure merino underwear is now often recommended for eczma sufferers as it helps maintain a healthy skin balance Determining Effects of Superfine Sheep wool in Infantile Eczema
3. Wool is an excellent thermoregulator, (thanks to the structure of the hair!) those phosphor bonds work just the same as the phosphor bonds in our own hair. The only thing different between wool and our own hair (which are both made from keratin and contain disulphide bonds which control the level of curl) is the thickness of each strand the smoothness of the keratin scales, the level of curl and the length of the fibres and also the amount produced.

   

   A Human hair

   
   

   

   Different fibres commonly used for knitting

4. Wool is good for so many crafts those disulphide bonds I mentioned mean with heat (like when you curl or straighten your hair) you can change the shape of the fibre, and as long as the heat is below a certain temperature it will spring back to its original shape! Or you can deliberately felt the wool using friction with some heat to help it on its way (a bit like when creating dreadlocks in hair)

   

   https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/150156732/rabbit-needle-felting-kit-rabbit-craft

5. Cost... but real wool is more expensive I hear you cry! When you look at the cost of purchasing an acrylic sweater in a high street sweater (or in my case charity shop) vs the cost of buying a few balls of acrylic yarn, knitting the sweater yourself doesn't give much of a saving compared to the length of time you put in. But when you look at the cost of buying some real wool and knitting a sweater compared to the cost of buying a pure wool sweater from the high street (or even from a charity shop) you will often find you make a saving. Both sweaters will take you the same length of time but one will give you more of a saving over buying than the other. 
   
   

   

   https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/529995915/sweater-knitting-kit-150g-handspun
6. But what about washing..... many pure wools can go in the washing machine on a gentle 30c wool wash without shrinking  or felting, not all sheep breeds felt as easily. Or soaked in a no rinse wool wash for 15 minutes rolled in a towel and laid out to dry they will dry quite quickly. Acrylic also really benefits from the same treatment as plastic melts and stretches at high temperatures, leaving your beautifully knit sweater stringy and out of shape, not to mention shedding huge amounts of fibre into the wash. You can also iron a wool jumper, an acrylic one is more likely to melt
   

Washing your woolies

"Washing instructions are quite as important as knitting instructions" (Patons and Balwins 15th edition Woolcraft)

 Recently I have started to learn the tips I was taught as a child and take for granted are not common knowledge! I recently took on a few hours at my local pub and my comments have been met with suprise. I had thought it common knowledge if something was slow to ripen to put it in a fruit bowl with some ripe bananas, or to check if an egg is okay to eat pop it in a glass of water, if it sinks its good.

Practical knitting (1940s copy)

 I was in my garden preparing a raw sheep fleece for spinning and chatting to the neighbor over the garden fence, he had a lot of questions about washing wool. Wool washing does need to be done carefully as you can ruin a hand knit very quickly with improper care. This also applies to acrylic yarns as well as real wool! 

 Acrylic; Acrylic fibers can be machine washed (although I do recommend a gentle wool cycle) and can be tumble dried, but if you want them to last and keep their shape you should avoid the tumble drier and dry them flat, the stitches can become elongated when hung on the line and the fibers can get stretched. Some yarns especially soft and fuzzy acrylics can shed fibers quite heavily making them become brittle and stringy. You need to use a mild laundry detergent as some chemicals such as nail polish remover (acetone) will dissolve acrylic fibers (this is also a great way to test if a ball of wool is real wool or not!)

 Woolens; some woolens can be machine washed but they should never be tumble dried! Pure wool or 100% wool and wool blends are best hand washed to avoid shrinking and felting.

 How to wash your woolens step by step

Step 1: Fill an empty washing up bowl with warm water not too hot it needs to be comfortable on your hands.

Step 2: Add some laundry powder suitable for hand washing (wear gloves to protect your hands) and mix it up into a thick lather, if you're on a budget you can use just a small amount and really whisk it up. Always use a bleach free laundry powder for wool!

Step 3: Add in your woolens (wash dark colors separately) immerse them in the water and lather and gently squish the lather into the woolens. NEVER RUB the woolens friction causes felting. you can leave them to soak for 5- 10 minutes if you wish

Step 4: Remove the clothes and rinse the bowl fill with clean warm water the same as before and immerse woolens again removing the soap, repeat this step a few times more till the water runs clear

Step 5: Gently squish excess water from the woolens, you can lay them on a towel, roll it up and squish to remove more water. Then lay flat to dry in its original shape on a rack or a flat topped clothes horse in the garden. 

