MIL knitting tons of clothes for baby in acrylic

[proseccogirl]

I think you are all going to tell me that IABU and I am a snob too, but what the hell....
My MIL hasn't been back to work since she had my DH (33 years ago!), and frankly never seems to me to have enough to do! Since I have been pregnant she has been knitting tons, and tons of clothes for the baby. She is a lovely knitter, and has made things that would be beautiful, but they are all made of really nasty shiny acrylic and other man made fibres. I have asked DH to ask her very politely if she could possibly knit in cotton/wool, and I have done the same, and have even bought large amounts of cotton/bamboo and wool in suitable colours for her to knit with, as I don't want her to be out of pocket. They have far less money than we do and I know that cotton and bamboo and wool are more expensive to buy.
Despite all of this she pitches up with a new acrylic item every time we see them so has obviously decided to ignore our polite requests, and I know she will take the hump massively if I don't dress the baby in one of the every day when once the baby arrives, but I really, really don't want the baby to wear top to toe acrylic all day! All my baby books say that you should dress the baby in natural fibres so that they can keep cool and evaporate sweat effectively etc.
The background to this is that my DH's parents are very working class and I am very upper middle class so I am worried they think I am a snob as it is, and this will make that worse, but equally, I don't want my baby flickering with static electricity the whole time! Or overheating in a nylon baby grow.......!Am I just being a cow?

Nothing I say now will get me anything other than flamed more so I don't know why I am bothering with this, but what the hell.......

I AM NOT A SNOB! I am incredibly proud of my DH who was the first in his family to go to university and is very successful. I think his achievements are far more impressive than they would be if he had been sent to a posh school and had everything handed to him on a plate for his whole life. I don't look down on him or his family as some people have seen fit to suggest - quite to opposite in fact.

AS I SAID IN THE ORIGINAL POST - I don't want them to think I am a snob! I don't want them to think that I think what she has knitted is somehow not good enough - because AS I SAID IN THE ORIGINAL POST she is a lovely knitter and has made beautiful things which obviously we are lucky to have - I just don't want her to spend all of her time knitting things that we are not going to use and then get offended!!

Now - I am off, having thrown my own carcass to the lions for you all to shred some more! Enjoy yourselves!

Is she knitting woollen vests and baby grows??? Or outfits? Er mention that the labour wards are super warm plus really what you need are just lots of cotton babies and just cheap vests for the first few days. I looked really silly as I packed only two organic ms cotton ones and I had run out by the next day. Dh ran out and boughtcheapies from tesco. She can't surely expect that you won't want to choose a few items yourself. Next time she pitches up show her yr choices and comment how lovely they will go together. Comments about price " I know i jjust can't help myself just like you and the beautiful knitting."

Later on dress the baby up in the outfit when they come to visit. Take photos of baby in said outfits and make sure she gets copies. They grow so quickly honestly most of it will be redundant in a month or so. If she visits and baby is in something else just say " gosh it's soaking/ drying " " Unfortunately baby was sick/ pooed on it but so and so commented how lovely it was."

Get her to slow up by saying " I think we have enough for outfits it will be tricky to tumble dry it all " then say you saw a lovely pattern for a pram blanket ( Debbi
bliss?) and ask her to make 3 as some other mums at yr antenatal class would like one . That should keep her busy .... I have been given stuff for ds that was not my personal taste/ too small/ second hand i thank I coo I take a photo and put it in the drawer and low and behold ds has grown out of it!

Thanks for the entertainment! Is that what your DH married you for?!! Your comments about him are so patronising as to be hilarious!

Prosecco - loads of us working classes grew up in the 70s and 80s absolutely covered from head to toe in nylon, acrylic and polyester. Apart from a few bad hair days i am sure none of us suffered too much.

If I had a baby I would LOVE for a MIL to knit little cardigans. It's a testament to how proud she is. Just dress the baby in the mauve acrylic horrors and have some photos taken etc to give MIL, and she will be happy.

YANBU - i hate hand knitted stuff anyway, let alone cheap crap that snaps everytime you pick the baby up!!

Simply put, just dont put baby in it, i intend on dressing my baby in clothes i like, not to please others no matter how many monstrosities that knit or buy :o)

"I don't want them to think that I think what she has knitted is somehow not good enough"

But it isn't good enough for you, is it? Otherwise you wouldn't be worrying about it!

Honestly, as others have said your baby will be wearing little cotton sleepsuits and so on - the evil acrylic won't be next to their skin. Acrylic baby yarn is lovely and soft - and more gentle than "real" wool. It washes better and won't stretch when you hang it out to dry.

I am very upper middle lower working class myself and I find this all quite amusing.

People are being vicious for no reason - I particularly like those who are accusing the OP of having too much time on her hands when they obviously have nothing better to do except search MN for people to be bitchy to!

I don't see how not wanting to dress your baby in nasty fabric you would never wear yourself (because it would make you hot and itchy!), makes you a snob. If it does - then clearly I am one too!

Shirley, ahhh so you sneak a 'very' in there too eh? I am therefore 'very' aristocratic slash royal.

Am I the only person who feels a bot nostaglic at hand knitted matinee jackets on babies?

