I’m about to begin my first afghan and am wondering about the best yarn to use - I don’t want it to cost a fortune as I’ll need about 2000 yards. This week Michael’s and Joann Fabric has all their yarn on sale. -Any thoughts about any of these for afghans?
Vanna"s choice by Lion Brand
Barella “4” by Bernat
Simply Soft by Caron
Thanks for any tips you can lend.
The only one of those I’ve used is Simply Soft, and I think it’s very nice for afghan. It holds up well, has a nice sheen to it, and of course is soft. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with it.
I’m working with Vanna’s Choice for the first time, and I like it. Simply soft is good too, though it can get fuzzy and pill with a lot of use, and I’ve heard Berella 4 is a good one too. So I guess it depends on yardage and price and which colors you like.
Simply Soft is very nice and comfy
I like Caron’s Simply Soft as well, and have used it for afghans and two ruanas.
agreed simply soft, I got a whoooooole but uber cheap a while ago and made my mom a blanket outta it and it’s much softer then the other stuff. Also that rainbow somethin or another yarn at Joann’s is nice for blankets I made my donation blanket out of it. (it’s like a huge ball)
The rainbow boucle from Joann’s. I made a huuuuuuge blanket for my son and dil with 2 skeins, double stranded on size 13s.
simply soft is nice for a blanket but I have found it takes forever to knit up into a decent size blanket.
On size 7 or 8s, yeah, would take a while. It wouldn’t be too bad on size 10s if you had a lacey pattern or you could double it and use size 13.
That’s what I was gonna say - double strand it and use size 11’s or 13’s. I just did that with a feather and fan baby blanket on size 11’s with CSS. One yarn you didn’t mention is Red Heart Soft. From what I’ve used of that, I like it better than Vanna’s Choice.
Hi!:waving:
What’s a ruana?
Thanks,
Ruthie 
PS - I’ve made 5 afghans out of Simply Soft and they all came out great.
I’m using three strands and size 15 needles to make an afghan for my niece, and it’s knitting up really quickly. She wanted “lime green and blue”, but didn’t specify which color blue…she’d said something about baby blue for something else, but I wasn’t sure so I ended up with a light blue, a deeper “country” blue, and the lime green. I think the two different blues have kept it from being a nightmare on the eyes, as it’s actually working up to be awfully pretty. (And you’re right - in single strands, I can’t imagine doing it, but they’re slender enough that I can work 3 on big needles with no problems, and it makes things go tons faster!!!)
Ruthie-A ruana is a shawly capey sort of thing–well look at this and it will make more sense. 
I used Simply Soft to knit 3 afghans last winter and loved the finished product. I used lace patterns and on 2 I doubled the yarn. The drape and feel as well as stitch definition was great. My favorite though was the one I worked with a single strand. I would definitely use simply soft again for an afghan.
Hi, Marria! :waving:
Thanks for this link. I’ve got to put a ruana on my list of things to knit! Just the type of shawly-capey thing I’d love to wrap up in!
But that’ll have to wait 'til the book’s finished! Right now I’m up to my ears in cotton yarn! :roflhard:
Happy knitting! :knitting:
Ruthie
I like Berella 4 for afghans - it stands up much better. Simply soft is nice, but because of the softer fibres that are used it does pill quite easily.
:knitting:
I have used the Berella 4 for a few things and like it alot. I would go with that.
Out of the yarns you have listed, I have only used Vanna’s Choice for afghans but, I did not knit the afghan, I crocheted it. I knit a hat with it and it came out okay too. I think Vanna’s Choice washes extremely well and it is very soft(softer after it came out of the wash). Also I think the colors coordinate very well with each other.
I really like Patons Decor or Plymouth Encore for nicer acrylic/wool blends. You can usually find sales online for Decor…
I am also one of the “oddballs” who knits afghans with Red Heart Super Saver. The yarn may be a bit rough on your hands while knitting it, but after it’s finished, once through the washer and dryer will do a terrific job on softening it up (and Red Heart SS wears like iron - takes a lot of abuse and washes up wonderfully). It also tends to be less expensive than even Caron Simply Soft, so budget-wise for me it’s excellent.