Choosing the Right Yarn for your Crochet Project

by Lisa
(www.uniquehomemadegifts.com)

When choosing a yarn for your crochet project, you need to take a few things into consideration first. Color, texture, type and style all play a role. And believe it or not, some of the simple looking decorative yarns can turn out to be the biggest nightmare to work with.

Decide on a color.

The color of your yarn will determine how easily you can see your stitches. If you are new to crochet, this can make things extremely difficult, or add to your overall enjoyment of crochet. As a newbie, the lighter colors are much easier to work with. You can see all of your stitches, which makes counting them much less of a hassle. Darker colors are more difficult to see your stitches in. Some variegated yarns go from light to dark, which can give you the color variation, without the constant headache of always not being able to see your stitches. They make a good segue from working with light colored yarns, and switching to the darker ones.

Decide on a texture. -Fluffy

This is where things can get tricky. Especially if you are new to crochet. Some yarns can be deceiving in their simplicity. Ultra plush yarns can look very simple and plain, but once you start to crochet with them, they will fluff up and hide your stitches. They can make counting or really being able to see what you are doing almost impossible. Fluffy, suede or boucle yarns should definitely be avoided as a newbie. Even as an experienced crocheter, those types of yarns can still make me swear!

-Decorative

Yarns with dangles or balls or an uneven weave are also incredible difficult to use. Fun fur type yarn is so soft and lovely in your hands, but can be really frustrating to work with. Most yarns of that type are packaged so that as you crochet with them, you are working with the grain. However, if you make a mistake and have to pull some of your stitches out, you go against the grain. This tends to create knots and fluff out the furry part, which makes it much more difficult to work with. Sometimes the ball is packaged backwards, and you will be working against the grain the entire time. This really adds to the difficulty.

There is also the added problem of being able to actually pull the balls, bobbles, fur, dangles (or whatever) through your stitches. This type of decorative yarn is better suited to be used as an edging, or in small areas. You will also need to keep your stitching very loose, and use larger hooks to accommodate the extra bulk.

Check and match the dye lot number – Buy enough for your project.

Make sure to look at, and match up, the dye lot numbers on each skein of yarn. Each color batch of yarn is dyed to similar specifications, but matching colors exactly is very difficult. Each skein of yarn will have numbers on it. Make sure that each skein’s numbers match exactly. This means that those yarns are all from the same batch of dye. Even one number different means that it was not dyed in the same batch, and can have slight color variations. Most of the time, you can’t see those variations with your eyes when the yarn is in a skein, but trust me, you will see it in your project. Make sure you buy enough of the same yarn from the same dye lot to be able to finish your project.

Probably the most frustrating thing is when you get almost to the end of a project and run out of yarn. If you go to the store to match up the color, your chances of finding the same dye lot number are pretty slim. Most of the time you can’t get a dye lot match even from store to store. I had that exact problem with a blanket I made for my son. I was almost done, but was about half a skein short. (I had picked a stitch and created my own pattern, so I wasn’t sure exactly how much yarn I would need when I started.)

It was a camo variegated yarn, so I didn’t think it would matter all that much with all the existing color variations. The numbers were similar, and I figured it would be close. I was wrong. Once I had crocheted a few rows with the different dye lot number, I could see a definite difference. I ended up pulling out an entire skein of the old yarn and putting the new dye lot number skein in the middle, then crocheted the rest of the blanket. At least with the change right in the middle of the blanket and in an equal number of rows, it appears that I did it on purpose. I can’t stress enough how important it is to check the dye lots.

Some yarns, like bright whites, don’t have a dye lot number. That just means that the company has a precise way of dying or treating their yarn so that it is always the same color. Even still, depending on storage or other environmental variables, those yarns can have color variations, as well. Use your eyes when you’re in the store with those yarns. Hold them all together in a bundle and look at each end. If they look even a little different, choose other yarns until they all match. That small difference you can see in the store will become a huge difference once it’s crocheted into a project.

Make sure the yarn is compatible with your pattern.

What is the focal point of your project? Is it the yarn? Or is it the pattern? If you have an intricate pattern with lots of fancy stitching, a simple worsted or sport weight yarn may be your best bet. Any yarn with texture or fluffing to it will detract from your overall design. Make sure that if there is any pattern or stitch technique that you want to be able to see in your finished project, that you use a yarn that won’t over power it.

If you are wanting to showcase the yarn, then you will want to stick with very simple stitches. Straight forward single crochet, double crochet, etc... The more fancy and textured a yarn is, the more difficult it will be to work with, and the more it will hide the stitching. You need to use yarn like this with very simple stitches. Loose lace type stitching (double crochet, chain) works well to show off yarn. I created a shrug out of some fun furry yarn using nothing but double crochet. Once I was finished, you couldn’t even see my stitches. The shrug just looked like it was just a furry piece of fabric. (This can work in your favor, as these types of yarns can also hide stitching mistakes.)

These are the main things I recommend keeping in mind when you are choosing yarn for your next crochet project. Even if you follow my suggestions, sometimes, choosing the right yarn is just a matter of trial and error. I find I am constantly buying “yummy yarn” only to discover that I just can’t make it work for the project I had in mind for it. It doesn’t seem too “this or that” in the store, but once I get home and start trying to work with it, I run into problems. I find that it doesn’t lay the way I want it to, or the stitches just don’t show the way I want them to. With each failure, I find new successes, so I chalk it up as a learning experience and choose something else.

Don’t let your yarn choice get in the way of enjoying crochet. If you find one kind of yarn doesn’t work, set it aside and choose another. Chances are, the yarn you sat aside will be just perfect for your next project! Good luck with your yarn hunting, but remember ... yarn collecting can be addictive!

Check out more of my crochet basics on uniquehomemadegifts.com