Mohair, mo’ problems
Suzie Blackman
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Forget the 80s
If you’ve seen my patterns you’ll know that I’m quite fond of mohair. However, I’m banishing it from my stash, maybe forever!
Warning: mohair can be used for evil
Over the last few weeks I’ve knitted a lot of mohair, which has been followed by itchy, puffy eyes and sneezing. Skin irritations to mohair and wool are common, and after a bit of research I discovered that my reaction is not unusual either. In fact many people suffer quite severe problems from knitting mohair, cashmere and even wool. Common symptoms include wheezing, hives, sneezing and itchy eyes.
I’ve decided to finish my current project but sell all mohair in my stash so I can have a break from it. Take a look at my Ravelry trade page or contact me for a list if you’d like to pick up a bargain. Of course, you’ll be helping with my stash-busting mission too!
To make myself feel better about the situation, here are five reasons why mohair is not warm and fuzzy but, in fact, evil:
- It sheds all over everything
- It is near impossible to rip a mohair cast-on edge
- It’s a pain to wash
- The good stuff is expensive, the cheap stuff is scratchy
- As illustrated, it was responsible for terrible crimes against knitting in the 80s
