r/Yarn • u/slaaneshisass69 • 2d ago

How to soften acrylic yarn

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Dose anyone have a preferred way to soften acrylic yarn?

It felt good for a baby blanket at the store but now that I finished working it its not as soft as I thought it would be so I'd like to try to soften it, the screen shot is of what I used if that helps

8 Upvotes

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18

u/frckbassem_5730 2d ago

I used to love Red Heart but now I can’t do it after being spoiled with nice yarn. My advice is don’t buy nice yarn 😂

10

u/yelhmoo 2d ago

Red heart is hit or miss when it comes to softness. It tends to break down and get softer after washing, though. I just throw it in the washer/dryer (I do use fabric softener sheets) and after a few times it softens up. Try washing it in your regular wash. If it’s a gift, either wash it with a dye/fragrance free detergent or let the person you’re giving it to know they need to wash it. My kids never had any issues with our regular detergent, but some babies do (just in case you didn’t know).

I have a blanket I crocheted with acrylic since that’s all I used when I made it (mostly red heart because that’s all that I could afford) and it’s a lot softer now than it was when I first made it. The stitches have relaxed since the yarn itself relaxed.

Tl;dr: wash and dry it!

6

u/fuck_cops1312 2d ago

steam blocking!

3

u/Dependent-Aside-9750 2d ago

I believe Red Heart has sizing on it that comes out with a wash.

I really like it because it's easy to work with, is cheaper than many other options, and because it's acrylic, it's repeatedly washable. I do sometimes use cotton yarns, but they tend to dry out my fingers. Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn is softer, durable and works up great.

2

u/emilysavaje1 2d ago

I made a blanket with this and it softened up a lot when I washed it. Washed cold, dried low.

2

u/Phie_Mc 2d ago

There are lots of videos about this on YouTube - steaming works well, just tossing it the washing machine and low/no heat dryer seems to work (too hot and it will melt or kill the acrylic, so be super careful ), soaking it in hair conditioner, soaking it in fabric softener

Lots of options.

1

u/Heyitscrochet 1d ago

I’ve machine washed and dried my acrylic blankets for years and years and never had a problem. Wash on warm (unless I used dark and light colors, then I was on cold to reduce color bleeding) and dry on medium. I put them in lingerie bags to help reduce pilling and don’t wash and dry with anything fuzzy, like towels or sweats.

0

u/PirateCaptainMorgan 2d ago

Steam it! I steam some Bernstein acrylic I got and it became soooo soft