Knitters* and anyone familiar with textiles; happen to know which fibers** are lint-free?

Oh, jeez. This is actually a toughy for me, because I love natural wools and they can lint up pretty badly. I’d think acrylics, nylons, and the like… synthetics are getting closer and closer to the real thing everyday, some of them are quite soft and fluffy without being too linty.

@3or4monsters. Have noticed that, & it’s such a disappointment. Had there awesome store-bought long gloves for years, no pills at all. My mom was kind enough to knit me a similar pair out of wool i picked out, and it’s already covered in them.

Synthetics can be quite nice, or even feel better than natural fibers – but, it feels a bit iffy, knowing that a ton of toxins easily were involved in making them.

It’s expensive, but would silk be ok? It’s a very small project, in terms of size (at least), so it can’t be too bad

—Am trying to make a pouch for that girl-fun-thingy i believe we discussed once, lulz.—

silk won’t pill, but it will stretch like a mofo after it’s knit

how about a cotton blend? Rowan Calmer is great

@lazydaisy Sounds great – and likely cheaper! – but does cotton give off lint? And tys for warning me about silk stretching.

Anyone know about bamboo?

cotton can give off some lint, but it’s minimal, especially if you get a blend with the tiniest bit of wool or some other fiber in it.

bamboo can be soft as a babies butt and behaves much as cotton does.

@lazydaisy Well, minimal’s better than extra-lint… & thanks for the info on bamboo; (not sure if the silk skein i’d my eye on is mixed with that or cotton, nice it doesn’t matter too much)

Man, I can’t stand the way the cotton squeaks on my bamboo-wood needles.

for a small bag/pouch thing you could also try some hemp or linen. It isn’t as gentle on the hands as some of the others but for sure won’t lint or pill…and gets softer every time you wash it

I knit too! Will ask at my knitting store tomorrow for recommendations. I’m making a poncho with Sierra Quatro, which is an 80% pima cotton, 20% wool blend. Nice to work with.

@AlfredaPrufrock

that is nice yarn

3or4 is right, I think. I’m not a knitter, but I do know that synthetics don’t pill as much because they’re composed of one long extrusion (think play-doh spaghetti), whereas natural threads and yarns are usually weaved of many smaller fibers, even some silks. Pills are the balling up of those end-peices with other loose fibers. It will still happen with synthetics in tight areas and creases because the friction causes the fibers to break, especially if you dry the material on a high heat after its wet.

@lazydaisy – ooh, that’s a nice option! not sure if i can find hemp, but that’d be nice to use – and i love linen cloth.

@Amoebic Never knew that… not even sure if i even ever wondered why pills happen. Never liked them at all. And tys for the warning about synthetics!