Choosing Wool and Yarn for Crochet and Knitting

If you want to choose a suitable yarn for your first craft project, don’t let the wide range of options overwhelm you. In principle, you can crochet or knit with anything that has a thread-like structure, but if you want your finished result to look nice, you should keep a few small things in mind when choosing wool and yarn. Besides the yarn thickness, pay special attention to the fiber. When it comes to color, there’s one important thing you need to consider, and you should also think about how you’ll care for your finished project.

Wool or yarn: what’s the difference?

According to the Textile Labelling Act, the term “wool” primarily refers to the soft hair from a sheep’s fleece. But there are other mammals too—such as the angora rabbit, the angora goat, or alpacas—whose coat hair is also called wool. After the sheep is shorn, the individual wool fibers are twisted together into a long yarn during spinning. But since a long thread can be made not only from wool, but also from plant fibers or synthetic fibers, there are yarns made from many different materials. So the name “wool” applies only to animal hair—both unspun (as wool fiber) and spun (as wool yarn). “Yarn”, on the other hand, refers to all threads created by spinning.

The yarn label contains important information

If you want to know which materials your yarn is made of, you can read it on the paper label (ball band) wrapped around the ball. The label also tells you how to care for items made with this yarn. It suggests a specific needle/hook size for crochet and/or knitting, and it states who the manufacturer of the yarn is. The weight of the ball is listed on the label, as well as the yardage/meterage (length).

The length is especially important if you want to crochet or knit a pattern using a different yarn than the one listed. Because different yarns can have different weights, you’ll need to recalculate the amount of yarn required.

For example: if your chosen project calls for 400 grams of yarn, and the recommended yarn is sold in 50 g balls with a length of 70 m, you’ll need 8 balls of 50 g (or 70 m), i.e., 560 m total. If the yarn you want also comes in 50 g balls but has a length of 100 m, you only need six balls—and you’ll have some yarn left over after finishing.

Which yarn weight for what?

If you’ve chosen a US or UK pattern for your very first craft project, you might notice that you won't find the needle sizes and yarn weights you are used to. Instead, you’ll have to deal with terms like “Fingering”, “Worsted”, or “Bulky”. To help you still find the right needle/hook size and quickly see which yarn is suitable for what, here’s a small overview:

What you need to watch out for with yarn color

When buying yarn, you need to pay extra attention to the color. On the label of each ball, you’ll find both a color number and a dye lot number. So your project doesn’t end up with a slightly different shade with every new ball, make sure all balls have the same color number.

However, because only a certain amount of yarn can be dyed in one dye bath, the dye lot number indicates which bath the ball got its color from. Even if you can’t immediately see a difference between balls with the same color number but different dye lot numbers, you should still try to use the same dye lot number for one project. Once the yarn is crocheted or knitted up, you really can see differences in color shade between different lot numbers.

Why is the material of wool and yarn so important?

When choosing wool and yarn, the fiber content plays a crucial role. Depending on what your yarn is made of, it will have different properties. For example, pure raw wool is known for being able to felt, which makes it water-repellent. Pure virgin wool is very warm, but may feel scratchy on the skin. Cotton absorbs moisture, and synthetic fibers are usually especially easy to care for.

As you can see, you should know the material and its properties well before choosing a yarn. To help you with choosing yarn, we’ve put together a rough overview of the different materials that are suitable for crochet or knitting. It is divided into natural fibers, synthetic fibers, semi-synthetic fibers, and blends. For each type of fiber, you’ll find a short list of the most important yarns, their properties, and suggestions for which projects they’re suitable for.

Natural fibers in wool and yarn

Natural fibers have the big advantage of being a renewable resource. Natural fibers include animal fibers as well as plant fibers. It’s important that they are obtained without chemical additives. That’s why they should always be the first choice for environmentally conscious people.

Yarns of animal origin

Fibers that come from animals can be divided into two groups: wool and silk. While silk always comes from silkworms, wool refers to the coat hair of various mammals:

• Alpaca wool: Alpaca wool comes from alpacas (camelids) from Peru or Chile. It is soft and strong. It contains little lanolin and is therefore suitable for people with allergies. Alpaca wool is considered the warmest wool, because it keeps you five times warmer than sheep’s wool. It’s perfect for winter clothing.
• Angora wool: It is obtained from the coat of the angora rabbit, and around 90% of it comes from China. This wool is especially soft and warm, but also very delicate. It has a temperature-regulating effect and can absorb a lot of moisture. Angora wool is suitable for underwear and tights, but it fuzzes easily.
• Cashmere: Cashmere wool is combed or plucked from the coat of cashmere goats at the end of winter. It makes a very luxurious and valuable yarn. Cashmere is one of the most expensive types of wool. Even though it’s very warm, it is soft and light. Cashmere sweaters, cashmere scarves, and cashmere hats are especially popular.
• Merino wool: The merino sheep originally comes from Spain. Today, however, merino wool mainly comes from Australia and South America. It is light and stretchy. It dries quickly, is breathable, and best of all: it doesn’t scratch. Even though merino wool has a temperature-regulating effect, it’s considered a winter wool and is suitable for winter clothing and baby outerwear.
• Mohair: Mohair is made from the coat hair of the angora goat. Depending on the age of the goat, there is kid mohair, young goat mohair, and adult mohair. The younger the animal was when shorn, the softer the yarn. Mohair wool is always soft and fluffy. It is light and wonderfully warm. The yarn is durable, but not easy to care for. If it’s particularly fine, it can be used for delicate crochet work and lace. It’s also suitable for scarves, socks, and sweaters. Since it sheds a bit, you should avoid making baby clothes with it.
• Silk: Silk comes from the cocoon of the silkworm. A distinction is made between silk and wild silk. Both yarns are very luxurious and have a slight sheen. Soft silk is tear-resistant and hardly wrinkles. It’s elastic and feels wonderful against the skin. However, the smooth yarn is often tricky to work with. As a pure summer yarn, it’s suitable for scarves, shawls, and elegant tops.
• Virgin wool from sheep: Freshly shorn sheep’s wool keeps you wonderfully warm. It can absorb a lot of moisture and still doesn’t feel wet. The downside is that it can feel scratchy on sensitive skin. It’s ideal for socks. When left untreated, it can be felted—allowing you to knit slippers, bags, or other fashion accessories.

