What knitting fiber would be best for heavy use arm warmers?

Question

My uncle has a damaged nerve in his wrist and instead of making him wear an ugly medical wrap I knit him small "gauntlets" to protect the sensitive area on his hand/wrist. I usually knit these out of cheap, worsted-weight cotton, but I've noticed that since they are heavily used, they tend to stretch out very quickly and become essentially useless.

I was wondering: what fiber would be good to knit these for him? The finished product must be inexpensive (about $1/apiece is right, so I will buy a big ball of an expensive yarn if it will make ten armwarmers - they are about 6x8" in 2x2 rib), easy care, absorbent, elastic, relatively strong, and not itchy. I prefer a worsted or lighter gauge because these have to be practical for him to work with.

Any other tips to help these last longer? I've knit the last two with size 5 US needles and worsted weight unmercerized cotton (the recommended needle size is 7 US) in 2x2 rib and don't know if this will help with the stretching.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Long-lasting, elastic, strong and not itchy sounds like Alpaca. Has to be hand-washed, tho and is not cheap.

A cotton-wool blend might also work although I've never worked with that combination.

For reasonably priced natural fibers, check out a website called knitpicks.com. The people on my knitting bb rave about it.

Another mail order source for inexpensive (heck...CHEAP) yarns in an impressive variety is www.smileysyarns.com. They have online as well as warehouse sales (you have to agree to purchase a minimum amount at the warehouse sales but that doesn't apply to the online sales). I haven't purchased from Knitpicks but I have from Smiley's. They carry brand names and their service is great.

A washable wool blend like Encore (my preference) or Wool-ease might just be the answer. From a 100 grm ball of Encore you could get 3 pairs of wrist warmers, easily.