Yarn Talk

I've been a hooker (!) for two and a half years now, and I still feel like a complete novice a lot of the time especially when it comes to yarn matters. My study in art/textiles mainly focused on fabric and stitch, so when I taught myself to crochet I also had to learn about all things yarn related. I remember standing in a teeny tiny little craft/yarn shop attempting to buy yarn for the first time and being faced with a whole wall of the stuff, it was quite an overwhelming experience. I immediately realised that crochet would be a most excellent way for me to indulge my passion for colour and it was the Colour Thing that I went for first and foremost (of course). I didn't care a jot about fibre content or yarn thickness, I was only interested in the colour playing possibilities. 

The very first yarn I bought to make my very first blanket was a mercerised cotton. It was labelled as a DK weight, and the lady in the shop advised me on which size crochet hook I should be using. I bought a dozen different colours and off I went scooting giddily into my first colourful hooky adventure.

When that blanket was finished I immediately began to plan my next one (the Ripple) and it was only then that I started to think about yarns in terms of their fibre content as well as the colours available. I went to a local yarn shop new to me (I had moved house/area by this time) and I fondled. I spent a long touchy-feely time with every single yarn on the shop shelves :: I pulled them all down one by one and I squished them and I rubbed my face against them and I scrutinsied the labels to learn about fibre content. I still had a huge desire for Good Colours, but I also began to think more about the importance of softness, of snuggleability (is that a word?).

All the yarns I've used so far in my Hooky career have been natural yarns and I can honestly say I've loved them all. From cotton to pure wool to cashmere/merino, they've all been beautiful to work with and have made me some gorgeous blankies. However, just recently I've begun to look for alternatives to the luxurious "designer" yarns that I've become accustomed to, wondering if there might be other types of yarn out there that deliver good colour and snuggleability (that has to be a word) without breaking the bank. Blanket-making yarns that feel good and look good but which are also cost effective.

First up for trial was the yarn in the above picture, called Kool Kotton. I wasn't honestly too sure about buying Kotton that begins with a K, but heyho, I overcame that and went ahead and ordered twelve colours to try out. This isn't pure cotton yarn, but a 50/50 mix of cotton/acrylic, and at £1.30 per 50g ball, it's very economical indeed.

Ordering from the internet has it's advantages and disadvantages. Main advantage is that you get the delicious experience of receiving yarn through the post, like a gift sent from a very special friend. Main disadvantages are that you have to hang around by the front door each day waiting for the yarn-gift to arrive, and that the colours are often badly represented on ones computer screen. I was a tad disappointed with the Kool Kotton kolours when they arrived, they weren't nearly as bright as I'd expected them to be. Quite chalky/muted in fact.

But it's surprisingly nice to work with and becomes soft and drapey when worked up. I decided to make a small cot blanket using the Vintage Vertical Stripe pattern (excellent tutorial for this can be found on the Bella Dia blog here). This is a fast stripe to work cos you hook in the gaps between the stitches :: I found it quite therapeutic zooming up and down in stripy rows using all one stitch cos my mind could wander off a little and the hooking didn't suffer too much when my brain was temporarily elsewhere.

So here's the almost-finished result :: not quite a Ta-dah moment as I still need to work a border around the long sides. I'm also planning on backing it with some soft fleecy fabric to make quite a substantial cot coverlet/quilty type thing.

What do you think of the colours?? I worked them completely at random and despite the chalkiness I do quite like them all together. It seems strange not not to see any orange/yellow brightness in there though, I think a teensy bit of orange or yellow always brings life and zing to a colour scheme and I miss it here.

I used the same yarn to make a cushion cover, I do quite like the results but again I miss the sunshine colours. Not had chance to make this up into a cushion yet either, I kind of got sidetracked by the arrival of the caravan.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh now thats SOOOooooo much better isn't it?????? We have Sunshine in the bag again, yaaayyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my latest yarn experiment, ordered over the internet and very much more successful in terms of colour selection this time...isn't it scrummy? Mmmm mmmm, very delicious indeedy.

