How to Choose the Right Yarn for Your Project
Choosing a yarn simply because it looks beautiful, feels soft, or comes in a colour we love is one of the most common mistakes.
The first question should be:
What do I want to make with this yarn?
A yarn that is perfect for a scarf is not necessarily the best choice for a cardigan. A wonderfully soft cashmere may be ideal for an accessory but less suitable for a garment that needs to maintain a precise structure.
When choosing a yarn, we should therefore start with the final project and consider fibre composition, yarn count, number of strands, weight, handle and type of knitting.
Let's take a closer look.
1. I want to make a sweater
For a sweater, the first thing to decide is what kind of garment we want to create.
A lightweight sweater designed to be worn under a jacket requires very different characteristics from a soft, warm winter crew neck.
For a lightweight garment, we can choose finer yarns used with one or just a few strands, while for a warmer, more substantial sweater we can increase the number of strands or choose a thicker yarn count.
The fibre composition will also affect the final result.
Cashmere makes it possible to create garments that are extremely light in relation to the warmth they provide, with an exceptionally soft handle.
Extra-fine merino wool, on the other hand, is an excellent choice when we are looking for elasticity, consistency, durability and generally a more accessible price compared with cashmere.
Cashmere/wool or cashmere/merino blends can offer an interesting balance between softness, performance and price.
There is therefore no single best yarn: there is a yarn that is best suited to the sweater you want to make.
2. I want to make a cardigan
With a cardigan, another important factor comes into play: structure.
A cardigan needs to maintain its shape properly, particularly around the front opening, button band and shoulders.
An extremely soft and voluminous yarn can produce a beautiful result, but you need to carefully consider how the garment will behave when worn.
Once again, making a swatch is essential.
Before making a final decision on the yarn, it is advisable to knit a sufficiently large sample, wash it and allow it to rest.
Only then can you properly evaluate:
- the handle;
- compactness;
- elasticity;
- stability;
- the appearance of the knitted fabric;
- its behaviour after washing.
The yarn on the cone is not the finished garment.
This is a concept worth remembering.
3. I want to make a scarf
With a scarf, we generally have a little more freedom.
Here, softness becomes one of the main considerations because the product remains in constant contact with the neck and face.
Cashmere, whether virgin or good-quality recycled cashmere, is naturally one of the most interesting materials for this purpose.
We can use a fine yarn with several strands to obtain a more compact scarf, or choose yarn counts and constructions that provide greater volume.
But pay attention to weight.
A very large scarf made with an excessively heavy knitted fabric may look beautiful but be less comfortable to wear.
The real objective should be to find the right balance between volume, warmth, softness and weight.
4. I want to make a hat
For a hat, the requirements change again.
The garment needs to be soft but also sufficiently elastic to adapt to the head and recover its original shape.
The knitted construction therefore becomes just as important as the yarn itself.
A ribbed structure, for example, naturally provides greater elasticity than plain stockinette stitch.
In this case, you need to consider four elements together:
yarn + number of strands + stitch structure + knitting density.
Changing just one of these elements can significantly alter the final result.
5. I want to make a blanket or throw
As the size of the project increases, the weight of the yarn becomes a crucial factor.
A yarn that is wonderful for a sweater could make a blanket too heavy or simply too expensive to produce.
Before choosing the yarn, it is therefore advisable to estimate how many grams will be required.
For blankets and throws, we can look for yarns that provide volume without creating excessive weight.
Durability also becomes more important: a blanket is used, folded, rubbed and often washed more frequently than we might imagine.
Softness remains important, but it should not be the only factor in your decision.
6. Hand knitting and knitting machines are not the same thing
This is particularly important when buying yarn on cones.
A yarn originally produced for industrial knitting can also be used for hand knitting, but we need to understand how to use it correctly.
The yarn count gives us information about its fineness. Depending on the count, we can decide whether to use it as a single strand or combine two, three, four or more strands.
For example, a very fine yarn may appear unsuitable for hand knitting when viewed on the cone, but when several strands are held together it can become perfectly suitable for knitting needles.
This is why you should never judge a yarn solely by your first impression.
7. The number of strands can completely change the result
Let's take the same yarn.
Used as a single strand, it may produce a very lightweight knitted fabric.
With two strands, it becomes more substantial.
With three or four strands, we can progressively increase body, weight and volume.
This means that a single cone of yarn can offer far more possibilities than you might initially think.
Of course, simply adding more strands is not enough: you will also need to adjust needle size, machine gauge, tension and knitting density accordingly.
And this is exactly where the swatch becomes essential.
8. Before you start: always make a swatch
If I had to give just one piece of advice to someone buying a new yarn, it would be this:
don't start the garment immediately.
Make a swatch first.
And above all, if the yarn requires it, wash the swatch before judging the final result.
Some yarns, particularly woollen-spun yarns, can change considerably after washing and finishing.
The fibres open up, the knitted fabric settles, the handle changes and even the perceived volume can be very different.
A yarn that feels relatively dry on the cone can become much softer after the correct finishing treatment.
The swatch also allows you to check for dimensional changes.
Measure it before washing, wash it under the same conditions you intend to use for the finished garment, allow it to dry completely and measure it again.
A few minutes spent doing this can prevent you from wasting hours of work and hundreds of grams of yarn.
9. The project comes first, then the yarn
When a customer asks us:
“What is the best yarn?”
the correct answer is often:
“What do you want to make?”
Because a good yarn should not simply look beautiful on the cone.
It needs to work for the project for which it has been chosen.
Before buying, ask yourself:
- What do I want to make?
- How warm should it be?
- How lightweight should it be?
- Do I want a compact or more voluminous knitted fabric?
- Does it need to be extremely soft or is durability more important?
- Will I knit it by hand or by machine?
- How many strands will I use?
- What final weight do I want to achieve?
Once you have answered these questions, choosing the right yarn becomes much easier.
Hircus Filati: We Can Help You Choose
At Hircus Filati, we work with Italian yarns in cashmere, recycled cashmere, merino wool and other premium fibres, including stock yarns and surplus yarns from Italian mills and manufacturers.
Because every yarn has different characteristics, if you are unsure about which one to choose, simply tell us what you would like to make, whether you are knitting by hand or by machine, and what kind of result you want to achieve.
Whenever possible, we can help you understand which of the yarns currently available may be the most suitable for your project.
Because the question is not simply:
“Is this a good yarn?”
The more important question is:
“Is this the right yarn for what I want to make?”
