Notes and Caution! I forgot to say that Valley Yarns is the in house brand for Webs Yarn Store, aka yarn.com. And it can now be purchased through Lovecrafts its. parent company. Word of caution: I love Webs, but they're photos for color are notoriously inaccurate. Colors are often brighter or darker than they appear in the photos. The yarn I show is Lilac and if you look at it on Webs it looks much lighter than in person.
I have a sweater of the Patons. It is slightly "rustic" for me but not so much that I take it off. I love that it is hard wearing, a basic color, and a simple design.
Great recommendations. I would add Purl Soho yarns when PS is running a big sale. Yes, they are more expensive than the yarns you recommend but they are gorgeous. Their Linen Quill (439 yds in 100 g hanks) is amazing to work with and comes in more than 50 colors. It's a fingering weight so goes a very long way. Also their Good Wool is great. It's a sport weight and the hank (383 yds in 100g) also comes in lots of colors. These are both pricier than the yarns you mentioned, but they are lovely and not as expensive as many yarns that don't compare in quality.
Patons Classic Wool is such amazing staple/workhorse yarn. That and Canadiana (when it was 50% wool, 50% acrylic; way back in the 90s lol) were what I really started knitting with as a baby knitter. Love WotA both worsted and sport weights. Haven't ordered from Webs (gasp! the shock!) but shipping is just ridiculous, especially adding the exchange rate on top. I haven't ordered from KnitPicks in 3 years for the same reason 😢 My go-to workhorse wool yarn is Briggs & Little Heritage. B&L is the oldest mill in Atlantic Canada; they're located in lovely New Brunswick. Heritage comes in a lot of fantastic colours, and it's very sheepy. It is fairly rustic (sometimes there are bits of straw to be plucked out), but it wears like iron. For me it's hats, mittens, outerwear sweaters. It plays **really** well with cable patterns. And! It's sold all over the place! I can pop into our local discount department store (think baby Target; it's called Rossy) if I'm only needing one or two hanks and not picky about what colour I get. Or I head across the street to the furniture/sewing shop that has a healthy yarn selection if I want better colours. I'm knitting a hooded cloak from B&L H right now; like right this minute as I'm catching up with the ewe-tubes 😉😂 Anyway, off my soapbox now lol
Yes shipping. I don't know if it helps that Valley Yarns is now available through Lovecrafts or not. But, sounds like you have a lovely selection of home milked yarns in Canada.
I have practically every color of Patons's Classic Worsted and I can't die until I knit it all. It's a rustic yarn. Beware -- Big mistake: I made a turtleneck, cabled dickie which turns out to be the sort of gift you give to that woman who stole your boyfriend so her neck will scratch all day long. She deserves it if she tried to fit into the ski suit you left at his place. When it comes to sweaters, the wool is a workhorse as you said and makes for nice, warm winter sweaters, sometimes as warm as an overcoat! Don't let Joann's figure this out or the bonanza will die: When they say 40% off one item and you order on line several skeins of one color, then the discount applies to the whole purchase, not to just one skein. Don't tell them. It's a good bargain. Michaels has good prices on a lot of ten skeins of one color, but their choices are limited.
I’ve used two of the three yarns you recommended and thought of them immediately for economy go-tos. The third I haven’t tried but now I will. Thank you!
There is a Valley Yarn Hapmpden that is 50% Baby Alpaca, 35% Merino Wool & 15% Silk. What is your opinion of this blend? Would it be good for a sweater? Thanks ReneeLange
Hi. Thank you for the question. I haven't used this particular yarn myself. However, the blend sounds lovely with next to the skin softness. I'd use it for sweaters where I wanted a little more drape. Baby Alpaca and silk are both inelastic fibers so they usually create more drape. But, the merino should provide elasticity so the sweater maintains its shape and any ribbing is functional. When swatching I would do a hang test to test for all this however.
I'm not sure with Premiere. I have not noticed much relying with normal use of the other two. I normally wash in lukewarm water with minimal agitation to prevent unwanted felting.
Notes and Caution! I forgot to say that Valley Yarns is the in house brand for Webs Yarn Store, aka yarn.com. And it can now be purchased through Lovecrafts its. parent company.
