Yarn Shopping Tips & Yarn Haul
Find out which yarn’s I’ve purchased, why I’ve bought them in June along with some money saving tips for when you go yarn shopping for your next project.
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Yarn Shopping Tips | Yarn Haul Summer 2022
I am very much a self-confessed yarn addict – that doesn’t mean that I purchase all the yarn, all the time though.
In fact, I want to share my shopping experiences so that you can avoid the yarn shopping mistakes I’ve made and save yourself some pennies on your purchases too.
In this article, I am going to share with you which 4 different yarns that I’ve purchased in June 2022 along with why I purchased them in summer.
I’m also going to share some of my top tips when purchasing yarn online, to ensure you will love the colour you pick and be happy with all your purchases.
If like me, you’ve already made some questionable purchases and they are still hanging around in your stash, I have some great ways to use them up or how to get shot of them.
Yarn Haul June 2022
1. James C Brett Rustic Mega Chunky
As you will discover in my yarn shopping top tips, I often shop for my yarn “off-season”. This means that I will buy cotton yarn in winter or buy bulky or chunky yarn in summer.
My biggest purchase this month was a super chunky yarn pictured above. It has a wool blend and I have a wonderful pattern idea that I know you’ll love.
I grabbed a whopping 10 skeins of this and I might still need more as I want to make a basic chunky sweater for winter with this yarn.
James C Brett Rustic Mega Chunky:
- 100g/3.5oz
- 57m/52yds
- 82% Acrylic, 10% Wool, 8% Viscose
- Size 6/Bulky/Chunky
Available from:
- Hobbycraft – £3.80
- Wool Warehouse – £3.49
I purchased colour code CS26, which features the most beautiful flecks of bright and neon colours against the light cream base of the yarn.
I purchased this yarn from Hobbycraft and as I am an employee, I received my staff discount which helped reduced the price for me. I’ll be using this yarn in the near future, but if you’re in the market for some super chunky yarn, you can’t beat this!
2. Stylecraft Batik Swirl
This yarn cake was purchased to be used in an exclusive video I’m making for Creative Fabrica and I can not wait to see how it works up.
Below you can see the colour way Highland used in my lightweight crochet cowl.
These yarn cakes are right in what I consider a great value price point as the cakes are long and the colour changes workout self striping – and that means colour changes without any ends to weave in my mind!
The yarn is soft and squishy and as it’s a DK (size 3 yarn), it works with a multitude of patterns.
Stylecraft Batik Swirl
- 200g
- 550m
- 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool
- Size 3/DK
Available from
- Wool Warehouse – £8.99
3. Stylecraft Naturals Cotton Bamboo
I am a huge fan of the Stylecraft Natural Bamboo Cotton. This silky, soft blend of cotton creates the most wonderful crochet garments and has featured in a number of my patterns because it’s so lovely to crochet with.
The reason for this purchase was due to my need to finish a new design I’ve been working on which will release for my Granny Stitch event for 2022.
It was also my 2nd order from Wool Warehouse – both made in the same week! Not proving to be very organised with this purchase, but sometimes you just have to pay the shipping and get on with it to finish a pattern.
This is another DK weight/size 3 yarn and if you haven’t tried it yet, I’d highly recommend you give it a go.
I purchased both the colour Lilac and Rose. Pictured below is my Running Rings Around Granny bag that used Spring Green, Blush and Natural.
Stylecraft Naturals Bamboo Cotton:
- 100g
- 250m
- 60% Bamboo, 40% Cotton
- DK
Available from:
Lovecrafts – £4.49
Wool Warehouse – £4.49
4. PaintBox Yarns Chunky Pots
If you’ve watched the video that shows me opening the yarn, this point in the video is rather interesting.
I literally opened the yarn as I was recording and the colour way I selected was not quite what I had hoped.
I’m usually super careful about selecting colours, but this Raspberry Ripple had me all discombobulated!
I have used the Paintbox Chunky Pots before as seen in my Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner pattern which uses the granny stitch in a corner to corner pattern.
This colourway pictured below is called Sweet Dreams and I love how it turned out.
I am going to have to swatch up the Raspberry Ripple that I’ve received as I was expecting it to be a bit softer in the colours, but we all make mistakes.
I know that the yarn works up well and is great for blankets that will be well loved as it washes so well.
I also like that it comes in packs; either in a value pack of 5 or 10 pots.
I purchased a pack of 5 to make a small lap blanket later in this month.
PaintBox Chunky Pots – 5 Ball Value Pack
- 1000g (across the 5 balls)
- 1360m (across the 5 balls)
- 100% Acrylic
- Chunky/Size 5
Available from:
Lovecrafts – £44.95
It was on offer when I purchased.
Yarn Shopping – Top Tips
With the current climate, I wanted to share some of my top tips for saving a few pennies when purchasing yarn along with how to shop from your own stash at the same time to save you needing to buy more!
This is just a quick overview of some steps you can take and I will go into more detail with each of them in the future.
1. Shop “Out of Season”
This habit developed from the need of making for craft fairs and selling my finished makes on Etsy.
As my products where made in advanced, I was shopping for worsted or bulky weight yarns in summer and cotton and lightweight yarns in winter.
As most yarn shoppers are buying to make for the current season, there are great savings to be made when purchased out of season this way.
For example, the chunky pots shown above are on sale when this post was written as not many people are purchasing the bulky yarns – 25% saved on that purchase!
2. Don’t Add to your Order for Free Shipping
We’ve all been there – the website is showing, just £4.50 more to get free shipping we just add 2 more to the basket and save £3 on shipping (insert eye roll)
I try my best to avoid doing this nowadays. Not only does it keep my stash a more manageable size, but I actually save money overall too.
I know that shipping isn’t always that cheap, but take a moment to calculate exactly what you will be saving – and…..
3. WATCH OUT for import duties
This is has caught people out since the UK left the Europe for shoppers all around the world. Be aware of the limits for your country and place a 2nd order to avoid these costs.
4. Research Colourways
- Social media can be your friend when you’re buying an unknow yarn or colour way. Search the yarn’s hashtag on Instagram to see the yarn in use, or scroll down on the yarn website to see the projects people have posted to see how the yarn works up.
- Post in Facebook community groups and ask for peoples opinions on their favourites.
- Yarn shopping should be a fun experience and avoiding over spending can mean you can do more of it!
Shop your Stash
If you are lucky enough to have lots of yarn in your stash, get familiar with how to substitute yarn in a crochet pattern.
This will empower you to use up what you have.
When to Get Rid
We all know the phrase – It’s not hording if it’s yarn!
But, if you accumulated as large stash of yarn that you will never use, there are a number of ways you can lighten the load:
- Donate what you wont use to a charity shop or thrift store
- Donate to a local yarn group for them to make for charity
- Access a De-Stash group on Facebook and sell what you wont use
- Spend your “earnings” on what you will use
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all the yarn I’ve purchased. I can not wait to show you the finished projects and share the patterns with you once they are all tested and ready to make.
