the first week of july the local craft store has all their red heart yarn on sale (plus i’m a scrapbook instructor there so i get an addt’l 20% off the sale price)… so i’m looking at about $1.67 (after tax) per skein…
i am a newb at knitting and plan on doing some toys and scarves and eventually get to socks and maybe even a nice pullover…
ETA: i know red heart isn’t really considered “good stuff” but i was thinking it would be okay for toys… or for felting…
just wondering if it’s worth it to stock up now when it’s on sale, and if so, 1 or 2 skeins???
If I’m not mistaken, the only yarn in the Red Heart line with any wool in it is Heart & Sole-- and only yarns with a great deal, if not all, wool, will felt. But as for all other knitting-- Red Heart has some very nice, soft yarns for making everything else you can think of.
The “life” of acrylic yarn is pretty much eternity (although mind you, I haven’t actually tested this theory out:-)). The only thing which will kill it is if it’s in a damp place and develops mold and mildew, or if it’s stored in such a manner that the skeins rub against each other, which will create pilling and fluffing.
As for amounts-- a 3 oz skein of worsted weight will make you a pair of mittens or a hat, or probably a good deal of small toy patterns, and 2 of those skeins will get you a scarf. For an adult sweater you will need several skeins-- the way to tell is to look at the type of yarn (there is a weight number within a drawing of a skein where the info is on the label, from 0 - 6). Then you need to match that up to the pattern you want to use and look at the required ounces or yardage. Let’s say the pattern is for a yarn “4”, which is worsted weight, by the way, and a lot of the Red Heart yarn falls into this category. It tells you you need 28 ounces for the item. You need to find a yarn which is a “4”. Let’s say that yarn comes in 3 oz skeins. You need to buy 10 to make that sweater. Now, let’s say you’re looking at a pattern which just gives the name of a specific yarn, but no number. Look up the yarn on line and somewhere you’ll find out its weight number.
Red Heart has a yarn called Red Heart Soft Yarn. It is reallllly soft. I would buy it in a heart beat. I made a hat and scarf for my son’s best friend for xmas and he really loves how soft it feels. Softness is the key factor when I buy yarn. Go with your tastes and do what you think is best!
Acrylic probably won’t do anything like felting. (Some will do something like it but I haven’t seen anything like that from Red Heart.)
I would grab it. That’s what I crochet afghans out of. It was good enough for Gram (and what I was raised with from her afghans) so it’s good enough for me.
It softens up fine after a few washings.
1 or 2 skeins isn’t stocking up, that would be a scarf. I would need 20-40 skeins for one crochet afghan.
I think it took 5 skeins of Red Heart Sport to knit a baby sweater.
You have to think SALE and buy more than you will ever realistically use, like the bags and bags of Yarn Bee Luscious I have that I’m sick of working with or the boxes of the same my sister has.
Acrylic stored in a skein should last forever. Keep it out of the sun and dust so the color doesn’t change, or if it does it does it evenly.
Nothing wrong with stocking up or stock piling! I have also heard that regular red heart softens in the wash. You can make lots of stuff with acrilyc. At that rate, knitting an afghan would only cost about 20$. Nothing wrong with that!
and there are the charity threads here that need acrylic yarns for projects if you’d ever want to join in on those. Different weights for different projects, check the charity boards!
/end enabling
My husband would fall over laughing at the idea of 1-2 skeins being stocking up! The other day I was saying we needed to do something w/ our gas & grocery budget, because we have added a family member since we did it and prices are way up and he said, “Why don’t you sell some of this yarn!?” BLASPHEMY!
When I was a new knitter I bought a skein of Red Heart Super Saver because it was cheap. I did learn on it, but I didn’t like it. It’s kind of rough on the hands and while it does soften up ‘some’ in the wash it never gets super soft. Personally, I would never use it for anything again. There are just too many nice ones that are almost as good a price so why buy scratchy?
Red Heart DOES make some nice yarns now though that are soooo soft! I would go for those!
and LOL @ the “stocking up” responses… I am new to this, and am also a scrapbooker and a sewer, so i knit slowly… a couple skeins of a handful of colors will last me a while, and is stocking up for me. haha.
as far as the charity goes… will someone please send me the info?? i would love to do what i can, but unfortunately money is tight so i may not be able to do much. but i can try!!!
Look around at patterns and get an idea of what you would like to make, then see how much that takes. It’s surprising how much yarn it takes to make, say, an afghan or a big sweater. If you go to Red Heart’s site, you can see various projects made with a variety of their yarns:http://www.coatsandclark.com/ Maybe that’ll help you decide.
I found a skein of cream-colored Plush at Goodwill and have maybe half a skein left over from all the Mobius scarves I made last winter. They’re going to be a shawl, I think, but I haven’t found just the right pattern yet.
I would definitely stock up on some red heart at that price! I use a lot of it because I’m poor. I personally wouldn’t knit anything really “special” like a sweater or a jacket for an older person, but it’s great for baby knitting if you get the softer kind, and it’s great for hats.
I will say this, though. I have knit some hats with it while learning, and it does this thing…I’m sure it has a name…like if you put the hat on and stretch it to do so, the hat stays stretched and looks kinda icky until it’s washed and takes its original shape back.
But I have used it to make silly hats, or hats that won’t be used very often, mostly just for play for my nieces and kids, etc. I love red heart for non-serious stuff.
I’ll save up and buy better yarn for sweaters and jackets, though.
I like the idea someone had - stock up on it just for fun knitting or charity projects - that’s a great idea! Red Heart has come a long way from where they use to be in the 70’s & 80’s! I’m always for cheap yarn - you can always do something with it!
that sounds like my DH!! hehehe~WHAT are they THINKING?? LOL!