Is acrylic yarn good for summer?
Acrylic is a perfectly fine yarn for summer clothes! Lace, fingering, sport, & DK can all prove to create beautiful summer garments that are breathable, have excellent drape, and allow you to remain affordable to a larger portion of your market. Combining this with mesh stitching makes acrylic a perfect yarn for the summer.
Is acrylic breathable?
The fuzzier the fiber, the less that fiber can breathe. In the winter, this means it keeps you warm & cozy, making you want to hug yourself (or someone else 😉).
Contrarily, in the summer, this means you can potentially turn you or your beloved clients into walking stoves! YIKES! Talk about bad for business!
Acrylic can also be scratchy, which can cause the garments to be quite uncomfortable to the person wearing them.
Keep in mind also, the unlikeliness that people will be layering depending on what type of garment it is, meaning it is more likely than ever that the crocheted garment will be directly on the skin.
Solutions, Tips, & Tools
To combat fuzziness, there are a couple of things to be mindful of when choosing summer yarn for crochet. First, try to select acrylics that aren’t fuzzy.
A lot of the variegated yarn options by Red Heart have little to no fuzz at all, making them a great yarn for summer.
Examples include Caron Simply Soft, Red Heart Super Saver Ombré and Red Heart Super Saver Stripes. Second, if using a weight 4 yarn, try to use ‘open’ stitches such as any of the mesh stitch options, or lace stitch patterns, as the nature of how they are worked (holes) render them breathable.
Another great tip is to seek out thinner acrylics. Lace, fingering, sport, & DK can all prove to create beautiful summer garments that are breathable, have excellent drape, and allow you to remain affordable to a larger portion of your market. Acrylic can be a lightweight yarn for summer.
Lastly & arguably the best guidance is to veer towards acrylic blends. More specifically, acrylics mixed with plant fibers like ‘Shawl in a Cake’ by Lion Brand & ‘It’s A Wrap’ by Red Heart.
Both are acrylic & cotton blends, which make them great options for creating summer garments. There are additional options in lighter weights as well, including Premier Cotton Fair® Yarn, Bernat Softee Baby Cotton Yarn, and others. All of these will work exceptionally well for using acrylic to make summer-friendly garments.
I’m still not sold on acrylic as a yarn for summer; what are my other options?
Cotton!! For summer crochet projects, cotton is currently the most affordable & widely available fiber to create with. I should note that my use of ‘affordable’ is relative to how much yardage you get per dollar spent.
That said, most well-known brands within the fiber arts industry carry one or more lines that fit the aforementioned variables perfectly PLUS offer an extremely wide variety of color options.
All the options listed below are budget-friendly, readily available in most markets, & work incredibly well to create most items intended for the summer months.
What else do I need to know when using acrylic for summer garments?
The main thing you need to know is that acrylic is not as bad as you’ve been led to believe! Most people with bitter after-tastes in their mouths regarding acrylics for summer crochet acquired it from either not being aware of, or not considering the tips given above.
As with all things, it really does boil down, as stated before, to what a given crocheters’ priorities, concerns & limitations are. Hopefully this has you ready to take on some new summer challenges with garments, so you can reap the guaranteed rewards.
Need a summer pattern that works with your yarn? Try these patterns below
2. Anastasia
Belinda is the founder of Posh Panache Crochet, crochet pattern designer, teacher, writer & crochet entrepreneur.