Know your Cotton Yarn/Thread/Hook

YARN GYAN- COTTON

What is, an experienced Crocheter’s idea of Paradiso, could be a beginner’s nightmare….What yarn to use with which hook for a particular pattern????

Here I will try to introduce you to the basic varieties of yarn….As you already know or will discover , the available selection of yarn all over the world is too numerous and almost impossible to collate and present in one blog post. This is but a modest attempt on my part to make yarn selection easier for beginners to crochet.

Apart from natural fabrics like Cotton, Wool, Silk, commercial yarn can come in Polyster, Acrylic, Nylon, Viscos….and a mixture of natural and artificial yarns. However….crochet is such a flexible art form that you can crochet with  almost anything.

I have used Coir, Jute, Hemp and seen work done with plarn(ripping plastic bags into long strips, rolled into balls ), old bedsheets, T-shirts, dupattas, old sarees, skirts etc( that are also cut into strips and crocheted into mats, bags, etc). Recycling at it’s best.

Twine,cord, wash line cords, nylon ropes, any of these can be hooked into very useful and strong baskets, bags, pot holders.  Flexible metal wires….be it aluminium, copper, silver or gold………(used in making jewellery) make beautiful crocheted jewellery and table accessories.

So basically you can crochet with anything …Well Almost….:-))

This post is about mainly on Cotton yarn……but I have added a few pics of other crochet able materials.

COTTON

Cotton is one of the best of natural yarns that can used in tropical climates. Good quality cotton yarn is easy to maintain, wash and comfortable to use. In India…..we usually get Laura cotton, Anchor, Red rose ….and assorted other yarns.  Outside India…DMC has a lovely and large collection of cotton yarn.  So has the Korean yarn Soft Feather. Since I don’t know much about the cotton yarn available to the European and American Markets….I will leave my discussion to yarn that I have used.

 

Laura Cottton
Hook 3.00mm , 3.5mm, 4.00mm

Bamboo…50% cotton and 50% viscose
Hook 3.00mm, 3.5mm, 4.00mm

Bali Cotton Yarn
Hook 3.00, 3.5mm, 4.00mm

What is the difference between yarn and thread?

Yarn usually comes in ply, and is usually thicker than thread…but there  is yarn esp in wool …..Nako Kristal being a good example…..that is almost as thin as thread.

Cotton Thread usually comes in numbers  starting from #10, #20, #30,#40,#50, #60,#70,#80, #100 Here the thread becomes thinner and finer as the numbers go higher. For Eg: #10 is thicker than # 20…#20 is thicker than #30 and so on.

#100 is super fine thread and used to crochet very delicate lace,edgings etc.  Numbers #30 and above are also used for tatting.

Apart from this we also have cotton thread Pearl. This kind of thread is numbered differently than that of mercerised cotton as mentioned above. here the thread is softer, glossier and looks almost like silk.  This type of thread comes in 3 numbers….#3, #5, #8

I am mentioning, the hook size to be used, with almost every yarn here…but it is to be treated as a guide and not as a rigid rule. Again you may want to crochet Loose…in which case you must choose a hook size larger than the ones mentioned against each yarn or  u may wish to crochet tight….where you will then  to reduce the hook size by a couple of notches….to get a closely stitched pattern.

Cotton Thread Pearl

#5 Pearl:  Makes great lacey scarves, vests, boleros, bags etc…Comes in 50 gm balls(Soft Feather)

#5 Pearl, Hooks 1.25mm, 1.5mm, 1.75mm

#8 Pearl:  

You can use hooks # 0.90mm, 0.95mm, 1.00mm,. This yarn is great to make Pretty little flowers, butterflies etc to accessorise apparel, home Decor etc,  perfect for  edgings, trimmings etc….comes in 10gm balls(DMC)

DMC #8 pearl variegated

#8 Pearl….Hooks #0.90mm, 0.95mm, 1.00mm

#3 Pearl: Excellent for garments.

#3 pearl Hooks suggested 1.5mm, 1.75mm, 2.00mm

Cotton Thread #40

Used widely in tatting and for fine pieces of lace and edgings, borders, trimmings, motifs, collars etc.