From Vogue knitting 23rd edition (produced in the 1940s)

Some extra wooly facts!

The sun helps kill bacteria but can bleach and fade colors (to keep 

whites white dry them outside!). Wool does not need washing as regularly as other clothing, you can just air them in the garden between wearing, trust me they wont smell. You are less likely to sweat in wool and it is thermo regulating, it will keep you warm or cool. Camel wool is the warmest and coolest of all wools keeping camels warm in freezing temperatures at night and cool in baking temperatures during the day, sheeps wool is also pretty good at this. Wool has amazing wicking properties and the natural lanolin helps keep it clean and bacteria free (its the bacteria that make sweat smell), wearing wool socks can help prevent some foot proplems caused by sweaty feet or for those that have smelly feet you need to change the type of sock you are wearing, if cottons not working for you try wool especially merino!

Practical knitting illustrated

Don't be afraid of the care involved with woolens its not as labour intensive as some people believe! I often see vintage lifestyle programs, you know the type, where families are sent to live in 'the past'. Inevitably the women spend hours washing clothing and complaining about the labour intensive process of all the washing they have to do. The problem is no one told them that 1940s women did not spend their entire days washing, many had jobs and families to take care of along with other social responsibilities. Woolens require less washing they would be washed once a week if needed, and these women took their looks seriously trust me they wouldn't leave the house stinky. If they spent their time washing in their free time they would not have had the time to craft those elaborate hairstyles and do all that knitting!

From Practical knitting illustrated

How to Knit a Soap Envelope

I have decided to devote a page on my blog to practical craft tutorials, I will be doing some of these myself but have also been in touch with some lovely local crafters who have kindly offered to contribute too! That way I can recover a range of skills and crafts for you to try at home!

My first craft tutorial is for a knitted soap envelope face cloth

Soap bags are very simple and quick to make (especially if you choose a double knit or thicker yarn), you can either pop your soap scraps in or just pop in a whole new bar of soap to use, soap bags are great they will make your soap go further (especially if like me you love natural hand made soaps), you can wash your face with them, no more dropping the soap and they can easily be hung from a hook (no scummy soap marks to worry about) and great for hanging in the shower



Equipment you will need:
Yarn - For face and body use you will want to choose a nice soft cotton yarn. depending on your skin type, I used Three bears cotton, or you could try King cole bamboo cotton (50% bamboo 50% cotton). or any cotton yarn oddments you can get your hands on, you will need around 25-50g depending on the thickness of the wool

A pair of knitting needles - I used 4mm. Now size isn't really important here a bigger needle will give a looser stitch and a smaller needle a tighter knit, the size of the bag will vary a little but you can easily adjust this by casting on more or less stitches. I recommend trying charity shops for a great bargain on knitting needles! (Start with a pair of 4mm needles to see you through most double knit projects)

I have included both written instructions and a video for beginners

Written instructions
Cast on 20 sts
work in Garter stitch (knit every row) till work measures approximately 20cm
cast off
Fold in half so cast on edge sits about a cm below the cast off edge fold cast off edge over to create the flap and sew up each side securing the flap in place, Sewing technique isn't particularly important with this project a simple running stitch works well. secure in loose ends then to make a loop take a long strand of yarn and fold in half 4 times then twist it till is folds back on itself sew tie a knot at the end and sew into place as a loop at the top or in the corner of the bag, sew in all loose ends. you could of course make a braid or crochet a chain for the loop or even cast on a few stitches, knit a short ribbon and attach it for the loop.




I also have pdf knitting patterns on sale in my etsy shop Knitted by Aunty Emma

Come in and have a cuppa

Welcome to Aunty Emma's Tea break!

 As this is my first post I'll start by introducing myself. I've been called Aunty Emma since I was little, I come from a big family in a small town and the name kinda stuck. I chose the Title 'a modern land girl' as I feel this best explains who I am, I love vintage fashion, knitting, home crafting and growing my own food but I live in the modern world. My partner, myself and our daughter live in a modern 2 bed house, with a patio garden and a shed. I plant my fruit and veg in containers made by the Mr out of old pallets and we do the best with what we have. I decided to create this blog to connect with people like you (since you are still reading hopefully you are in the right place!), so sit down have a cuppa and take a break. I'll talk about my craft projects, my garden, my successes and failures and my little Etsy shop (you may have already spotted the link at the side). I would love to hear back from you, and hope to you see you again soon when I post my first real blog post.