The $250 of Bulky Yarn I Ended Up Giving Away

Now you have to realize I've been doing this for several years, and it seems to escalate every year I do it. I would estimate I probably spend about $500 a year on my projects, on my yarn, on the supplies I need, on patterns. And this can also include things I need to enter in markets: tags, stuffing, eyes, all that kind of stuff.

But you definitely don't have to spend that type of money to get started in this craft!

My Big Bulky Yarn Phase I Regret

When I first started getting into crochet, I had seen all over social media that the big fad was to buy big, soft, bulky yarn to make animals and things with.

Sometimes it's almost like a fleece type yarn. It's very bulky, very big. Bernat is one of the brands that a lot of people reach for, and I bought a ton of it. I probably spent $250 at least on this yarn. I quickly discovered I hated this yarn. I hated working projects; I didn't like how big they turned out; I didn't like the colors that I had; and I ended up donating every single skein of this yarn to someone else who wanted it because I just ended up not liking it.

I learned a lesson that day: I need to do things in small batches first before I commit to something like that.

Clover Hooks And Big Twist Are My Go Tos

The best thing I've found that costs less than $20 are Clover hooks. I'm very particular about my hooks. I don't like plastic hooks. I don't like big hooks. And I love the soft padded rubber that Clover puts onto their hooks. It also seems to keep my hook really tight and straight. They don't get worn out as easily, and they're not that expensive. I have just about every size I need from this particular brand, and I just swear by them.

I also have some value yarn that I love! Big Twist (RIP Joann Craft Store) is a very affordable yarn, and is still some of my most favorite to use for everyday projects.

Bringing Home Handmade Yarn From My Travels

If you're looking to splurge and you want something super super nice, full price yarn is the way to go. You can get some really, really nice yarn. I've actually started collecting yarn as I travel from different places. I will find local wool and yarn shops so that I can bring local handmade yarn home.

And those skeins are quite a bit more than you'll find in your craft store. I've seen them all the way up to $75, $85 for a skein. I've never spent that much on mine, but I do tend to splurge every now and then for maybe a good $25, $35, or $40 skein of yarn that seems to be really unique and well-made.

Why I Cannot Stand Red Heart Super Saver

I hope this isn't too controversial. I really don't like Red Heart Super Saver yarn. I just find it really scratchy. I don't like the way it feels in my fingers. It works up okay.

You can make projects just fine with it. I just don't like the way it feels. It's great that it's cheap and affordable, but I just cannot bring myself to buy it. I just don't like working with it.

The Neck Light That Saved My Dark Yarn Projects

Last year I was finally having issues seeing the dark yarn. If you crochet, you'll understand that a dark brown or a black yarn is just very difficult to see as you're working with it. It's easy to lose your stitches.

I was gifted a very nice neck light that I love to use. It goes around my neck, it's posable. You can turn it on different brightness levels, and it just points right down at the project I'm working on. I never thought I'd have to cave and get something like that, but I did, and it's a game changer.

Trading Joann For Hobby Lobby

Up until this year, I was shopping at Joanne Craft. I still missed that store desperately. I was able to go in there and get all of my yarn that I loved and pretty much all of the tools that I needed, like hooks and stitch markers and my polyfill stuffing.

However, those stores closed, and just recently my town got a Hobby Lobby. That's now where I've been getting my yarn from. Unfortunately, I still can't find the hooks I like in person anywhere, so I have been ordering them online or on Amazon.

But I've been shopping for my yarn at Hobby Lobby lately. I'm just one of those people that has to be able to feel the yarn before I purchase it, and that's hard to do online!

What A Hundred Dollars Really Buys In Yarn

The tricky thing about making anything from hand is how much it costs. I always feel like I could make a poncho for myself or a cardigan for myself. And then when you go to the store and buy all the yarn that you need, it usually ends up being much more expensive than a $25 or $40 cardigan you can find online.

I think with $100, I could maybe make someone a couple of medium-sized stuffed animals. I could maybe make someone a standard sized poncho or a cardigan. Anything bigger than that, like throw blankets, baby blankets are very, very expensive to make. For any big project, you need so much yarn that it's hard to do for $100. I think everyone thinks that this hobby can be a very cheap hobby, which it can be, but it also can get very expensive very quick.

And don't forget, your time is valuable too! It takes a long time to make something nice and that should count for something as well.