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knitting@evandra.com
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 Posted - 10/16/2003 : 1:57:53 PM
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I like a set of items called CuddlDuds. They make skivvies, camis, and pants. They're nice and soft, a cotton-microfiber blend I think, and help with all kinds of itchiness.
Mostly though I just don't wear wool sweaters! I'm knitting my first right now, and it's the ChicKnits Ribby, so it is designed to be worn over stuff anyway. |
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lizzi
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
553 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 2:36:05 PM
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I wear tank tops or t-shirts under my sweaters if I'm using them for in-transit warmth--like if I'm going out in the cold for ten or twenty minutes to walk somewhere, but won't necessarily wear the sweater when I arrive someplace warm. I wear long-sleeved t-shirts under my sweaters when I'm outdoors for longer--like when I'm raking leaves. And lastly, I wear my winter pajamas (satin) under my sweater under my thick terry bathrobe when we've got the thermostat turned down to save on our heating bill!
Lizzi
http://amimono.blogspot.com
"Talk is cheap, but lies are expensive/ my wallet's fat, and so is my head" --Green Day, Walking Contradiction |
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knotty girl
USA
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Posted - 10/16/2003 : 3:26:05 PM
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| I use a plain white mens short sleeved undershirt. The wool doesn't seem to bother my arms as much as my shoulders and torso, so I find that this works really well. It also helps to cut down on the amout of wind that reaches the skin through the holes of the sweater. |
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abcameo
New Pal
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 6:16:34 PM
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Has this happened to anyone recently? Two years ago, out of the blue, I suddenly became allergic to fibers that never bothered me before. I now itch when I wear mohair, lambswool, some wool, angora and even some acrylics! They say your hormones completely change over every 7 years, so maybe that's it.
Anyway, it's just terrible. I don't especially like to knit cottons, and I've always especially loved exotic, fuzzy fibers, and now I can't wear them (so lost my desire to knit with them) and I can't even wear most of the garments I've previously knitted. I even itch with a turtleneck underneath. !@#$%^&*
When I belonged to a Knitting Guild where I used to live, my knitting colleagues always used to ask, "How can you stand to wear mohair?" I loved it and designed with it all the time and it never itched back then, but now... :( I gave away my collection of store-bought angora and lambswool tops to my girlfriend, but I'm keeping all of the ones I designed and knitted myself. Just can't bear to part with them and, hey, maybe my hormones will change over in 5 more years. ;D
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eimay@aol.com
New Pal
5 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 6:53:33 PM
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| It depends on the style of sweater. Sometimes it's a turtleneck. At times I just put a regular summer t-shirt on. Camisoles are great, but one of the sneakiest is silk underwear (any length sleeve...from sleeveless to long sleeved). |
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cnlknitr
New Pal
16 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 7:16:30 PM
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Don't you gals rinse your sweaters with a bit of hair conditioner to control the itch?.... Makes a big diference!
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capn_smudge@hotmail.com
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2003 : 9:06:57 PM
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my skin seems to be sensitive to everything but cotton, but strangely enough, i wouldn't consider myself to be a sensative-skinned person. it seems to be increasing as i get older (ancient at 23!), but i used to wear vintage polyester double knits in high school and i've had to part with them. i also found a vintage hand-knit norwegian sweater for $10 and i have to wear long sleeves under. this would be fine if i didn't overheat so easily. if anyone knows of good stuff to wear over all skin under a sweater that the wool doesn't poke through and isn't too heat-trapping, i would love to know!!
HiL |
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loulouknits
Chatty Knitter
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2003 : 08:44:03 AM
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It has been interesting reading these posts, as I have always been very sensitive to wool. I feel itchy to most wool, even while wearing a buffer (ie. turtleneck or shirt underneath.)
The post about the length of the fibers makes sense...is that why cashmere is so expensive? That is about the only wool that I can put against my bear skin without itching.
Also, I am one of those people that as I have grown older, my skin has gotten more sensitive. I used to be able to wear merino wool without something underneath, but now it itches. I just bought some cashmerino wool made by KFI to try the neck scarf in the fall issue of interweave knits. I did the "neck test" holding the skein up to my neck and it wasn't too bad. The pattern calls for camel...but I tried some of that with the test and it was way too itchy!
http://www.friend.ly.net/~acm/page2.html
LouLouKnits
http://www.friend.ly.net/~acm |
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Heather
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
456 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2003 : 09:08:30 AM
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I am interested in trying some hair conditioner on my woolies. I have a cabled sweater I love, love, love, but the neck band drives me nuts unless it's subzero outside. Does the conditioner create long-term problems? With hair, it gets washed frequently and eventual gets replaced by new hairs, but what about a sweater that doesn't get washed often? Any dirt-attracting residues or other such things?