Ancor #40 Hook size 0.6mm,0.65mm,0.65mm,0.7mm

Cotton Thread #30:

Used widely in tatting and for fine pieces of lace and edgings, borders, trimmings, motifs, collars, Doilies,  etc.

 

#30….Hook size 0.75mm, 0.85mm, 0.90mm, 0. 95mm…

 

 

Cotton Thread #20: 

Hook sizes recommended are 0.90mm, 1.00mm, 1.1mm, 1.25mm This yarn can be used to hook doilies, and anything that needs  a lacey finish…I have made  garments(though it is not very soft), Amigurumi,  bags, purses( very pretty, but time consuming cos the yarn take time to hook up).In Anchor, this comes in 20gm balls and as you can see in the pic below….they come in a delicious palette of colors.

Anchor #20
Hook size 0.85mm, 0.90mm, 0.95mm, 1.00mm

Cotton Thread #10

Hooks sizes 1.5mm, 1.75mm. Comes in balls of 100gms. Very versatile…can use this one to hook up almost anything.

 

DMC #10

Red Heart & DMC Slightly thicker than #10

Comparison of Cotton thread

Metallic Threads

Hook size1.00mm,1.25mm

 

 

 Cotton yarn

 

Cotton yarn comes in various ply and thickness. I will introduce you to the yarn that I have used and know of…this will give you a broad idea of  what yarn to use. I will also indicate what hook to use with what yarn….This is not a hard and fast rule…..as you get more and more experienced, you will  develop your own comfort zone in choosing hooks to certain yarn.

 

Hook size 3.00mm to 4.5mm

Bali Yarn 8 ply and 10 ply

Cotton yarn is thicker than cotton thread and most times much more softer…it is very good for making apparel, bags, baby clothes, dish cloth, blankets, anything that requires thick yarn…..and it works up very fast. yarn usually comes in ply.

What is Ply?

Ply simply means that when the yarn is spun it is spun by twisting 2/3/4/6/ 8/ etc strands of thread together…….For e.g.: if the yarn has two strands of thread spun in …it is called  2 ply. If it has 6 p strands spun it to make it ..it is called 6 ply. A common mistake to make is to assume that since , 6ply has 6 strands it will be thicker than say a 2ply. this is true only if the individual strand in the said 6 ply and 2 ply is the same. If the individual strand in the 6 ply is very fine then naturally the 6 ply will be thinner than a 2 ply that has  much thicker strands spun in.

Nylon thread ..good for bags and purses…..Hook 1.75mm, 2.00mm 2.5mm

 

Left one is 4 ply right one 10 ply

 

 

 

 

 

Knitting Cotton:

In India, we usually get knitting Yarn from Anchor, Laura And Red Rose. Of these Laura is the thickest and is to be hooked with a #3.00mm hook. Anchor is slightly thinner with a sheen to it….Can use 2.5mmm and red Rose is almost like #10 DMC Yarn…Use hook !.75 with this one.

Hook size 3.00mm to 4.00mm

 

Metallic knitting yarn hook size 3.00mm to 4.00mm

 

Other Natural fibres that can be hooked:

I can walk into any place and exclaim yarn…..recently I got what I called yarn and what Hubby darling exasperatedly called twine, cord etc…..I got these Hemp, Jute and natural fibres…….and I have great plans for these buddies…

 

I would use 3.000mm to 5mm on these

 

Jute….need at least an 8.00mm hook here

This is an unusual find…..this lovely beige cotton yarn is from India…it will be excellent for apparel….soft, with a lovely sheen to it and easy to hook.  Unfortunately only for export.

 

OTHER CROCHETABLE STUFF(for the lack of a better word)

 

This fuzzy wozy yarn is great to be used in hooking scarves ad bags…

Hook size depends on the width here…I would use a 3.00mm for the orange and green yarn and a 4.00mm for the broader purple shaded one.

Below A Metallic Silver Georgette Ribbon….Use 8.00mm or above…..

 

Satin ribbons of various width

 

 

Purse Thread

 

 

Malai Dori….great for bags….0.6mm and above

 

I do hope that you have found this post useful….do tell me what you think of this one…if you have information on cotton yarn, that you think can help  make this article more helpful….Pls do not hesitate to let me know. If you can share pictures with me that would be great….I will add them to this post and credit you for that info.

Adios Amigos..For Now…Until Next time…Huggggggs!!!!