What are the best and worst yarns to buy?

If you have the patience, you can do the following to soften up the yarn a bit:

Wind your skeins into loose hanks, using the back of a chair or a yarn swift.

Fill a large pot with lukewarm water, and stir in some hair conditioner. Enough for about 6 heads of hair. Make sure it’s mixed in real good. Then wait for the water to stop moving.

Then carefully push the yarn down into the water, and get it thoroughly wet. Take out the yarn after it’s soaked through, then rinse it in another pot of water which is the same temperature, then gently squeeze it dry between two towels. Then, hang it to dry in your shower, with a weight to stretch out the yarn to keep it from kinking up.

The conditioner will soften the wool the same way it does your hair.

That’s good to know, though I doubt I’ll end up doing it. But still, thanks for sharing!

You’re welcome.

I just updated the post I made, because I forgot to mention that the yarn should be RINSED after soaking in the conditioner water. Also, be careful to NOT agitate the water, or you could felt the yarn. :wink:

I’ll try just about anything once…but, I learned the hard way that it’s torture for me to even dare mess with Homespun…ugh…my hands and fingers cramp up SO bad, I’ve got tears rolling down my face! NOT a good idea…

Although I’m still a newbie, I seem to have the best luck with acrylic worsted, cotton worsted, and baby sport yarns so far…- So, I don’t think I’m much help…

Nita

I was looking at your yarn suggestions and saw that with a particular brand of yarn you always got ladders. Have you found that angora/merino yarn has this downfall? I can’t for the life of me knit this up without ladders. I just had to clip off a section and throw it away because I had worked it over too much ripping it out to try again.

Tanks,Hollie

Which yarn are you using?

Hi Ladies,

I have the advantage of having a wonderful kady who is in Philadelphia & is a Plymouth Yarn Co. distrubutor. Since I am a business, I am able to purchase my yarns wholesale, which is a blessing, because we all know how much importanted fancy yarns can cost. I have knit with other brands of yarns as well…Lion Brand Wool Ease is great, especially when you can get it on sale…I have also used Trendsetter yarns in combination with another yarn. I love to combine textures when knitting scarves or shawls. I’m currently knitting a child’s (size 2 for a boy) sweater using Plymouth’s Sockotta & Plymouth Alpaca. I just love making baby & children’s items!
As another poster said in an earlier thread, there are so many yarns out there in the marketplace, you just have to find 1 or 2 or 82 LOL:lol: that you feel comfortable with!
Have a happy knitting day!:cheering:

What a blessing, knit4u!!!

I love knitpicks yarns and Noro but those are the only good yarns I’ve tryed. I all so like cotton yarns like Peaches n’ Cream and Sugar n’ Cream. I don’t like the frizz yarns, I bought a few skein of some at walmart awhile back and it was a nightmare to knit with. I don’t remember what brand it was now.

Go here
http://www.knitpicks.com/content/index.php/cat/articles/yarn-weights/
for a good discussion of yarn weights.

My advice is to [B]not[/B] buy yarn off the internet. Go to your local yarn shop where you can touch all the yarn and also receive expert help when needed for free. Everyone benefits.

I was a little disappointed with Caron’s Perfect Match. It is a good yarn, but it fuzzed up too much after washing.

I like Dazzleaire, which they don’t make anymore. You can find it on Ebay sometimes.

This is my first message on this site. So glad for all the information I have learn from this wonderful site and all the wonderful people that contribute. I am also glad you ask that question. It is the same question I was going to ask. Have knitted for a couple of years and bought way to much yarn on ebay looking for the best yarn. I also have visit many yarn shops and I still do not know what is some of the best yarn to use. Would like anyone who has a favorite to let all the new knitters know what their favorite yarn is and why and what the worst yarn is and why. I know we all have different opinions but if a favorite yarn keeps coming up it would be one I know I would try using. When one spends so much time knitting or in my case many times unknitting having a really good yarn makes knitting a wonderful pleasure. Thanks for all who gave their personal opinion on their favorite yarn. Knit in peace and joy!

This is my first message on this site. So glad for all the information I have learn from this wonderful site and all the wonderful people that contribute. I am also glad you ask that question. It is the same question I was going to ask. Have knitted for a couple of years and bought way to much yarn on ebay looking for the best yarn. I also have visit many yarn shops and I still do not know what is some of the best yarn to use. Would like anyone who has a favorite to let all the new knitters know what their favorite yarn is and why and what the worst yarn is and why. I know we all have different opinions but if a favorite yarn keeps coming up it would be one I know I would try using. When one spends so much time knitting or in my case many times unknitting having a really good yarn makes knitting a wonderful pleasure. Thanks for all who gave their personal opinion on their favorite yarn. Knit in peace and joy!:hug:

Hi Shandeh,
Nice to meet you & thank you for responding to my thread. Have you every used Plymouth Galway yarn for any of your lovely projects? I made a beautiful Aran style afghan for my daughter as part of her bridal shower gift. I have a website www.veronica-sews.com
where I display the afghan…I will be starting a baby blanket using Dreambaby DK in the very near future…just finishing a child’s sweater. Are a store owner/teacher of knitting or a knitter for pleasure? You have so many wonderful suggestions & ideas for our fellow knitters! Thanks for sharing & have a wonderful Sunday.
Veronica

Hi All,

Has anyone seen some of the gorgeous Plymouth Yarn Co. Fall '07 yarns? There are some outstanding Alpaca’s…check them out.

Have a happy knitting day!:hug:
Veronica

Thank you for the sweet encouragement, Veronica! :muah:
(Nice to meet you too!) :slight_smile:

I’ve never tried that yarn, but I’ve used some other Plymouth yarns. I’ll have to check it out, because that afghan of yours is GORGEOUS!!! :inlove: (I’ve attached a photo so we can all see it here.)

I am not a shop owner, but my cousin is! She owns Cottage Yarn in Mint Hill, North Carolina. I sometimes hang out there, just for fun. I was interested in working there at one time, but just couldn’t handle the physical work involved of setting up displays and stuff. So, I prefer to just be a friend of the owner. :thumbsup:

I tried to add the photo, but it didn’t work, so here it is.

Knit4u’s GORGEOUS afghan!

There are some of us who did just that on the first page of this thread. :thumbsup:

If you tick with the more well known labels I think you will be happy… the less expensive yarns from the big box stores looks good at first but with washing I’ve found most do not hold up… It takes so much work to knit :x: an item to have it fuzz or worse after a washing or two.:eyes: