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budster_gw

How much of a yarn purist are you?

budster
16 years ago

do you only purchase well known brand names or do you like an adventure? I have bought some duds in my time and other times I've across some very good inexpensive copys of different wool styles. The latest find was some very good short eyelash from the dollar store. It is as soft and as easy to work with as the more expensive brand I had been using. So do you take the road to adventure or do you stay faithful to brand name? Oh and I'm going back to get a few more of the cheaper balls for my wool stash, you just never know. Budster

Comments (8)

  • donna_loomis
    16 years ago

    I really don't mean to offend anyone, but often I think that yarn "purist" can translate into yarn"snob". Yes, there are some brands that I really like, but I don't let a brand name dictate my purchases. More likely, I will choose a yarn based on what it is made of (different types for different projects) and feel, and how it is to be laundered (again, a project may beg for a certain type).

    I just finished 2 scarves with some off brand boucle I purchased for $1 a skein, and I am perfectly happy with them.

  • scrappyjack
    16 years ago

    Oh, I like to experiment with whatever I find. I'm a "thrifty" gal. (cheap) LOL!

    I don't like to spend more than $3 on a skein of yarn. I love to find a goldmine in a thrift store or dollar store.

    I did find Lion Brand suede yarn at Ollie's for .99c a skein. WOW! Originally marked $7.99! YIKES! Why did I only buy 3?????

    I'm still beating myself up for that one!

    Jackie

  • Miss EFF
    16 years ago

    I guess I'm a yarn snob.......... I put alot of time in my knitting projects and I want them to last. I have sweaters that I have made that have gone thru 3 generations and still look lovely.

    I knit only with natural fibers because I'm allergic to acrylic. (Go figure that one -- but I can't wear it!!)

    I don't care about brands as much as fiber and hand. And I love alpacas and cashmeres and merinos. But I have taken up spinning to stretch my knitting dollar --so I tell my husband!! Lots of people say that they use acrylic due to washablity but the washable wools are so easy to launder. And I like the "breathability" of natural fibers.

    Cathy

  • donna_loomis
    16 years ago

    Cathy, I don't think you're a yarn snob. You're particular. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's your right.

    If I am making a trendy scarf that I'm pretty sure is not going to be a "classic", I'm not as likely to spend a lot on the yarn, but I still want it to feel nice next to my skin.

    If I am making something that I think may be passed down, of course I choose the yarn accordingly. I love natural fibers, but I often used blends of natural and not natural.

    I think a yarn snob is more likely to name drop (label names) or tell you how expensive the yarn they buy is in hopes of impressing others.

    Sometimes knitters and crocheters mistakenly think that natural fibers are always going to be more expensive, and that is really not the case. I have picked up some very nice natural fiber yarns at elann.com (Peruvian Baby Silk and Peruvian Baby Cashmere, for instance) at very reasonable prices. I used the Baby Silk to make a lovely pair of gloves for my mother and am saving the Baby Cashmere for a pair of socks for at home wearing.

  • jannie
    16 years ago

    I'm not a snob. I'll knit with anything from cashmere to fun yarn to chenille . The only yarn I don't like is sport yarn because it's so thin and the needles you use are so small. My favorite is chunky weight, it works up fast, which I love.

  • ironkit
    16 years ago

    I'm like Clink. I'm yarn snob. I don't care what the brand is, but I prefer a brand I can trust, and I want natural fibers that will suit my project.

    If I'm going to spend major time on a project, I want it to be the best quality that it can be. I honestly save for months before I buy yarn for a sweater, because I want it to last and be something I can treasure for as long as I can.

    ~ Kit

  • Miss EFF
    16 years ago

    Kit -- I just laugh at myself constantly! I will scrimp and save to knit a merino/alpaca sweater, just to wear it with blue jeans from Goodwill!!!

    I recently bought a lovely Anne Klein wool coat at Goodwill for $5.38 and then bought $60 worth of cashmere for a scarf!!! And I have to spin it first!!!

    Does it make sense??? Nope!! But its what I do!

    Cathy

  • ironkit
    16 years ago

    Hahah. Me too! Maybe it comes with the "I made this myself!" thing. I don't care how long my Ragstock jeans last me, 'cause I didn't make them myself. But that sweater that took me 60+ hours to knit? Better last a durn lifetime!

    ~ Kit

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