Lightfastness of Yarn

I was just wondering how lightfast yarn is. Why?

I’ve crocheted appliqués from my little scraps of cotton. I keep the yarn on a shelf where the sun shines in for about an hour a day—through the window, of course. While crocheting with the green yarn, I noticed that it had a slight tie-dye effect, looking a bit faded in places. However, this was only the green, not the other dark colors (brown and blue) that were lying next to it. But they were all the same yarn (Catania by Schachenmayr). Is it possible that cotton fades that quickly?

Has anyone had this experience?

Thank you very much

Best regards

Nici

Hi Nici
that’s really annoying that you’ve ended up with a batik effect there. Here’s what you could try: Schachenmayr is a major manufacturer, after all. They must have a customer service hotline. Maybe give them a call and ask if they can say anything about this? I don’t know if they’ll go for it, but you could try exchanging the faded yarn for new yarn as part of a complaint—either directly with the company or at the store where you bought it. However, if they say it’s because you left the yarn in the sun, then you’re probably out of luck. But if it’s just the green yarn and it was only exposed to the sun for an hour, then I find that a bit unusual.
I’ve heard that you can stabilize the color in yarn by adding a splash of vinegar to the rinse water, but I’m not sure if the vinegar smell—which is, after all, “pungent”—will fade away.
Sunny regards
Sidney

Yes, I’m not going to complain about it right away. I only crocheted small pieces (vegetables). I actually thought the batik effect was quite fitting, and it’s only noticeable if you look closely. With larger items like sweaters or something, it would definitely be bothersome.

The vinegar smell disappears after a few washes; you notice that with hand-dyed yarn.

Best, Nici

Hi Nici, I’ve accumulated so much yarn that I now sort it by color and weight and store it in boxes. I’ve had that happen before with fading—in my case, it was red. I don’t remember which brand it was.
Best regards,
Luise

I haven’t noticed it yet—I keep everything in boxes.

I've got my yarn in boxes too, but that thing with the green yarn is really awful.