Need Advice On Yarn

SoundOfEmotion · 10-09-2007, 06:05 PM

First post here on KnittingHelp.com. After months of searching for a comprehensive site on knitting info, video demonstrations, and a community of helpful knitters -- I found the proverbial gold-mine here at KnittingHelp.com. I've been watching the videos over the last few years off and on along with the ebb and flow of my knitting, but have only recently decided to make use of the forum.

So here are my questions:

1) Where do you buy your yarn (Joann Fabrics, Michael's, joann.com, etc)

2) What brands/styles of yarn do you love? (RedHeart, Caron Simply Soft, etc)

3) Is good yarn ALWAYs going to break my wallet, or are there soft, non-itchy yarns out there for a reasonable price?

All recommendations and comments welcome... Have fun with this one. Also - any other male knitters in the house? Show some love... As I always say: "Knitting is manly because I make it manly."

bjc1050 · 10-09-2007, 11:21 PM

I buy most of my yarn at Michael's, WalMart, or Joann Fabrics. I've really enjoyed working with Simply Soft for knitting. Have only tried a little of it for crochet and it was so so...maybe I was just getting tired of working with the bright pink color. Am currently crocheting with Red Heart Soft yarn which seems o.k., but wants to split a lot with a crochet hook. I have some light grey Bernat softee chunky that I made a pair of slippers with (crocheted) and the stitch definition was a little difficult to see - not terrible, but not as easy as with regular worsted weight. I have some Paton's that I haven't worked with yet, but it feels great. Hoping to use it for a sweater for GD.

Ingrid · 10-09-2007, 11:21 PM

Welcome! We have several active Manly knitters around, one of whom happily knits at truck stops.

Personally, I buy my yarns online since I've become such a yarn snob

, but I'm sure there are soft ones available at the craft stores.

Anything merino is usually wonderful.

Knitting_Guy · 10-09-2007, 11:27 PM

Welcome! I'm the knucklehead that knits in truckstops

I'm a fan of Caron Simply Soft. I buy most of my yarn at a Hobby Lobby that is close to my trucking terminal, but plan to order some from KnitPicks as they have a good selection of yarns.

Whether or not 'good yarns' will make your wallet cry just depends on how you define 'good yarn'. I recently bought a few skeins of I Love This Yarn and while it's not quite as soft as Caron SS, it's much better than the Red Heart stuff. I paid less than two bucks a 355 yard skein for it at Hobby Lobby.

SoundOfEmotion · 10-09-2007, 11:39 PM

Wow! Talk about fast responses! You guys are right on target... A truck stop knitter, that's what I'm talking about... Awesome!

Thank you for posting your responses and I'll look up some of the stores you mentioned...

Ingrid, you had said "[you] buy all [your] yarns online"... Do you have any recommendations on specific sites, or do you just find them on craigslist.com or ebay.com, etc?

Knitting_Guy: What kinds of things does a truck-stop knitter knit? Mudflaps?

lostchyld · 10-09-2007, 11:44 PM

I buy yarn from my LYS. I prefer working with wool to any other fiber I've tried. I've found some extremely nice blends that don't itch, but I'm not the expert.

While I'm currently working on a shawl with Caron Simply Soft, I don't actually like that yarn, it was really just convenient and cheap.

Good yarn isn't always going to break the bank. There are several online stores that sell good yarn at reasonable prices. Additionally, keep an eye out at your LYS. I've found some lovely wool for cheap at one store, and another store has a scrap bin that sometimes has nearly full skeins. Anything in the scrap bin is for grabs, and I've completed a few smaller projects with yarn from there.

My favorite fiber ever is wool. I can wear even some of the coarser threads against skin without being bothered. Likely, that's because I grew up wearing it.

I'm female, unfortunately. I tried teaching my guy friends to knit, but they were so afraid of the yarn that the whole skein was a knot in 30 seconds. We gave up that idea.

Welcome to the world of yarn obsessions.

Knitting_Guy · 10-09-2007, 11:51 PM

Hmmm, haven't tried mud flaps yet.

Just the usual hats, scarves, socks, etc.

SoundOfEmotion · 10-09-2007, 11:52 PM

Originally Posted by lostchyld

...I've found some extremely nice blends that don't itch...

Do you recall anything about the blends? Was it a wool/acrylic? wool/cotton?

Originally Posted by lostchyld

...There are several online stores that sell good yarn at reasonable prices...

Do you have them bookmarked or can you recall the site names? I'd love to check them out!

mrslevite · 10-09-2007, 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by Knitting_Guy

Whether or not 'good yarns' will make your wallet cry just depends on how you define 'good yarn'.

It also depends on what you're knitting. A XXL sweater made of 'the good stuff' is out of my budget at the moment. But nice sock yarn gives me great pleasure and since I'm going to be re-knitting the first sock of the pair I'm currently working on, I'm certainly getting my money's worth out of it.

debb · 10-10-2007, 12:33 AM

here's a current thread on this same topic

http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting...ad.php?t=67206