Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Quick Question
What would be a good yarn for a chemo cap? For a pattern, I was thinking Shedir, or does anyone have a better suggestion? If you are sending good thoughts into the world today, could you please send some to a girl named Sarah, who is 29, a mother and wife, and undergoing treatment for AML (leukemia)? Thank you so much.
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33 comments:
Delurking, to say that Calmer is an awesome yarn for chemo caps. It's soft, washable and the acrylic helps it keep it's shape. Mission Falls 1824 wool is another great option. It is super soft after washing and is washer, dryer friendly. Stay away from anything that has guard hairs like angora or alpaca since chemo heads get really sensitive and those hairs can tickle if not itch.
I'm not super sure about yarn choices; might check ravelry, there's probably even a group for knitting chemo caps or at least some projects you could flip through. Sending good thoughts for Sarah!
http://www.chemocaps.com/page3.htm
There are some patterns here too but shedir sounds good. I would say Rowan Calmer, cotton, silk for hotter weather maybe? Not wool as its too itchy. :)
Another vote for Calmer but you could also look at Debbie Bliss Stella or Cathay, which are both silk blends. Delurking to send lots of good wishes.
I made Odessa by Grumperina without the bead in a nice stretchy soft yarn (can't remember what it was) for my cousin going through chemo. She liked it quite a bit.
I like calmer and also Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk aran, dk, or baby weights. Sending my well wishes out.
I also wanted to chime in and say Calmer. I haven't knit with it yet but I have a bag of it and it's the cotton equivalent of non-itchy merino, if there ever was such a thing.Sending good wishes to Sarah.
Calmer is such a nice yarn. That's what I would recommend. Best to your friend...
I used Malabrigo to make Shedir. My FIL liked it very much. It's not machine-washable, but very soft.
Sending good thoughts to your friend.
The ones that immediately come to mind have already been mentioned- Calmer and Malabrigo are so soft. Karabella Aurora 8 is a great one. Sending healthy, healing thoughts your friend's way.
I've made Shedir with Rowan Calmer and it came out really well (and the hat was unfortunately for it's intended purpose also). If you do use this pattern though, just make sure you don't make it too high, mine turned out to be about 1 1/2" - 2" too big.
Good thoughts going her way....
i've used both calmer and cathay to make chemo caps for my sister. calmer was great, so soft and behaves like wool when knitted even though it has no animal fibers at all. the cathay was not so great, no memory at all. both are lovely and soft. in my sisters case her head became so sensitive she could not wear any kind of wool, no matter how fine. i showed her a few pattern options before i started knitting, and she rejected shedir as too fussy, opting instead for a plain beanie lengthened to cover all of the hairline.
Not sure what to recommend, but I am wishing your friend all the best right now.
I will chime in along with most already and agree that Shedir in Calmer is the way to go. I knit one for a friend of a friend, and was told it is her favourite, most-oft worn cap. :) Best wishes to your friend.
I'll be thinking of Sarah today. May my thoughts help her be stronger.
I'm not familiar with the yarns over there, but I made several Pi Topper hats for a friend with cancer. It is a quick knit and very nice fit and you can do many variations over the same pattern, stripes, garter ridges, contrast edging etc...
Sending good thoughts.
Shedir is a good choice for a pattern as it is really stretchy. Elann has a few chemocaps as free patterns also (http://www.elann.com/freepatterns.asp). I made the Shedir I've knit out of Lana Grossa Cottolana, but I guess this sort of yarn is discontinued. I'd go with a yarn that feels really soft to your skin and is machine washable.
My thoughts go out to Sarah and her family!
Cashsoft is very nice and soft. Good wishes for your friend. Shedir is a nice pattern, I like the many tiny cables.
I've knit four Shedir hats now for folks undergoing chemo - they all really liked them. The women said that the feminine colours and the cabled detail made them feel much prettier when they were wearing the hats - after their hair had all fallen out. The guys just liked the fact that it kept their now-bald heads warm.
I used the Calmer for all of the hats - and really liked it. I did have to skip a few pattern rounds, though, to get to the end of the hats without running out of yarn. Some skeins worked perfectly, some were too short. Just keep your eye out for it and you of all people should be fine in your knitting! :)
Oh, dear,
I used Wool Cotton from Rowan to make a chemocap ("Flicker" from Kim Hargreaves) and also pure Cotton for another Beret ("Shimmer" from K.H. too, exchanged the Lurex Shimmer Yarn)
My friend was very pleased about the two Berets, she wore silken foulards under this Berets. It looked very nice and feminine.
best wishes for sarah!!
lg eva
With all best wishes to Sarah - for chemo caps I have heard that Rowan Calmer is great and itch free.
(yet another delurker) - and another vote for calmer - I made a shedir for a friend of mine who has a big allergy problem with any wool, and she thinks it's great. The only problem I had was that I found the calmer quite hard on my hands (due to less stretchiness, I suppose) and I got quite achy hands.
Best wishes, janet
My two most-worn chemo caps were the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat in Classic Elite Beatrice and a spiral rib hat in Fiesta Boomerang. Both are really soft wool. You can see them on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Lauren
Cotton Chenille..it's soft and doesn't snag the fine hairs
What about Brooklyn Tweed's Koolhaas pattern? It's similar to Shedir, maybe a little more simple. Depending on your gauge, which can be pretty fine with Calmer, you might try Colinette Jitterbug or Shi Bui Sock. Both are super soft and washable. I'm all about the Shi Bui sock at the moment.
Malabrigo?
Best wishes to your friend.
euhm...
Baby cashmerino from Debbie Bliss.
I knit an eyelet caplast year out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for a friend going through colon chemo...
http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt14.htm
I made Shedir from Calmer for my sister in law and she really liked it, but it isn't the fastest pattern to knit, at least not for me. I also saw some cute patterns at elann.com, made from Esprit (cotton lycra blend just like Cascade Fixation).
http://www.elann.com/designcontestwinners_july06.asp
No yarn suggestions, but many good thoughts for your friend.
Just here to send good wishes for Sarah!
I love Cashsoft yarn. It is wonderful to knit with, glides on the needles. I used it to make the Odessa hat (now on Ravelry. It was well received.
Best yarns for any cap.
www.rosarios4.com
get well soon
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