Acrylic

Which acrylic for everyday wear?

For jumpers and children's clothes that are worn and washed often, choose an anti-pilling acrylic. YarnArt Adore Dream and Adore are treated to resist the small bobbles that form where a garment rubs. Ganga Starlite is anti-pill too, with a 1% metallic thread for eveningwear. Wash them inside out to keep the surface new for longer.

For colorwork, DMC Knitty 4 has 86 shades in one DK, so a pattern with a dozen colors can come from one yarn.

Which acrylic to learn with?

A smooth, plain one in a light shade, so you can see each stitch. Ganga Artist is a 170 m aran on 5 mm needles that Ganga recommend for beginners, and it washes at 40°C, so a first scarf can be worn without worry. Leave the mohair blends, DMC Ankara and YarnArt Angora Active, until you are confident. Mohair is hard to unpick.

In Stitches Milk Cotton is also on this page because, despite the name, it is 100% acrylic.

Self-striping, ombre or section-dyed?

Several of these yarns make the color pattern for you. Self-striping yarns such as DMC Pirouette and Ganga Spectrum change color in bands. Ombre cakes such as Ganga Rangoli Arte shade gradually from one tone to the next, which suits a triangular shawl worked from one point. Section-dyed Papatya Batik gives wide stripes and soft blends.

Stripe width depends on how many stitches are in a row, so a wide blanket gives narrower stripes than a scarf from the same ball. To make two sleeves match, start each one at the same point in the color sequence.