What Do I Mean by Allergy-Conscious?

Perfectly Knotty is, to my knowledge, the only Allergy-Conscious Local Yarn Shop in North America. If you happen to know of another, PLEASE send me their contact information as I’d like to reach out and connect with other LYS that have a similar mission as mine!

Whether you have a medical diagnosis, or you just don’t like the red rash that might develop when you are in contact with certain fibers matters little to me as far as serving Stitchers with fiber concerns. In another post, I will go into what allergies can look like, as well as covering the realm of Vegan Yarns, but for this post, I want to talk about what I mean by Allergy-Conscious.

This is a new phrase in the realm of yarn craft; one that I may have coined, or I may have just become acquainted with it so early in its use that it seems that way.

I prefer to avoid using the term hypo-allergenic as recent discoveries show that even the most seemingly innocuous things can cause some sort of reaction for someone. The two blandest things I can think of are: plain white rice, and plain undyed organic cotton; yet somehow there is SOMEONE, somewhere, who will have a negative reaction of some sort to even these generally considered “safe” items.

At Perfectly Knotty we do not carry sheep wool, cashmere, angora or mohair, as these are the highest allergen yarn fibers, and I personally react to them in ways that are unpleasant. We do carry less-allergenic animal fibers from the camelid family such as alpaca and llama. I’d love t bring in camel and a yak down if I can find a price-point that is suitable.

I do not believe that having allergies needs to automatically relegate a Stitcher to the acrylic isle at the local box craft store, or only cotton yarns; nor do I believe that stitching with quality yarns that are not common fibers should be cost-prohibitive either. I may grow the yarn selections at Perfectly Knotty slowly, but I also research each product line carefully and consider quality, usability, longevity, versatility, allergen aspects, and price/value for my end users. I test every yarn on myself to see if I have a reaction, and I also am conscientious with customers that enter the shop to be sure they are aware of the fibers that are safe for them to touch.

Stay tuned on this page as we learn and explore this topic together!

Comment with your questions and share this post!
Let’s help get the word out that crochet and knitting are safe for those that can’t wear animal fibers!

Love,
SuziQue