My 10 favourite yarns and how and what to use them for

Sirdar Snuggly double knit (light worsted) is my all time favourite yarn. It’s soft, comes in a wide range of colours and crochets beautifully. It washes well, it’s soft enough to make a baby blanket or a throw. I’ve used it for scarves and it feels beautifully soft next to your skin. Well priced it would be too soft for a bag or basket.

Bergere de France. I’ve used a few of the Bergere yarns range. I started out with the double knit and it was my favourite yarn for throws and baby blankets, but Sirdar Snuggly won me over! The quality of the double knit is excellent and the range of colours tend to be brighter than Sirdar Snuggly so if you want something bright go for the Bergere. It is priced higher than the Sirdar double knit and this helped in my decision. Bergere De France washes well.

DMC Petra is a finer yarn and it comes in 3,5,8 weights. All are more suitable to lace type crochet. It has a gorgeous soft sheen and comes in a wide range of colours with some very welcome brighter colours. I’ve used number 3 and 8. It is slightly thicker than traditional lace crochet cottons so if you are new to lace crochet this would be a good yarn to start with. Petra would make a lovely light weight summer scarf and fine baby blanket or shawl.

Sirdar Calico DK(light worsted) cotton as with all Sirdar yarns is a well priced quality yarn. It crochets beautifully and I love the colour range which goes from subtle greens, and greys, pinks, amber and baby blue. It would make a lovely summer waistcoat or more formal style crochet jacket, summer knits and I’ve used it for baskets and bags. It is very soft but more rigid than double knit wool or acrylic.

Manos de Uruguay. I used Maxima to make a cascade scarf. It was a joy to use, soft, warm and cuddly and it has a lovely finish. This extra fine merino is a hand dyed yarn and this shows in the finish. You will find slubs and variations in the colour but I see this as a sign of originality and I love the finish this produces. Manos del Uruguay is a non profit cooperative of women in the countryside of Uruguay. Maxima is 100% merino wool.

Sugar n Cream Sugar n Cream is a soft and strong yarn Arran weight (worsted) and makes a relatively strong and rigid structure perfect for crochet baskets and bags. Hardwearing, it works perfectly for place mats and rugs. Excellently priced and 100% cotton Sugar and Cream is a very economical yarn to use for larger projects. It comes in multiple colours and different ranges from solid colours to the denim and ombre ranges. It is also available in stripes and twists to a more subtle scents range ideal for baby blankets. Available in 50gram balls  I’d love to try using Sugar n cream for coverings for jars and macramé plant hangers. Use Sugar n Cream to crochet children’s toys, bibs, and baby blankets, dishcloths and sandals.

Puppets Eldorado Puppets Eldorado cotton comes in a whole range of colours and sizes 6, 10, 12, 16. The traditional colours still exist but for a more contemporary look go for a darker colour. Colours range from pale pinks and blues to darker like a deep red, dark brown, black and dark green. I love the broze and gold yellow. Puppets Eldorado also comes in a range of lovely blends which I’ve used for my 3D flowers. I used Puppets Eldorado number 10 for my gold table runner and number 20 for my pot pourri bags, it’s 100% cotton and lovely quality. Use puppets Eldorado to make traditional doilies and table covers but for delicate edgings and flower trims for summer straw hats. Use Puppets Eldorado to make a lovely anniversary or wedding gift when crocheted to match bought towels.

Sirdar Baby Bamboo is a soft yarn with a lovely sheen and comes in a gorgeous choice of colours, pinks, red, shades of green and blue and more subtle greys and browns. I use Baby Bamboo a lot in cushions and baby blankets and you can see it here in my summer holdall.  Baby bamboo while reasonably priced does not go as far as other 50 gram yarns so it makes sense then to combine it with another type of yarn.

Louisa Harding Azalea is a soft 100% cotton DK(light worsted) print yarn that comes in a choice of subtle blended colours, including heather and rusty purple subtle blends with multiple colours per ball. Azalea has an elegant drape effect which you can see in the cascade scarf I made. Used in combination with a Bergere de France Ideal wool based yarn the result was a lovely soft drape tweed scarf. Azalea is perfect for beautiful warm weather knits and stunning shawls. As you would expect from a cotton yarn, it has fantastic stitch definition.  Azalea is machine washable.

Sirdar Crofter double knit (light worsted is a quality yarn priced well. Very soft it was designed to create a Fair Isle effect in knitted jumpers and cardigans. I’ve seen Crofter used in knitting to create that lovely Fair Isle look, but you can also use Crofter very effectively in crochet tops and jackets. When you use it for scarves, cushions or throws, Crofter will make a simple design look much more intricate than it really is.