Yarn for crochet and knitting

Choosing the right yarn to crochet with is important.

There numerous different combinations of colours textures and materials.

Should you choose man made fibres or natural? Thick or thin? Smooth and plain or fluffy, hairy or knobbly? 

Choosing Your Yarn

Whatever you decide to use can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your crochet (or knitted or woven) item. The power is with you to choose and create your own unique and beautiful design.  It's so easy to take a basic pattern and change it completely by opting for something different to work with.

A thicker yarn of course will mean your item will be quicker to make.  It will of course also make the whole item thicker.  So a chunky yarn will not be much use if you want your piece to hang and drape delicately (obviously).  And inevitably it will also turn out to be much bigger if you are going by a pattern which uses thinner yarn unless you adjust the number of stitches and rows

Colour matters too not just the vibrancy of the colour you choose, but darker colours are actually more difficult to work with, black especially and are therefore not a good choice for a beginner. The problem with black yarn is that it is difficult to see where you should be inserting your hook.

The same applies to fluffy or hairy yarn.  The stitches are hard to see.  Beginners should avoid the fancier yarns to learn with.   Smooth yarns with a bit of a stretch are by far the best if you are learning.

Talking about stretch in a yarn, you will find that cotton yarns have very little stretch and can make working with it a little more laborious because it can be difficult to insert your hook and pull the yarn through especially if your tension tends to be on the tight side.  Again not a good choice for beginners

Buying Your Yarn

There are so many places to buy your yarn. Local craft and knitting shops of course but these are becoming more rare these days. Some other general shops will sell it too. And don't forget to visit boot sales and charity shops to hunt out bargains

Of course there are plenty of online outlets but you won't get a proper look and feel of yarns before you purchase and the colours on your screen may not be true to life.

Sometimes, however you just might want something that it more special, or a lot more special. Etsy is a good place to find some wonderful stuff, such as home spun yarns and other beautiful natural yarns in silk, wool, cotton, alpaca or even yarn spun from dog fluff.