Yarns We Love

Scheepjeswol Stone Washed

This is an unusual yarn – the “stonewashed” quality is achieved by mixing a white cotton core with a hairy, coloured acrylic. This creates a beautiful halo to the yarn with a velvety softness. As a consequence the palette has a muted prettiness which is perfect for garments. The yarn works up really quickly and smoothly, but the hairiness can make ripping back a bit sticky.
78% cotton/22% acrylic • 50g/130m/142yds
£2.99 from www.deramores.com

Sirdar Cotton Rich Aran

This is quite a lightweight aran. It feels somewhere in between a DK and aran in thickness and the resulting fabric is really light and very soft for a cotton-mix yarn. It does snag occasionally when hooking as it tends to be quite “splitty”, but it has good stitch definition and the soft and spongy fabric is worth the slow crocheting.
60% cotton/40% acrylic • 100g/200m/219yds
£4.29 from www.blacksheepwools.com

Excelana 4Ply

Excelana is a beautiful, traditional wool yarn with the gorgeous vintage feel you would expect from Susan Crawford, who has collaborated with John Arbon to produce the range. It is incredibly strong and yet beautifully soft, due to properties of the hardy Exmoor Bluefaced breed it is spun from. Excelana hooks up easily into a classic fabric with hazy stitch definition.
100% wool • 50g/159m/174yds
£5.40 from www.susancrawfordshop.com

Native Yarns Cavendish

Cavendish is a luxury yarn that is dreamily soft and silky – you can’t help but stroke it! All the dyes used by Native yarns are derived from plants and are surprising in their intensity. A natural, untreated yarn, it needs to be handled carefully but is a treat to work with. The yardage is also great; one skein is perfect for a lacy scarf.

100% alpaca • 100g/400m/440yds
£17.50 from www.nativeyarns.co.uk

MillaMia Naturally Soft Aran

We are delighted that MillaMia have at last brought out a sister yarn for their Naturally Soft Merino. This aran weight version is just as soft and hardwearing, but with a pleasing squishiness. It crochets into a light and airy fabric with a satisfying spongy quality. The lovely twist is attractive and, as with the lightweight version, the yarn hooks up evenly.
It’s ideal for cosy blankets and comfy garments.
100% Merino wool • 50g/80m/87yds
£5.50 from www.millamia.com