Winding Bobbels: Does the Material Used Make a Difference?

Dear users, dear designers,
what material is best to use for winding a bobbel? Cotton, acrylic, etc.? Does the fiber blend make a difference when winding a bobbel and later when working with it?

In the threads we already have about bobbels, this isn’t really covered in much detail:
Winding Bobbels (No Advertising) Part 1
Winding Bobbels, Part 2 (No Advertising)
Winding Your Own Bobbel
Formula for Winding a Bobbel

It would be great if someone could share their thoughts on this.

I’d really like to know if anyone here actually winds their own bobbles. You can buy them in all kinds of material and color combinations and put them together individually. Is it worth the effort to wind them yourself??? And why do you wind them yourselves: Do you want your own color combinations or custom lengths?

Best regards, Ina

Well, I wind almost all my Bobbels myself—at least the ones made from TVU yarns that are 50% cotton/50% polyacrylic.
Years ago, I used to wind them myself and even sell them. The idea was to offer Bobbels that matched my patterns. After a short time, however, the demand was so high that I was spending all my time at the winder and had no time left to design patterns. Just winding was simply too monotonous and boring for me, so I stopped doing it—or rather, I only use the winder for my own projects now.
The great thing is that I can precisely control my color gradient; for example, if a new stitch pattern starts, I can change the color however I want. When I buy a ready-made Bobbel, it has specific color sections, so that’s not possible. Another factor, of course, is the price. A Bobbel with 1,200 meters often costs around 20€. I need several of these every month, of course, and for projects like a blanket, I can easily use up 5,000–7,000 meters. I usually crochet everything at least twice, so you can do the math on how much this hobby costs me each month.
For some time now, though, I’ve fallen in love with modal yarns—they’re super soft and a pleasure to work with (46% modal, 40% polyacrylic, 14% polyamide). I buy those from a friend who winds yarn, though, because I’ve long since run out of space for cones^^.
Bobbels come in a wide variety of material blends. There are also Bobbels made from 100% cotton, merino yarn, high-bulk yarn, and so on. Many feature colorful or glittery accent threads—there’s something for everyone.
I admit I’m addicted^^.
Best regards, Claudia

What exactly is high-bulk yarn?

I don’t want to say anything wrong here, but as far as I know, high-bulk yarn is pure acrylic yarn. I’ve used it a few times. As the name suggests, it’s very fluffy, so it has more volume than “normal, more common Bobbel yarn cakes.” That makes it very well-suited for clothing, though some people find it a bit “scratchy,” which is why it’s offered less frequently and demand isn’t that high.
But I think it’s great to work with.
Best regards

OK, thanks for the info.
Does it squeak when you work with it on the needle?

Sure...
If you crochet very tightly, that can happen. I can’t say the same for knitting. But I still don’t find it unpleasant to work with.

Wouldn’t it make sense to use a very popular yarn for each of your patterns—one that many people enjoy working with—instead of a yarn that isn’t as popular? Or is it enough to just add a note saying something like “yarn of your choice”? I was just thinking that, based on your experience, you might be able to recommend a specific yarn.

I always work with the most common yarn (50% cotton/50% polyacrylic). My patterns can be made with any yarn. Many people also simply like to crochet with balls of yarn rather than with Bobbels. 
In my patterns, I always list the required yardage for each size, hook/needle size, and the number of strands (e.g., 3-strand or 4-strand Bobbel). If I didn’t wind the Bobbels myself, I often add the source as well
For amigurumi, I include the yarn (e.g., Catania). 
I’m often contacted when customers really like the colors of my wound yarns. Then I either refer them to a yarn winder I enjoy working with, or I sometimes name the exact colors.

Something else that might be good to know is:
Bobbels are available as multi-stranded, unplied yarns, meaning there are 3, 4, 5… individual strands lying side by side that are worked together. This might be a bit difficult for beginners, since you can’t always catch all the strands with the needle at once, and small loops can sometimes form. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, it goes smoothly. I work exclusively with multi-stranded, unplied yarns.
Alternatively, there are already twisted yarns, where all the strands have already been twisted together into a single strand—this might be a bit easier for Bobbel beginners to work with.

Oh wow. That’s a science in itself.
It’s great that you explain it in such detail, both here in the thread and to your customers. 

Yes, you learn quite a bit over the years.
You’re very welcome, Josefa :-)