I had some for DD (wool, natch, unfortunately couldn't run to cashmere) which I bought from a WI stall. They were bloody lovely.

You have the rest of theit childhood to dress them in shit from GAP, can only dress them in crocheted matinee jackets when they are tiny babies. And it has to be WHITE.

I know my place.

I now know the reason for all the MIL hatred on MN!

Hand knitted cardigans which were REJECTED out of hand by the DILs.

Cue 40 years of simmering resentment.

getorfmoiland - she has knitted a matinee jacket actually, and its gorgeous - pink with a ribbon tie round the front. It crackles when you touch it, mind, but its looks beautiful.

No you aren't GetOrfMoiLand, they are so daggy as to be retro I think.

I am a sucker for the organic cotton stuff from Gap, but also managed to appreciate the naff stuff my aunt sent.

My nana used to knit me acrylic jumpers all the time until I was about 34 15 and sometimes they had sheep on them.

And once she knitted me a pair of legwarmers. I wanted nice baggy ones I could roll down and wear over leggings, like the kids from Fame.

But instead she made me a pair with snoopy on which were skin tight and just looked like really stupid snoopy socks without feet. DAMN YOU NANA. DAMN YOU.

(and that is why she is in the cheap and nasty old people's home where they hit them with hairbrushes, rather than the nice BUPA one which has a sea view)

YABU - baby will be fine and just dress it in the stuff when MIL is around. No harm done.

To mention ones class is very gauche though

GOML - you're not alone. I loved the stuff my mum crocheted. Ds had plenty of baby gap stuff (good sale rail, shop five mins from my flat/work) - cotton leggings and all that jazz. But the little jackets she made were just lovely.

Disagree on the white bit though - she made some lovely things in other colours too. I was particularly partial to cream, and a very nice pale lemon. She also used very jolly buttons in bright colours.

I'm intrigued re 'very working class'. Need examples.

We were knitted a grand total of 17 white matinee jackets, some wool, some acrylic, from various well-meaning folk. All much appreciated and cooed over, photographed baby in each one for thank you card, and now layered in tissue in a box for future DCs/dolls/anyone who needs them. I think people enjoy doing them even more than seeing baby in them so let them be, I say.

'Working class' means you put HP sauce on the table.

'Very working class' means you put it on toast.

Why the bloody hell are they called Matinee jackets? (vision of a load of strangely adult newborn babies, in a queue to watch the Mousetrap)

usualsuspect - do you have a pattern or a linky to the pattern lol.

The MIL may be using up old baby yarn, but some of the stuff out there now in man made fibres is absolutely beautiful.

Honestly, one cardi in acrylic will not make heat stroke - promise! You will be able to make judgements about it, and get it right, it will be fine.

It is really down to preferences, and for me the wash and dry aspect of the acrylic wins hands down, but it is up to you. Just make sure MIL is praised and then, with lots of thanks, suggest that a lot of premie units need tiny baby clothes and the seaman's mission will take knitted hats etc and they all would be very grateful. This could be a useful diversion.

Also, if you are going to buy yarn, buy the patterns to go with it. Some things just won't go and a lot of luscious yarn just hasn't got pattern support for baby wear and is tough to substitute in.

www.kempswoolshop.com/pattern_from_wool.aspx?WoolCategoryID=634383808

should take you to an online shop with patterns for baby clothes, to give you an idea.

Well, there is a another reason, other than sweatiness and static, to not dress babies in acrylic or use acrylic blankets and that is that it is actually flammable. So if there was a fire and your baby was in their cardigan or under their blanket this would melt onto them, compounding the damage caused by the burns. Highly unlikely that any such thing would happen but a reason nonetheless. (Wool is self extinguishing and very hard to set alight. Luckily for sheep.) Perhaps you have a very risk averse MIL and can gently point this out to her?

Anyway, YANBU. I am a knitter and do not like acrylic. It is squeaky and scratchy and unless you buy the really cheap stuff you could buy some nice machine washable wool or cotton for the same price. However i suspect you will just have to be polite, admire her knitting skill and buy her some pattern books and lovely, natural yarn for the next round of knits.

YABU, and a patronising snob.

An acrylic cardie will be fine with cotton layers underneath. It's warm and easy to wash and dry. Make sure your friends and family don't touch the baby while it's wearing the offending garments though, or they might find out what you married into.

I would be extremely hurt if I spent hours knitting for someone's baby and they said "Mmmm, it's lovely but it looks and feels a bit cheap, couldn't you have used a classier yarn?" Even more so, if I am already feeling slightly socially inferior to the recipient.

Just accept the items graciously, take photos of your baby wearing them and give the pictures to your mother-in-law, dress your baby in her knitted items for family occasions when she will be present and then in your own time, dress the baby in your own choices.

TBH this happens to so many of us that anyone who knows you and sees your baby in a yellow acrylic cardigan with plastic duck print buttons rather than the expected merino wool in muted tones will know the score and look around the room to try and identify the family knitter.

It is not dangerous for a baby to wear acryclic (wool is warmer) and I'm also having a secret smirk to myself, knowing how hard it is to wash poo and milk sick stains out of natural wool. Be careful what you wish for...