Help me stop ewe-sing

January 5, 2024 8:52 AM

It is cold outside in North America, and I love wearing cozy sweaters. Unfortunately I seem to have developed a skin sensitivity to wool and cashmere in the last month that means I can’t wear most of my sweaters anymore. Help me find nice sweaters that do not use wool products!

I am interested in brands that ship to the US and do not use wool/cashmere/alpaca in their blends, unlike most of the brands that I currently shop at. I value well-made, long-lasting sweaters and think my non-wool requirement means I’m looking for cotton sweaters but I’m open to other ideas as well. No partial blends; unfortunately even my sub-20% wool/alpaca sweater that is mostly acrylic/cotton is no longer working for me and I have had it for many years. My price range $80-250ish and I’m interested in both crew necks and quarter-zip sweaters.

I already tried layering with various cotton layers but unfortunately that is not solving the problem. I’m also under the care of a dermatologist which is helping but not quite enough.

posted by A Blue Moon to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

LL Bean has a lot of nice heavy well made cotton sweaters.
posted by jeoc at 9:18 AM on January 5

Oops, nevermind. Came to recommend alpaca but just saw you tried it.

I can do alpaca but not sheep wool due to the lanolin.
posted by CleverClover at 11:24 AM on January 5

What temperature range are you looking for? Are these going to be primarily sweaters worn on their own, or will these sweaters be an "insulating/warmth" layer underneath a water/windproof jacket? Either way, cotton is a HUGE NO for cold because it soaks up water (whether rain/snow from outside or sweat from inside) and keeps it close to your body, which makes you colder.

I think you're going to be looking for various synthetic blends in fleece, unfortunately, if you can't do natural animal fibers.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 1:32 PM on January 5

The sweaters are for wearing indoors (dry, unless something has gone terribly wrong) or under warm, waterproof coats.

CleverClover: the only sweater I have with alpaca is a kitchen sink blend of alpaca, wool, cotton, and acrylic so it might be worth trying, thanks for the suggestion.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:26 PM on January 5

This might be an anger/denial/bargaining question rather than a helpful one, but... could you be allergic to your wool wash or the detergent you use for handknits and delicates?

I am similarly attached to my wool sweaters and I would be tempted to try washing at least one item with dish soap like Dawn or a cheap clarifying shampoo that I definitely wasn't allergic to, just as a last-ditch attempt to rule out perfume allergies, lanolin allergies, and other ingredient problems.
posted by fountainofdoubt at 3:05 PM on January 5

I've had good luck with finding warm non-wool sweaters at J.Jill. The recommendation to try fleece is also a good one.

Also consider trying to add a base layer under the cotton sweaters, like a silk layer or something from Cuddl Duds.

If you are willing to consider a shirt, L.L.Bean has very warm polyester fleece-lined flannel shirts and polyester fleece-lined corduroy shirts. My husband, who is not a fan of wool, pretty much lives in the men's version of these shirts in the winter, with a base layer of some sort for extra warmth.

Do consider trying alpaca, which does not have lanolin (if lanolin would be the problem with the wool). It is expensive but so soft and warm. It is possible to find alpaca blend sweaters that do not include sheep wool. Cashmere and Mohair are both from goats and don't have lanolin, so I'm wondering what might be the issue with cashmere for you. Angora is from rabbits.

I know you said you are already seeing a dermatologist so a lot of this may be things you have already tried, but I'm still seconding fountainofdoubt to try changing up your laundry soap for the sweaters (though I have a friend who suddenly developed a sheep wool allergy as an adult so you might just be out of luck in the wool department.) I would change both your personal soap and your laundry soap to something fragrance free/hypoallergenic if you have not done that already, and also use a scent free moisturizing lotion on your skin after showering and before bed (since winter can really dry out your skin, which might make you more susceptible to irritation from scratchier wool fibers) and see if that makes any difference at all.
posted by gudrun at 6:30 PM on January 5

I just bought a bunch of yak wool stuff (which is pricey) and one qiviut item (which is WILDLY and probably prohibitively expensive if you're not in the 1%--I got one pair of tiny fingerless gloves and called it a day on the qiviut shopping, then when they arrived had trouble putting them in the box to send to my aunt because they were so insanely beautiful and soft and warm...) on Etsy for presents for people. IDK whether either of those might work. I'd start with the cheapest possible regiftable thing--socks if you don't know any knitters, yarn if you do, or even just a wad of wool if you know people who do their own spinning--if you want to experiment before investing in an actual garment. Obviously check to be sure you're not getting something blended with sheepswool.
posted by Don Pepino at 9:39 AM on January 6

Also what about silk? Totally different phylum from the sheep. Smells great. Warm.
posted by Don Pepino at 9:50 AM on January 6

LLBean has 95% cotton and 5% cashmere sweaters, worth a try, returnable within 1 year even if you wear them. (I sometimes work there, but only recommend stuff I like a lot.) You might also like the Airlight and other performance wear. Their cotton sweaters wear very well. Also, get a base later, which is what long underwear is now called; it makes a real difference. I have some cheap waffle-knit cotton-poly tops that provide a great extra layer of warmth, and I often wear leggings under pants.
posted by theora55 at 9:55 AM on January 6

Quince is a direct to consumer company that has a variety of 100% cotton sweaters - men’s here and women’s here. I have a lot of Quince items (including one cotton sweater) and have been happy with most of them (and they have a good return policy too).
posted by maleficent at 3:29 PM on January 7

Thanks for all the answers! I'm confident the issue isn't my wash because I wore some of these sweaters in October/November without any issues and then started having problems in December when my psoriasis flared because of the season change, but I didn't wash/dry clean them in between.

My skin has calmed down somewhat so I have come to terms with the fact that I can still wear my nice fluffy sweaters sometimes, just not every day of the week. I tried some cotton things and you all were right that they're heavy and not very warm, so I picked up a silk bomber jacket on clearance (this if anyone is interested, runs small) and am casually shopping for a fluffy fleece/teddy sweater for more casual days.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:20 AM on January 16