This yarn is 100% cotton, priced at £1.50 per 50g ball and is called Rico Creative Cotton. I ordered from first4yarns  who were lovely, I can't recommend them enough.

top row, left to right ::
76 tangerine
74 orange
05 red
13 fuchsia

2nd row
63 light yellow
73 watermelon
11 cardinal
39 royal

3rd row
44 light pistachio
41 pistachio
46 emerald
47 petrol

4th row
45 mint
30 aqua
36 turquoise

 

Its listed as an aran weight yarn which is normally worked on a 5mm hook, but here I'm using a 4mm to give a slightly firmer finish. It's a lovely soft yarn, quite frustratingly splitty it has to be said, but oh-me-oh-my the colours are so damn gorgeous that I am prepared to overlook the splittiness. Oh the colours!!!!!! They make my heart sing tra-lee-lah :o) !!!!!!!

I'm making a cushion cover to start with, I did these first two squares last night and seriously I was hopping from foot to foot and squealing to myself with delight when I saw how beautifully the colours are working together. Very very very exciting stuff for the likes of me. I've also invented a new way of joining-as-you-go by edging the squares in dc (worked between the stitches), I'm really pleased with it actually, I can't wait to see how it begins to look as I add more squares.

So depending on how the cushion cover turns out, I may well use this yarn to make a blanket with. I'm still contemplating acrylic but my heart is quite captivated by this cotton yarn. I think I might be falling for it in a big way. Ooooh Creative Cotton *Mwah*

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Edited to add :: Just a little note about Ravelry...many of you yarn-lovers will already know this, but for those of you who don't, Ravelry is a rather amazing "knit and crochet community". You need to join up to become a member (which is very easy to do) and you can then access all manner of yarn info, patterns, discussions etc and join any number of groups to "chat" about what tickles your fancy. Attic24 has it's own little group going on over at Ravelry, and its FAB!! It's called  "we love Lucy" and you are all more than welcome to come and join. There are over 700 members in the group now and we do a lot of chit-chat over there about crochet and the such like, it's a lot of fun. Just thought it was worth a mention xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Me again....(Thurs aft)....the lovely ladies at First4yarns have been inundated with your orders for the Rico cotton and have sold out!!!! I'm told that they've ordered a load more from their suppliers so it should be back in stock next week if you were wanting it, hope this helps xxx

Comments

[Caroline]

Love love love your first two squares. They are just so delicious in colours. I can't wait to see the finished cushion cover. Loving the new edging as well. I am off to have a look at first4yarns. I know I will be tempted!

[Kate/Massachusetts]

Lucy, have you ever seen/learned to to tapestry crochet? With your wonderful sense of color/design, I bet you would be a natural at it! Here is her blog link but if your interested in free patterns/how-to's, just google or ravel it. Here's her link:
http://www.tapestrycrochet.com/blog/

I am just learning it and am amazed at the beauty of the technique...easy, too!

[Jill Downing]

Your colour choice is brill as usual. Just going to look on the first4yarns site NOW!!! can't wait to see your finished caravan . . renovation!!!! Keep up the good work and love reading your blog after being at work all day.

[Sarah west mids]

Dear Lucy first I know you will enjoy giving your caravan the Lucy treatment. I enjoyed your pictures!
In these credit crunching times I think there is good reason to select other yarns.
The blanket has soft colours and I like the
Rico yarn too.
Like Caroline above I know I will be tempted to order some as well.
Love Sarah x

[Delilah]

Snuggleability sounds perfect and if it's not in the dictionary it should be. Love your color choices as always. Are these cushions for your new purchase?

[Sarah west mids]

PS I think the Rico yarn would be good for making a Lucy inspired bag!
Sarah x

[Ana]

I really like that chalky Kool Kotton (and yes, those Ks would put me off too!). The Rico stuff looks great too. Can't wait to go yarn shopping!

[Ana]

Wanted to p.m. you about this but couldn't find an email address. Internet shopping is great but stay away from Angel Yarns - seductive website, but I never received my purchases, and judging by comments on the Laughing Hens website, they do this to a lot of people!

[Petit Filoux]

Oh please tell us what this new way of joining please, how does it work? (yes, I might have been taken over by the crochet bug but I want to be as efficient as possible if I start making a blanket and this looks really nice!)

[Fruitful Fusion]

You're right, the Rico colours are gorgeous!!!

[emma]

Ahhhh ... you have wonderful eye for colour Lucy :-)

[Cayt]

Have you tried using bamboo yet? It's generally very soft, and while it can be quite splitty, it's great in terms of the colours you can get. I like bamboolo, specially for baby blankets. Yum!

