Yarn Review – Lily Sugar’n’Cream

Stats

Name: Lily Sugar’n’Cream Ombre

Price: from £2.50 for the solids up to around £4 for Ombres, Scents, etc.

Ball Weight: from 55g for prints to around 71g for solids

Yarn Weight: Worsted

Yardage: 94 yards for prints, 119 yards for solids

Fibre Blend: 100% Cotton

You can find my project using this yarn here.

What Are the Yarns Benefits

There is a huge choice of patterns, prints, colours and even smells. And a lot of them will match up across ranges, so you can mix and match further.

This yarn is very robust and works up very quickly. It makes perfect dish cloths, tea towels and face scrubbies, as well as Octos.

It can be washed at high heat so from a hygiene point of view it would be great for children’s toys.

What Are Its Drawbacks

As they are American the weights of the balls are really weird! Not a huge problem but it means you have to think a little harder when doing the maths around a pattern.

This yarn is really rough on your hands – it makes your hands feel quite dry.

As is so robust and thick I don’t think it would make especially good garments – it wouldn’t have much drape of much stretch.

It was also quite splitty when I was crocheting it.

Finally, some of these yarns are not colourfast – watch out for the yarns containing indigo dye.

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 6/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 5/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 5/10

Final Score – 16/30

Yarn Review – Stylecraft Special DK Chunky

Stats

Name: Stylecraft Special DK Chunky

Price: £1.80 to £1.90

Ball Weight: 100g

Yarn Weight: Chunky

Yardage: 157 yards

Fibre Blend: 100% Acrylic

You can find my project using this yarn here.

What Are the Yarns Benefits

First of all this yarn comes in 35 shades so you are bound to find something suitable for you for any project.

It works up super quickly – I managed to finish crocheting a Hat in just 2 hours and a matching scarf in approximately 3 hours, so it’s great if you need to whip something up on short notice.

It is surprisingly soft – you can tell its acrylic but it isn’t itchy of squeaky, making quite a cosy and warm hat.

It is machine washable, so would make it perfect for blankets and garments.

What Are Its Drawbacks

It does have a little of that acrylic sheen to it – it is clear that it is acrylic so is perhaps not suited for more discerning projects.

Consistent with other acrylic yarns, it is a little fuzzy, meaning the stitch definition isn’t as crisp.

Other than that there really aren’t any other drawbacks to this yarn. It is great value for money and does its job well.

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 9/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 8/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 7/10

Final Score – 24/30

Yarn Review – King Cole Giza Sorbet

Stats

Name: King Cole Giza Sorbet

Price: £2.99

Ball Weight: 50g

Yarn Weight: 4ply

Yardage: 173 yards

Fibre Blend: 100% cotton

You can find my project using this yarn here.

What Are the Yarns Benefits

First of all, the colours are lovely. There are 10 colourways to choose from and they are all equally lovely. Because the colour pallets are quite subdued and gentle, you get a lovely subtle pattern in your work. Its great if you want to give a bit more visual texture to a fairly repetitive stitch pattern. 

It is lovely and light to work with. I imagine it would make a lovely light summer top. Or a delicate wrap or shawl. 

It glides over the hook smoothly and has a wonderful sleek sheen to it and the stitch definition is just beautiful.

What Are Its Drawbacks

I cant really see any drawbacks. It is quite thin so I personally found it hard to grip. It aggravated my carpal tunnel syndrome. But this is more a fault on my part than a drawback to the yarn. 

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 8/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 7/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 8/10

Final Score – 23/30

Yarn Review – Scheepjes Colour Crafter

Stats

Name: Scheepjes Colour Crafter

Price: Between £1.99 and £2.39

Ball Weight: 100g

Yarn Weight: DK

Yardage: 328 Yards

Fibre Blend: 100% Acrylic

You can find my project using this yarn here. I am also working on a CAL using this yarn now. Here are my first 2 months work, here and here. 

What Are the Yarns Benefits
This yarn is so soft. I mean mega soft. So unbelievably soft which you would not expect from an acrylic yarn. It makes the warmest, snuggest blankets ever. 

It comes in so many beautiful colours – almost 100 shades in every colour imaginable. A veritable rainbow! And it is such good value for money – at only £1.99 you can use it to make all sorts of items for little cost. Once I have got through some of my enormous stash I may grab some more of this yarn to make a brightly coloured cardigan. 

It is lovely and smooth . It glides over the hook so smoothly and is lovely and soft in your hands. And for an acrylic, it also has wonderful stitch definition. 

What Are Its Drawbacks

The only slight issue I had was a minor amount of piling. When exposed to friction it does fuzz up a little – this was a particular problem for me when I would a centre pull ball too tightly and ended up a big tangled mess. So my advice would be to relax the tension a bit if you choose to wind it into a centre pull. 

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 8/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 9/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 9/10

Final Score – 26/30

Yarn Review – Knitcraft Hug It Out

Stats

Name: Knitcraft Hug It Out

Price: £5 But often in a 3 for 2 offer

Ball Weight: 200g

Yarn Weight: Super Chunky

Yardage: 64 yards

Fibre Blend: 100% Acrylic

You can find my project using this yarn here.

