Wool itches - acrylic is nasty

[EngineeringExcellence]

I don't but a lot of clothes and I have determined to buy only decent quality.

As a rule i don't buy wool as i find it far too itchy. I have an Angola sweater i can't wear and lambswool is horrid. I also have never got on with merino.

I get that cashmere is softer but does it itch? I have a cashmere coat but i wouldn't want to wear it next to my skin!

Woolovers have cashmere and merino and cotton and cashmere, what are they like?

Merino blends are lovely- they tend not to bobble as much and keep shape and colour.

I like cotton and wool blend. Cotton can be heavy on its own but blended with wool you get the best of both fibres. Cashmere needs to be high quality as the cheaper stuff uses shorter fibres which pill and bobble. They also develop bald patches if you use fabric softener on them. In fact I wouldn't use fabric softener as it shortens the life of clothing.

Oh and look for Alpaca and Alpaca blends. My daughter bought me a sweater back from Peru and it is the single most gorgeous fibre I have ever worn-soft, non itchy and moulds to the body. No folds of lumpen wool, no raised irritating seams or stitching.

Op, I'm like you, I find all of them itchy and cashmere is no different for me though angora and wool are the worst! It's rubbish because like you I want to buy quality, but quality=itchy for me I have wasted quite a bit of money working this out.
Cotton is the only way for me.

I'm pretty allergic to wool, merino no better, brings up my eczema a treat. Cashmere I can wear without any problems, if you want to test out if it's any good for you without spending a lot, try Tesco. Or any other supermarkets!

I've decided to now only go for cotton, cashmere or silk (or blends of)

I'm coming to that conclusion Tired. Where do you buy cotton knitwear?

Onedog, when you say blends do you mean blends of those three together or one of those blended with something else?

I find cashmere and silk blends the best, or really expensive cashmere which is fuzzy. Everything else irritates me.

I find Laura Ashley little cotton cardigans and sweaters last really well. I had never thought of wearing their stuff until my Mother gave me a plain navy cardigan and nine years later, I am still wearing it.

New Look had some amazing shape, quality and value cardigans and sweaters in pure cotton a few months ago in all the standard colouts- navy/grey/cream etc. They always have them-round neck and V neck plus basic cotton sweaters.

Gap cotton sweaters are good, not too thick and nicely shaped.

Blends of any of those three together, cotton & silk, or cotton & cashmere. Actually if I was looking for a jumper, I wouldn't rule out a bit of nylon or acrylic if it was a small amount mixed in with cotton & cashmere. If the mix is right, it'll still feel (and look) lovely, just a bit cheaper & hardwearing.

There is a specialist product you can use to soften your pure wool items - called Eucalan - it is a no-rinse softener that won't damage your items in the longer term, and might help make them comfortable to wear. I haven't used it myself, as I rarely knit with pure wool, but a friend who knits a lot with pure wool, swears by it.

I've found some good ones from Crew recently, but I'm always looking, it's not very easy. I wish I could wear all the lovely things, but even thinking about them make me itch, they can make me sneeze too

i have this problem too - everything itches. especially tights. i have no clue where to buy thick, non itchy tights.

I'm not familiar with Woolovers, but I have two cashmere sweaters, one from Pure and one from Edinborough Woollen Mill. They cost similar amounts (but bought in sales, so not sure what the 'real' price would have been). The Pure one is so wonderfully soft that I can wear it against my skin, whereas the EWM one is almost as itchy as ordinary good-quality wool.

I could never wear wool against my skin until I discovered that I am allergic to fragrances and changed everything to fragrance-free. Once my skin healed I found that I can tolerate all sorts of fabrics that would previously have had me screaming within minutes. Including merino and cashmere on my neck and décolleté, and good quality wool elsewhere. I still wear a silk scarf between wool and my neck, as if I get too hot it itches.

That's interesting Iloveafullfridge, was your skin sensitive that you knew of before?
I'd definitely not say my skin was sensitive, never had a reaction to anything (except for one type of washing powder), don't have eczema etc. My skin is fairly dry in the winter but that's it, so I'd never have thought of having a problem with fragrance

Oh god-mohair is probably the worst!

I did not realise that I had allergies until a dermatologist sent me for testing because I had problems on my face. I was very .

I had some dry patches on my legs, tended to flakey skin on my legs and forearms in winter, and had cheesegrater knees and elbows. I just thought this was normal, and that I was a restless, itchy-twitchy person and a fusspot when it came to fabrics and textures. I had been like that all my adult life. Changing to fragrance free was a revelation!