Monday 28 March 2011

A Tale of Two Yarns - 2KCBWDAY1

Hello my lovelies. Happy Spring! I love Spring, a time of new growth and freshness all around.
Today is day one of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. If you fancy joining in just click on the buttony thing in the sidebar and hopefully it will take you to all the details.
The topic for today is A Tale of Two Yarns, in which we are asked to discuss two yarns that we have used and either like or dislike. When I first learnt to crochet I wasn't sure if I would succeed or not so I chose to use acrylic yarn from the local pound shop. It was great for learning with but I soon wanted to try new and more interesting yarns. This is when I went onto using yarn that was mainly natural. Cotton, 100% wool, mohair, angora etc. I tried many brands and didn't have any problems that I can remember.
My favourite of the natural yarns is the merino wool that I used for the Indecisive Project. It is so soft, thick, cozy and snuggly that I just love it. I think it is by Sublime but can't remember the full name of it.



One of problems with natural yarns though is that it can work out to be a wee bit expensive especially for large projects such as blankets. As is the case with a great many households, budgets are being stretched more and more and ours is no exception. So, towards the end of last year I started to look out for cheaper alternatives. Lucy of the wonderful Attic 24 posted that she had been using Stylecraft Special Dk and that she highly recommended it. 
I tried it and couldn't believe the difference between the Stylecraft and the acrylic that I had used from the poundshop. The Stylecraft is soft, easy to use and most of all cheap compared to the natural yarns. It also has an abundance of colours to choose from. I have added a few extra colours of other brands of DK that I have spotted while I have been out and about but they are not as soft or easy to crochet with. 



The Stylcraft Dk is great for all types of project although I am yet to make anything wearable so I don't how it would hold up for that. An added bonus is that it is washable too, great if you have children and/or animals.
Now, I would like to add that this is only my opinion and that other people may feel completely differently. I would love to hear which yarns you love to work with and maybe any that you don't like much. In future I would like to have a go with some of the Noro yarns that I have seen bloggers using. It looks so soft and yummy... maybe when our budget grows.

Thanks for stopping by, ttfn x









16 comments:

  1. I'm liking the sound of crochet week.. I love your hex blanket the colours are amazing, I'm an DK acrylic fan myself, just because its cheap and cheerful and I love the colours it comes in..oh and also cool cotton as thats so soft..oh and the little dolly mix dk's for litle projects but never wooly wool.....too tickly :)
    Have a lovely yarny,wooly week x x x x x x

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  2. Hi Emma, I loved this post. V informative. I've been using cheapo acrylic yarn mainly from charity shops which is fine for me coz I'm only doing cushion covers at the mo (as you know!. If I ever progress to a blankie, I would consider the Stylecraft DK you mention.

    You mentioned mohair. Did you really crochet with it? How satisfactory was it? I have some mohair left over from a knitting project from years back but am too scared to crochet with it as it's a bit hairy!

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  3. There is nothing like the feel of natural yarn whether it's merino wool, cotton, linen, alpaca or mohair. You are right though, it can be so expensive if you're going to make a big project and if you're making something to wear you really have to make sure you 'love' it before purchasing the yarn.
    As far as acrylic yarn goes Stylecraft is definitely the best around!
    Vivienne x

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  4. I can't talk about individual brands but I love the range of bright colours found in acrylic but I wish they had the warmth and heaviness that pure wool has. I love the smell of wool as well.

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  5. Wow - your crochet is lovely! I am waiting on some of the Stylecraft too as I am coveting all of Lucy's items on Attic 24 and really want to learn to crochet. I'm just starting to knit and have mentioned Noro on my post for today! :-)

    Looking forward to reading your other posts this week! Sarah x

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  6. Yaay for Stylecraft ! I like them too :-)

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  7. Thanks for the head's up on the stylecraft - I'll have to check it out (obviously, online - I've not seen it around here *sad face*)

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  8. I'm not very fond of knitting with acrylic yarn yet I sometimes use it because of its price and the fact that it is machine washable. I agree with you on Stylecraft. It doesn't feel like any other acrylic (I bought some acrylic in Poland and it was really horrible to work with). Stylecraft feels so soft and it comes in such a nice range of colours. I'm working on my first big crochet blanket using Stylecraft DK and I'm really happy with the yarn.

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  9. I used Stylecraft to crochet up some Christmas ornaments. It was quite pleasant to crochet with and there was the bonus that I could just throw them into storage without having to worry about them like I would have with natural fibres.

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  10. I found that really interesting. I have just started to learn to crochet but boy im finding it hard. Dee x

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  11. I loved reading this post and seeing your lovely crochet too. I like knitting with natural yarns best but that's because I make garments to be worn. If I could crochet I'd probably be making a big blanket with loads of bright inexpensive acrylic! It's great to hear other people's yarn advice, too. Have a happy woolly week.
    Helen x

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  12. Just stopping in to say “hi” as part of Knit Crochet Blog Week. Your crochet work is lovely.

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  13. Love your post for Knit and Crochet Blog Week (which I'm also participating in this year!) The Stylecraft DK sounds like a nice choice.

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  14. Thanks for the Stylecraft tip! I have not heard of it before, but like you, I struggle with using anything other than natural wool and struggle with the price of that! Have you used the bamboo stuff much? Love your gorgeous blnakets too, especially the second one!

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  15. Hello! Just came across your blog, and very lovely it is too! I too like using the Stylecraft Special DK- the colours are great and you're right, it's so soft. And easy to wash too. That Hexagon blanket is yummy! Must get out my stash and have a little hook...

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