Word of caution: I love Webs, but they're photos for color are notoriously inaccurate. Colors are often brighter or darker than they appear in the photos. The yarn I show is Lilac and if you look at it on Webs it looks much lighter than in person.
thanks for taking the time to break down the price points and scratchiness of the color differences in each!
I have a sweater of the Patons. It is slightly "rustic" for me but not so much that I take it off. I love that it is hard wearing, a basic color, and a simple design.
Great recommendations. I would add Purl Soho yarns when PS is running a big sale. Yes, they are more expensive than the yarns you recommend but they are gorgeous. Their Linen Quill (439 yds in 100 g hanks) is amazing to work with and comes in more than 50 colors. It's a fingering weight so goes a very long way. Also their Good Wool is great. It's a sport weight and the hank (383 yds in 100g) also comes in lots of colors. These are both pricier than the yarns you mentioned, but they are lovely and not as expensive as many yarns that don't compare in quality.
Thank you! I’m a beginning knitter and don’t want to break the bank on my sweater projects ( I make mistakes sometimes …)
Patons Classic Wool is such amazing staple/workhorse yarn. That and Canadiana (when it was 50% wool, 50% acrylic; way back in the 90s lol) were what I really started knitting with as a baby knitter. Love WotA both worsted and sport weights. Haven't ordered from Webs (gasp! the shock!) but shipping is just ridiculous, especially adding the exchange rate on top. I haven't ordered from KnitPicks in 3 years for the same reason 😢
My go-to workhorse wool yarn is Briggs & Little Heritage. B&L is the oldest mill in Atlantic Canada; they're located in lovely New Brunswick. Heritage comes in a lot of fantastic colours, and it's very sheepy. It is fairly rustic (sometimes there are bits of straw to be plucked out), but it wears like iron. For me it's hats, mittens, outerwear sweaters. It plays **really** well with cable patterns. And! It's sold all over the place! I can pop into our local discount department store (think baby Target; it's called Rossy) if I'm only needing one or two hanks and not picky about what colour I get. Or I head across the street to the furniture/sewing shop that has a healthy yarn selection if I want better colours. I'm knitting a hooded cloak from B&L H right now; like right this minute as I'm catching up with the ewe-tubes 😉😂 Anyway, off my soapbox now lol
Yes shipping. I don't know if it helps that Valley Yarns is now available through Lovecrafts or not. But, sounds like you have a lovely selection of home milked yarns in Canada.
I love, love, love Valley Yarns for my work horse yarns! Then again they are my local yarn company
I want to visit the store some day. I need to visit my sister in Maine.
I have practically every color of Patons's Classic Worsted and I can't die until I knit it all. It's a rustic yarn. Beware -- Big mistake: I made a turtleneck, cabled dickie which turns out to be the sort of gift you give to that woman who stole your boyfriend so her neck will scratch all day long. She deserves it if she tried to fit into the ski suit you left at his place. When it comes to sweaters, the wool is a workhorse as you said and makes for nice, warm winter sweaters, sometimes as warm as an overcoat! Don't let Joann's figure this out or the bonanza will die: When they say 40% off one item and you order on line several skeins of one color, then the discount applies to the whole purchase, not to just one skein. Don't tell them. It's a good bargain. Michaels has good prices on a lot of ten skeins of one color, but their choices are limited.
I’ve used two of the three yarns you recommended and thought of them immediately for economy go-tos. The third I haven’t tried but now I will. Thank you!
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy Northampton as much as I do. 😊
There is a Valley Yarn Hapmpden that is 50% Baby Alpaca, 35% Merino Wool & 15% Silk. What is your opinion of this blend? Would it be good for a sweater? Thanks ReneeLange
Hi. Thank you for the question. I haven't used this particular yarn myself. However, the blend sounds lovely with next to the skin softness. I'd use it for sweaters where I wanted a little more drape.
Baby Alpaca and silk are both inelastic fibers so they usually create more drape. But, the merino should provide elasticity so the sweater maintains its shape and any ribbing is functional. When swatching I would do a hang test to test for all this however.
How much do these options felt after longer use?
I'm not sure with Premiere. I have not noticed much relying with normal use of the other two. I normally wash in lukewarm water with minimal agitation to prevent unwanted felting.