[anne@andamento]

Great! I was just checking your blog to see again the recent links about acrylic and here are even more tempting yarn links.
I like the chalky colours I have to say. I have to force myself to use bright yellow/orange though as you say sometimes it does give other colours a lift.
You've certainly been busy, both "almost done" projects are lovely!

[Lisha]

I just love your colours. You have a great talent for working the colours together. It brings me such joy to see your work in pictures. Thanks for sharing your hooky experiences.

Lishaxx

[Shelley in SC]

Yes, the chalky colors aren't quite you, but the blanket is fun and lined with the fleece will be a wonderful, cuddly blanket! Love those bottom cotton colors. Now THAT'S the Attic 24 we know and love : )!

[Lynne]

Oh oh oh! Delish yarny woolly things Lucy! So lovely to see you back here again with your cosy little caravan to prettify, and your basket of tempting wool .... want, want, want. Thanks to you, and you alone, well and some ladies I bumped into at my local deli who were sipping coffee and had woolly things all over their table, I've finally learned how to Do It. Not 'It' It (I've got four kids, I know how to do that!) but Hooky Madness! The only trouble is now that I can't seem to stop! Can't wait to see what you come up with next. Thanks so much for your colourful inspiration, I'm a happy little hooker now :)

[Robbie]

Hi Lucy, Loving your last 3 blogs and soooooooo close together. THANKS, we love you!! Love the bright colors best, but I think cotton is heavy!? What do you think.....a blanket be could heavy and maybe loose it's shape!? A little Acrylic is nice with wool, in the US we have Paton/Decor and it is washable and nice to work with and affordable. Just an idea! Thanks for this blog and all of your wohderful creations. Love, Robbie

[Yarndude]

I can't believe you've been crocheting for such a short time! All of your stuff is gorgeous, especially those last squares. WOW!

[Jeannette..aka..Bonzogirl]

RICO colours definately have the vibe...re leeds indoor mrkt and garlands...lovely oriental girl selling them in the middle half way down towards the outdoors mrkt...went for an outing from my wilds in wensleydale...and thought hey..themed garden party ..hoola hoola party..garlands draped every where..seriously cool...so me and obviously so you!!!!!and pocket money price..yipeee

[Hen]

Ah Lucy, I fear I just can't get to like that man made stuff. I made my round cushion cover in 50/50 wool/acrylic yarn which wasn't even that cheap (but a great colour, why is acrylic in great colours?) and I still didn't like it. Then again, I must confess that although I bought a lovely stash of Debbie Bliss cotton recently, I don't like that either (or Rowan cotton), I find cotton too stiff for my arthritic hands. On hols, I experimented with various types of cashmerino type stuff. Oh joy, so gorgeous! The best has to be my alpaca though, swoon. My latest buy is the new Amy Butler/Rowan yarn, have you seen it? Organic 50/50 cotton/wool mix, seriously beautiful colours, as you'd expect, but a nasty price tag (over £5 hence I only bought one ball!) Will be interested to see how you get on in your adventures...
Love Hen xxx

[Anna]

Love love love the colours in the lat two photos - such a happy selection. Will look into rico creative cotton - always interested in a new yarn (its the yarn obsession speaking!)

[Martha]

Only two years?? Wow...you are amazing.
I LOVE your color choices.
:o)

[Gillie]

Lucy, you have been missde up here in the Malverns, then three posts in a row!You must have heard me moaning to the ladies in the charity shop( great source of wool) that my muse was gone, defunct, no more.. I love the fact that you are now looking at slightly less expensive wool options - but what a about an Attic 24 recipe... (please) Love the colours, see what you mean about the yellow and hope that the Little pople are all well and can hardly wait for the posts on the Van - does she have a name yet????

[Inga Helene]

I like the colours of your latest work. They're so bright and joyful :-).

My take on choosing yarn is quite simple. I always use Dale Baby Wool. It started by coincidence. I needed a woolen yarn to substitute a fairly thin traditional yarn for Selbu mittens (It's those traditional Norwegian mittens in black and white). I wanted bright colours and the yarn was so suitable. It's also soft and can stand a few rounds in the washing machine on wool cycle without looking awful. And you should see the colours! They're definitely Lucyish and as for snuggleability it's got an A+! I don't know what you pay for designer's yarn in England, but this yarn costs around 3 pound pr 50 grams (175 meter).Check it out if you can.

[rachel]

Hello,it's a very charming place to visit, I'm allways in a good mood when I came here!!!
Thanks a lot
Rachel