It’s not considering the value of my time; a decent (actually wearable) yarn is far more expensive than most people think.
I would consider it a waste of my time to spend a couple hundred hours on a garment that’s barely wearable because it’s uncomfortable and borderline not washable. That’s what you will get with any yarn that won’t cost you over $50 in materials for a simple pattern.
Cheap yarns are fine for beginner projects that aren’t made to be worn, but if you’re putting that much of your effort into a garment meant to be used, you should not be using bargain yarn. Your effort is worth too much to sabotage yourself that way.
TIL! I want to get my niece some pretty yarn (she’s just getting in to crochet) but i have no idea how to choose. I just go by “ooo pretty” and “ooo soft” and if it scores high on both, i get it for her. so far so good.
Natural yarns are almost always best for wearables. It doesn’t need to be fancy (other than ooo pretty, which is my biggest criteria, too). I’d avoid 100% polyester, or high blends.
Personally, I love knitting with bamboo blends, and they’re quite affordable. They’re not suited for everything, but many feel like silk whilst wearing like cotton. And they’re often more sustainable.
It doesn’t wear as well as wool or cashmere in all contexts, but it’s affordable and very pleasant to knit with (eta: sometimes especially beginners have issues with lower end wools, which might be scratchy and which can cause friction issues in sensitive finger folds). I’d say it’s miles better for a beginner than polyester, and often comparably priced.
Yep. Often when I wear a new jumper or whatever around people who know I knit, I get asked ‘oh, that’s pretty, did you make it?’
Lol no, that would have cost me like 5 times more. I couldn’t afford to make it myself.
is that just the value of your time or are you considering you’d use the fanciest yarn too?
It’s not considering the value of my time; a decent (actually wearable) yarn is far more expensive than most people think.
I would consider it a waste of my time to spend a couple hundred hours on a garment that’s barely wearable because it’s uncomfortable and borderline not washable. That’s what you will get with any yarn that won’t cost you over $50 in materials for a simple pattern.
Cheap yarns are fine for beginner projects that aren’t made to be worn, but if you’re putting that much of your effort into a garment meant to be used, you should not be using bargain yarn. Your effort is worth too much to sabotage yourself that way.
TIL! I want to get my niece some pretty yarn (she’s just getting in to crochet) but i have no idea how to choose. I just go by “ooo pretty” and “ooo soft” and if it scores high on both, i get it for her. so far so good.
Natural yarns are almost always best for wearables. It doesn’t need to be fancy (other than ooo pretty, which is my biggest criteria, too). I’d avoid 100% polyester, or high blends.
Personally, I love knitting with bamboo blends, and they’re quite affordable. They’re not suited for everything, but many feel like silk whilst wearing like cotton. And they’re often more sustainable.
It doesn’t wear as well as wool or cashmere in all contexts, but it’s affordable and very pleasant to knit with (eta: sometimes especially beginners have issues with lower end wools, which might be scratchy and which can cause friction issues in sensitive finger folds). I’d say it’s miles better for a beginner than polyester, and often comparably priced.