Hairy and fluffy yarns are wonderfully tactile and look beautiful in a finished knitted or crocheted item. However, at a first glance these type of yarns may seem trickier to knit, especially if you haven’t had much practice. We feature a few fluffy yarns in our collection – including in our Kit 1 ~ Terry Towel ~ a fluffy fashion yarn. Here are some handy hints to help you when dealing with hairy yarn.
1. Run the yarn over a candle
This will help the yarn to flow more easily and the stitches will show more clearly. Remember to wash the squares when you are finished.
2. Use light
If you are having difficulty seeing the stitches, hold the work up to a light source – a window with light (or sun) coming through. Alternatively, hold it in front of a bright lamp.
3. Don’t pull the yarn too tight
This will make it harder to see the stitches individually.
4. Use a teasel brush
If the hairs on the yarn get caught in the fabric you can use a teasel brush to lightly comb the square, so bringing the pile/fluff back to the fabric.
5. Track your rows
It’s much better to track your rows as you go along or if you use a stitch counter, as it may be harder to count your stitches as you work your way through your project.
6. Keep going!
Knitting these yarns is slightly easier than crochet, as with knitting you can clearly see your stitches on the needles. While Crocheting with hairy yarn can be tricky to see stitches clearly. However, after a foundation row this should become a lot easier – and the results will end up fabulous! So be patient if this is your first time with these types of yarns, as the luxurious soft feel of the end result will be worth the little extra effort.
Here are some more general tips how to work with fancy yarn.
1. Try to feel your stitches instead of seeing them. Once you do a few rounds you should be able to get a feel for where your stitches are as you learn the new yarn/hook tension.
As you can see below image, it is almost impossible to see the stitches.
2. Count! Divide your round up into 4/5/6, etc. sections – use metal safety pins or extra thread markers if it helps and know how many stitches need to be in each section.
3. Don’t be too concerned if you’ve got an extra stitch or are one stitch short. Unless you’re 3 or 4 or more off, you won’t see a big difference. If you are off by a lot, carefully frog back because otherwise you’ll end up with funny dints and bumps even the fluffy yarn won’t be able to hide. If the yarn gets stuck, use a sewing needle to help you to frog. If you pull it hard, it will only get more stuck so you will need to cut the yarn.
4. Do not start working with this type of yarn if you are a beginner crocheter. First, try crocheting the toys with smooth yarn. When you feel confident enough, start getting some new experience with fluffy yarn.
5. If you are just getting acquainted with this type of yarn, we recommend that you avoid dark colors at first. Choose light colors to learn how to crochet with fluffy yarn.
6. Make sure you have enough light around you.
7. If you use eyelash yarn, try to rewind the skein before you start.