wool alternatives

[daeseage]

I decided ages ago that I was going to make my girlfriend a pair of mittens for her birthday, and recently settled on a pattern and some lovely wool yarn in red and cream. Unfortunately, I just learned that she is very allergic to wool, and I really don't want to give her a gift that will make her break out in hives! So now I need something fairly inexpensive, warm, ideally water resistant, and nice and soft, but I don't know if she will have a reaction to other common animal fibers. I thought about baby acrylics, but I don't know that they'd stand up to the abuse that a comfy pair of wool mittens undergoes, and I don't really care for working with them.

Is anyone allergic/knit for someone who is allergic and have recommendations for wool alternatives?

ETA: Thank you so much everyone for the ideas! She was willing to test out swatches (for science!) from scrap yarn as I had time to knit them, and it looks like alpaca will work for her. Those of you who thought it was the length of the fibers might be right, since the swatch of the wool I'd originally purchased resulted in hives. =[

For those of you that asked about acrylics, part of the reason is that I've had issues with using them in colorwork patterns, and also because there's a good chance that she'll be wearing these while around a stove or open flame. A singed mitten is a lot easier to repair and less hazardous than a melted one!

Comments

[rainne]

Query re: your icon. "Stim"?

[iamshadow]

Stim is shorthand for self stimulatory behaviour. Everybody stims - from clicking pens, to touching lips, earlobes, to jiggling your foot while studying. (In neurotypical children it's labelled 'self-soothing' and is counted as a positive. In autistic children it's often labelled negative, and therapists try to remove it.) I'm an autistic adult, and knitting and spinning are things I find rhythmic, soothing, and fun. They're also something you can easily do in company without being labelled rude or antisocial. They're great cover - you can't read a book in company, but if you're not making eye contact whilst knitting, no one tends to take offence.

[rainne]

Ahhh, okay! I did not know about the difference in that kind of behavior between neurotypical and non-neurotypical kids. That seems odd. Why would you allow a behavior to NT kids and deny it to non-NT kids who, it would seem to me, would need it more? (I freely admit to knowing next to nothing about the issues surrounding autism, and I welcome any and all information you'd be willing to provide. You can also feel free to PM me, if you like.) :)

[iamshadow]

It tends to be the intensity of the stimming (how much it dominates the child's life and routine), but also the kind of things autistic kids do to stim are seen as problematic or socially unacceptable. Hand flapping is a classic behaviour that lots of autistics have in common; I do it a bit myself when I'm over-excited, and I'm in my thirties. Some kids are so wrapped up in stimming that it's literally all they do, so toning it down is the only option for anyone trying to educate them. Sometimes, though, there's a bit of a heavy-handed emphasis on normalising kids so that they pass, which I feel a bit dirty thinking about, but I also understand that autistic teens and adults have been bullied, attacked or even killed by members of the public simply because they don't appear normal. So it's an issue I have conflicting feelings about. I don't think autistic people should have to try and be normal to be accepted for who they are, but I do know that it's often safer if they can appear that way.

Passing = complicated, whether talking about race, religion, sexual orientation/gender, or neurodiversity.

(I should also add that some kids also have stims that include self-harming, or potentially dangerous behaviours, which I totally understand the need to control.)

[rainne]

Ahhhh, I see.

You're right, passing is hella complicated.

Thanks for making me a little bit more informed! :)

[iamshadow]

No problem!

I'm just amazed I was able to concisely sum up the issues. And all without bringing my current fandom, X-Men: First Class into it! (So many good examples of the points I was trying to make in that film. :D)