--Heather
How often I saw where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else... --R.Buckminster Fuller |
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linda-gail
Permanent Resident
USA
1052 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2003 : 09:12:49 AM
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I have a big problem with mohair, and try to wear a light top under it, plus usually a scarf for the neck area. I tend to be warm, so I can't wear wool often anyway. I think I'll start making mostly cardigans (they open for coolness)! Linda
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NancyG
New Pal
24 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2003 : 07:49:10 AM
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I, too, wear cotton turtlenecks from october to may, so that's what I wear under my wool sweaters. I tried silk turtlenecks from Wintersilks but the fibers poked through, so it's all cotton for me. I buy them anywhere I see colors I don't have and if it's a color I really like I buy two so they don't wear out as fast. Does anyone have a favorite source for them?
NancyG
Nancy G. |
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Knit2Relax
Gabber Extraordinaire
433 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2003 : 09:31:43 AM
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Kristen, where do you get the wonderful silk long johns? I'd love to wear those under mine.
Teresa |
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nszczepanski@hotmail.com
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2003 : 12:05:39 AM
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quote:
Please excuse me if you think I am nosy - but really I am just curious! What do you guys wear underneath your sweaters?
The reason I am asking is that so many of you seem to be complaining that wool is itchy. I have never had that problem unless I tried to wear a sweater without a blouse or shirt or something underneath. I often wear a skivvy (don't know what you would call it - like a long-sleeved t-shirt with a polo neck) instead of a shirt when it is cold. It also means that a sweater can be worn longer before it needs washing.
So come - what do you wear underneath your sweater? 
KathyR
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nszczepanski@hotmail.com
New Pal
2 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2003 : 12:07:46 AM
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I heard that in Ireland they add liquid fabric softener to the water when they wash their sweaters to make them "itchless" or at least itch less!
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of troy
Permanent Resident
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2003 : 10:00:11 AM
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i generaly find i am not bothered by wools next to my skin... i have even worn a irish/aran sweater with nothing underneath. (the real thing, not 'aran type) as a child, i was the only one who could wear angora, or other furry fibers.
but, as a child (and still as an adult) i rarely wear sweaters, since i am rarely cold. (i live in NYC, and because of move, last year i had 90% of my winter clothes in storage, so i got throught the winter with a few sweaters, and 1 polar fleese jacket..an never had a winter coat on at all!) I knit vests for myself, and i knit in cotton (which i love!)
it was interesting to read about what makes wool (of other fibers) itchy- studies have shown that newborns and neonatals do well sleeping on fleese.. babies actually need lots of tactial sensations to do well, neo natals, who aren't being cuddled, and caresed, and generally touched softly, but consistantly, by their mothers like the tactile sensations provide by fleese. (not as much as mom, but more than soft smooth blankets!)
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kpotto@hotmail.com
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2003 : 8:45:22 PM
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| I'm with Kristin.....long john silk. If you want to step it up a notch, Eileen Fisher has long sleeve silk "T-shirts" in whatever the color/flavor of the season it is. Keeps you warm, it breathes, and saves your sweaters a few washings! |
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arlyna
New Pal
China
14 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2003 : 08:06:51 AM
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I also seem to have problems with wool against my skin so I usually wear some long sleeve T-shirt in the winter. Also I agree with some of you that somehow wool feels even more itchy when it is hot.
So I only buy wool that doesn't have the 'wooly' texture or better yet cotton ones. Unfortunately I cannot buy cotton yarns in Shanghai!  |
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Licensed2Cook
Permanent Resident
USA
3554 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2003 : 06:07:49 AM
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I guess I have two sad things to share.
1) I don't really have any handknit by me sweaters to wear. I guess that's got to change LOL and
2) Because I find wool itchy, I only buy cotton, acrylic blends etc. sweaters.
I have noticed that some of the yarn I have used to make hats has wool in it or is 100% wool and some of them make my forehead itch. Cascade 220 doesn't seem to do that to me, perhaps it's a better/softer type of wool? I have still yet to try out the suggested softening/washing product that Vicky recommends, how's that spelled again Euc...?
I love buying wool yarn and I love knitting with it so this product may become my new best friend.
Dee |
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