By Tawni Rogers
I think most beginners start with whatever's cheapest as far as yarn choice in the store, right? I know there's Super Saver yarn, there's all sorts of value yarns that certain stores offer. And that's particularly fine to start out with when you're learning to do chains or you're learning to do something really simple.
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That's exactly where I started, too.
Softer Yarn for the Sake of My Sanity
Once I started spending lots of time with yarn and attempting to do projects, I finally tried to switch to something different. I particularly like soft acrylic yarn.
When it's in my hands for hours on end and I'm doing something, whether it's a big or small project, I eventually get kind of bothered if I don't like the feeling of the yarn that I'm using. Once I started making bigger projects like my stuffed animals or even scarves, I switched to something softer just for my sanity.
Big Twist Every Day, Local Wool From Trips
I'm pretty particular about my yarn choice nowadays. As I said earlier, I really like acrylic yarn. My favorite yarn used to be Big Twist from Joanne.
And I know that you can still find that yarn around. I finally found that to be a very soft but great value yarn to do everyday projects with.
Every now and then I'll buy something really expensive. I've started to buy really expensive skeins of yarn when I travel. I try to find a local yarn store with yarn made from that region or someone local who's made that yarn.
And that can be much more expensive; it typically includes more wool. And I bring that yarn home to do special projects with to remind me of my travels.
Display Pieces Versus Things That Touch Skin
I think you have to keep your project in mind when choosing your yarn. If you're doing something that isn't going to be used regularly- maybe it's a display piece, maybe it's something that someone doesn't pull out very often- go with that value yarn. It's totally fine.
You do not need to spend lots of money buying expensive yarn for that kind of thing.
Now, if your project is something that person's going to wear or use all the time, like a blanket, a sweater, a cardigan, maybe even a scarf, anything that's going to touch their skin, you need to choose a really nice, soft yarn.
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You can buy value soft yarns, or you can buy really expensive kinds. But those kind of projects you need to make sure that it's going to be lovely for that person to feel all the time.
Why I Refuse to Work With Scratchy Yarn
Depending on the crafter, it can get quite snobby. I will admit that I am probably one of those snobs. I just refuse to work with anything I don't enjoy feeling.
Of course, if you're running a business, if you're trying to sell your products, if you're trying to make custom items, sometimes it's tempting to buy that cheaper yarn. It just reduces your cost of goods for your product.
I just can't bring myself to do that. I have to have something that is going to be soft and washable and feel really nice in my hands because I'm the one stringing it through my fingers for hours and hours trying to create it.
Start With a $3 Skein of Super Saver
If you are just starting out, you're trying to learn something new. I would start with something like the Super Saver yarn. It's very, very affordable.
They make it in tons of colors. They make it in certain patterns of colors.
Usually there are patterns that come with the yarn that you could start to use. There's nothing wrong with buying that cheaper yarn to get started. I would actually recommend doing that because you may not enjoy this craft as much as you thought you would.
Or maybe you just don't have as much time to dedicate to it as you once thought. And it would be a shame to have purchased really expensive supplies you didn't necessarily need. A good value skein of yarn you could probably get for about $3.
Fine Fancy Yarn That Splits on My Hook
I am not very good at using very fine, intricate yarn. When I've tried that before, it splits on your hook sometimes. You can get it caught, it snags really, really easily.
And I've tried many times to make blankets or cardigans or scarves out of something like this just because it's got a pretty pattern on it, or the yarn has pretty colors and sheens to it. But if it gets caught on my hook all the time, if I'm not very careful with it, it just turns out disastrous, and I try to avoid it.