Yarns of plant origin

Purely plant-based yarns are a great alternative—not only for committed vegans. People who care about the environment also like to use organic cotton, linen, jute, and more. Yarns made from plant parts are quite versatile and feel pleasant on the skin:

• Organic cotton: Cotton comes from the seed hairs of the cotton plant. For cotton to be labeled as organic, the plants must have been grown in an environmentally friendly way without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Cotton is skin-friendly, breathable, and easy to care for. It feels soft and cool, and is also suitable for people with allergies. You can use it for light summer tops, pretty triangle scarves, other fashion accessories, or potholders.
• Linen: Linen is made from flax. It is especially tear-resistant, but unfortunately also stiff and scratchy. The hard-wearing yarn is dirt-repellent and is great for bags or small baskets.

Synthetic fibers in wool and yarn

Synthetic fibers don’t grow naturally—they have to be produced chemically. They are usually easy to care for and easy to work with. However, producing them is not environmentally friendly. A distinction is made between semi-synthetic and fully synthetic yarns.

Semi-synthetic fibers

Semi-synthetic fibers are made from natural, cellulose-based materials that are chemically processed. Even though they’re not purely natural, they can still be an alternative to fully synthetic fiber:

• Bamboo: Bamboo yarn consists of bamboo fibers that have been chemically processed. It is soft, smooth, temperature-regulating, and breathable. The yarn feels good on the skin and is also suitable for people with allergies. It’s considered a summer yarn and can be used wonderfully for hats or other fashion accessories.
• Viscose: Viscose is made from wood fibers. It feels pleasantly cool, is easy to work with, is skin-friendly, and can absorb a lot of moisture. It’s also a pure summer yarn that you can use to make pretty shawls, stoles, or thin knitted vests.

Fully synthetic fibers

Fully synthetic fibers are not only chemically processed—they are also made from chemical base products. That’s why they perform extremely poorly when it comes to environmental impact. Their big advantage is that they score points for being easy to care for and robust:

• Acrylic: Acrylic is made from a chemical base substance. It is wonderfully soft, pleasantly light, and can be washed at 40°C. It keeps you warm, but is not temperature-regulating. It’s suitable for baby clothes or children’s clothes. Note: it builds up static quickly.
• Polyamide: Polyamide is made from petroleum. It is elastic, tear-resistant, and shape-retaining. It works well for socks.
• Polyester: Polyester is also made from petroleum. It stands out for its shape retention and robustness. It is smooth and easy to crochet. This lofty fiber is suitable as a winter yarn for sweaters or jackets.

Blended fibers: pros and cons

Blends usually consist of a natural share and a synthetic share. They combine the good properties of both types of fiber and balance out the downsides. The advantage of blends (animal or plant yarn mixed with a synthetic fiber) is their durability. They are warm and absorb moisture. They can be washed and cared for easily. The downside is that the chemical share affects environmental compatibility. By choosing a blended yarn, you are always compromising on environmental friendliness to some extent.

Special wools and yarns can simplify your work or add decoration

When choosing wool and yarn, you shouldn’t overlook special yarns. For example, if you use a novelty yarn (effect yarn), you can usually skip fancy pattern stitches—because the look of novelty yarns is so unique that they still draw attention even when knit in stockinette or crocheted in simple double crochet stitches. Other special yarns, like sock yarn or T-shirt yarn (textile yarn), make your work easier. And felting wool increases the durability of your crocheted item.

Novelty yarns (effect yarns)

Novelty yarns come in many different variations. You can choose a soft wool yarn with a great color gradient—then the colorful pattern comes “built in”. Or you can choose a glitter yarn that looks especially luxurious and elegant thanks to metallic threads. You can also go for long-haired fluffy wool or a yarn with big bobbles.

Sock yarn

Sock yarn often refers to blended yarns that are especially durable thanks to their synthetic share. That means your finished project keeps its shape for a long time and is easy to care for. Because they also contain animal wool, sock yarns are wonderfully warm and absorb moisture.

Felting wool

The name felting wool is only used for pure, untreated virgin wool that felts well in the washing machine after knitting or crocheting. The felting process makes your piece especially soft and fluffy. It becomes extremely durable and water-repellent.

T-shirt yarn (textile yarn)

T-shirt yarn is made by recycling textile waste and processing it into a thick, long tape. You can crochet or knit with it. It’s great for rugs, baskets, seat cushions, bags, or other large accessories. You can either buy textile yarn or make it yourself from old T-shirts and worn-out bed sheets.

Care tips for projects made from wool and yarn

So that you can enjoy your first crocheted or knitted project for a long time after the time-consuming choice of wool and yarn, make sure you follow the care instructions on the yarn ball. The higher the share of animal fibers in your project, the more carefully you need to care for it. Pure wool or silk should only be hand-washed. Don’t squeeze your knitted/crocheted fabric, and don’t wring it out. To dry it, lay your item flat on a drying rack. Note that it doesn’t tolerate direct sunlight.