MATERIALS & TOOLS
Acrylic is the go-to choice for many crocheters. It’s cheap, comes in a
huge variety of finishes and colours, and is widely available. Acrylic is
not as breathable or absorbent as wool, but it’s machine washable
and tough, as you’ll know if you’ve ever tried to break a strand with
your hands! Pure acrylic yarn is often used for homewares, baby
clothes and blankets, and rough-and-tumble children’s garments,
and the fibre is also added as a mixer to many of the most popular
yarns available. It’s perfect too for outside makes, like bunting, as it
will withstand any weather and dry out quickly. If you’re on a tight
budget, it’s a great way of keeping the cost down, with acrylic yarns
starting from around £1 per 100g ball.ACRYLIC
Blends are among the most popular yarns. Mills mix different fibres to
create yarns that combine the best of both worlds. Want a summer
yarn that feels light and breezy? Try cotton with lightweight acrylic.
Love alpaca but it’s just too hot? An alpaca/wool or cotton mix will be
perfect! Blends also enable mills to create unusual yarns; synthetic
fibres are often used to bind ‘feature’ items like sequins to the main
strand of yarn. Synthetic fibres can be much cheaper than animal or
plant fibres, too. If you adore cashmere, silk or wool, keep your eyes
peeled for blended yarns that feature some of your favourite fibre.
It’ll usually be mixed with acrylic, viscose or nylon, and will often be
cheaper, giving you more for your pennies!
BLENDS
The classic summer yarn, cotton is also a favourite with crocheters
all-year round, and those who are allergic to animal fibres. While cotton
has little elasticity, it’s extremely strong when spun, and takes colour
beautifully. If you’re crocheting something in cotton you don’t need to
fully soak it to block it when you’re finished – in fact, if you get it very wet
you may over-stretch it. Instead, just lie it flat on an ironing board or
clean sheet, and give it a good blast of steam from your steam iron.
Crisp, cool cotton is perfect for children’s garments, because it can
be washed on hot temperatures. Lightweight cotton is also a great
choice for lace tops and cardigans, but if you want to make a shawl with
it, consider using a cotton/wool mix to stop it from stretching too much
when it’s being blocked.COTTON
One of the first fibres ever spun, linen flax comes from plants. It’s very
strong and light, but has a tendency to crease in woven fabric. Happily,
this is much less obvious in knitted or crocheted fabric. Like wool, linen
is highly absorbent, and suitable for warm and cold weather, although
it tends to be favoured for summer makes. Linen is labour intensive to
produce, but new linen yarns include recycled fibres, making them
more environmentally friendly. Unlike cotton, linen isn’t prone to
stretching, and tends to soften with washing. Linen yarns are still fairly
few and far between, but worth tracking down. They’re great for lace,
but the lack of bounce makes them less suited to cables. If you want a
dramatic, drapey garment, consider linen!LINEN