What Are the Yarns Benefits

I love the colours this is available in. A selection of warm, neutral and cool shades. The orange colour I chose was just divine! 

It is very soft and squashy and warm – it makes a lovely squishy scarf. I imagine it would make a super squashy throw or a great wintery jumper.

What Are Its Drawbacks

It was quite splitty. Perhaps this is because I am knew to knitting, but I think it would have been quite splitty had I crocheted with it too. The downside of its squishiness is that there isn’t as much twist so the fibres are easier to split. 

And although being soft and squashy it is quite obvious that it is made from acrylic – it has a bit of squeakiness going over the needles and a little plastic shine. 

Finally whilst the colours they have are gorgeous, there arent nearly enough of them! With only 7 shades to choose from there isn’t a lot of choice. 

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 7/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 7/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 5/10

Final Score – 19/30

Yarn Review – Sirdar Big Bamboo

Hi all! I tried to start a regular yarn review last year and only managed 2 before forgetting. Doh! I am going to try again to publish a regular review again. Lets see if I can keep it up for longer this time! 
 Stats

Name: Sirdar Big Bamboo

Price: Around £4.30

Ball Weight: 50g

Yarn Weight: Super Chunky

Yardage: 43 Yards

Fibre Blend: 50% Bamboo, 30% Acrylic, 20% Wool

What Are the Yarns Benefits
My Favourite thing about this yarn is a typical love I suppose – its lovely chunkiness means it works up super fast.

It has a lovely cloudy texture – soft and fuzzy and warm. 

I loved working with it – it was very gentle on the hands and very smooth over the hook – no splitting and no tangling. 

What Are Its Drawbacks

My biggest issue is the price – It took me about 6 balls just to make the above scarf. Now I got this yarn at a heavily discounted rate at a yarn show (although for the life of me I cant remember what it cost me). But at its standard price, this scarf would have cost me around £25 which is quite a lot. It would be quite an outlay to make anything of substantial in size. 

I also don’t think this yarn is super versatile. I love the scarf I made from it but the stitch I chose reduced the soft cloudiness somewhat. I think this yarn would be better suited to light airy floaty garments, so it retains its soft airy nature. 

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 6/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 8/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 8/10

Final Score – 22/30

  

Yarn Review – Caron Cakes

Stats
Name: Caron Cakes

Price: £10 (often on offer 3 for 2)

Ball Weight: 200g

Yarn Weight: Aran

Yardage: 766 yards

Fibre Blend: 80% Acrylic 20% Wool

You can find projects of mine using this yarn here and here. 

What Are the Yarns Benefits

The most obvious of the benefits of this yarn are the wonderful colour combos! It is so comforting to have the colour combo picked for you and to know it will all look lovely together. 

Another benefit is the lack of ends to weave in… All yarnies know exactly how infuriatingly boring sewing in ends is. So having such lovely colour changes without the ends to sew in is fab.

The size of the ball is also great – I managed to make a baby blanket out of 2 cakes and a shawl out of 1 cake. It goes far. And the fact that it is already wound into a lovely center pull cake makes it so quick and easy to get stuck into a projects.

What Are Its Drawbacks

The biggest drawback is the price. At £10 a ball it is quite expensive considering it is just acrylic. 

Another drawback is the consistency of the dye – a number of blogs who I follow have renarked to the same effect. It doesnt seem to be as noticable in tricolour and gradiated colourways, like bumbleberry or cake pop, but the rainbow ones seem to have horrible brown splodges in them, presumably owing to the mixing of too many colours on one spot.  

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 7/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 6/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 6/10

Final Score – 19/30

Yarn Review – Wendy Ramsdale

I have decided that as I am an avid yarn purchaser and user, It would be a good idea to start formally reviewing the yarns. So I have come up with this template (please let me know if there is any information that you would find useful and I will include it in my next yarn review). I plan to release a new review every 2 weeks. 

Stats
Name: Wendy Ramsdale

Price: £3.29

Ball Weight: 50g

Yarn Weight: DK

Yardage: 112 Meters

Fibre Blend: 100% Ramsdale Wool

You can find my project using this yarn here.

What Are the Yarns Benefits

The yarn has a lovely feel to it – it is very rustic but is fairly soft too. This means it could be used for both rustic homewared and outerware.

It glides lovely over your hook, and when I used it it didnt seem to get tangled easy and there were no knots. 

It also goes far – I managed to design a waistcoat using just 2 balls! So in terms of cost effectiveness, it is great! 

What Are Its Drawbacks

Whilst the colours are lovely they are limited. They only come in 12 shades, so there isnt the greatest choice. 

It also has a tendency to pile a little – my waistcoat still looks cute but it is getting fluffy and the fringe has started to stick to its self. 

Finally, whilst I have said it is soft, I wouldnt say it is soft enough to be used for garments that would be in contact with sensitive areas such as scarfs.

My Rating

Versatility (does it have multiple uses?) – 6/10

Wearability (how comfortable is it to wear) – 6/10

Workability (how nice is it to work with?) – 7/10

Final Score – 19/30