Types of Yarn & Yarn Care
Understanding Yarn
Yarn comes in so many varieties, colors, and weights that it can get confusing sometimes. I understand! Here, I broke down the types of yarn that I typically use in my work and their care. This is by no means a complete list, but I hope that you’ll find it useful!
There are four main types of yarn that I use, and I think this is something important to consider when purchasing a plushie or collectable of any kind.
Plushie Yarn:
The first is what I call “Plushie Yarn”. This is your super soft yarn that works up into making a very cuddly toy. Popular brands would be Premier Yarns’ Parfait Chunky or Basix Chenille, Sweet Snuggles Light, Velvet or Blanket Yarn. For almost all of my cuddly creations I use Premier Yarns’ Parfait Chunky. For bulkier toys, their Basix Chenille Yarns. The Parfait Chunky delivers on the “plush” quality - making your plush very soft, cuddly, and squishy, for the maximum amount of snuggles.
Basix Chenille Yarns are more “teddy bear” quality. These are still very soft and cuddly, but don’t have the same “plush” feeling to them. This is good for actual teddy bears, and larger stuffed animal like plushies.
To see the full color range, please check out these two images below and the website links itself. While I have most of the Parfait Chunky options in stock, I’m more than happy to order yarn specific to your desired order!
Parfait Chunky
This is their “plush” yarn. Most of the toys made from this yarn I’d consider “standard size”. Please visit their website to see all the color options for Parfait Chunky!
Basix Chenille Brights
This is the yarn that’s more teddy bear-like, and made for slightly larger cuddly toys. Please visit their website to see all the color options for Basix Chenille!
Worsted Weight/Collectable Toy Yarn
The next type of yarn that is commonly used is called Worsted Weight or DK Yarn. This is the type of yarn that is most popular for Collectable Toys, or keychains. Unlike plushie yarn, this yarn allows for stitches to be much more distinct, and therefore, can better show off unique shapes that require a ton of details ( like my candy dragon for example ). This can also be used for dolls that require clothing, as the details of those stand out more. However, projects with DK weight yarn tend to take a bit longer, as the yarn is smaller and the stitches need to be tighter so that the stuffing does not show through. There are MANY popular styles of DK yarns, and they tend to be the most prominent in craft stores. One of my favorite Brands is Big Twist from Joann’s Fabrics. They have one of the largest color palettes for DK yarn with over 50+ colors to chose from.
This is the yarn I typically use for Collectable toys. There is a HUGE array of colors that can make some incredibly cute and very detailed handmade pieces.
Please visit their website to see all the color options for Big Twist yarn!
Sport Weight Yarn
This is another commonly found yarn size in craft stores. Sport Weight is what I’d consider “small” yarn, meaning that toys made from it will be small - 6 inches or under for standard toys, *maybe* 10 inches for a taller doll. Like DK yarn, working with this yarn takes time, particularly if there are many pieces for a creation. This sizing is typically one above “sock weight” or “fingerling yarn”. There are many types are colorways for Sport Weight Yarn. Some of my favorite come from WeCrochet and is their Brava Sport Weight Collection. I appreciate these also due to the wide range of color options available.
This brand has a massive colorways selection, which is always important when creating pieces that have detail. It’s soft, colorful, and each of the stitches can be seen, which emphasizes patterns that call for incredible detail design.
Please visit their website to see all the color options for Brava Sport!
“Designer Yarn”
Designer Yarn is what I call yarn that’s been hand dyed by artists. These are typically skeins not available in craft store, but found online through small business shops. Some of my favorite artists would include Dragon Hoard Yarn, Destination Yarn, and Arcane Fibre Works. The first two are women owned business, but all of them are amazing artistians and incredible yarn dyers. All of their colorways are completely unique to them, and cannot be found elsewhere. Designer Yarn is typically Wool from sheep, sometimes goat fur, all ethically derived from animals. Because of nature of the product, plus dying times, a single skein or ball of yarn can be upwards of $28.00 a piece. While I have a fair bit of yarn from both Dragon Hoard and Destination Yarn, understand that ANY PRODUCT, be it toys, clothing, or keepsake art, made from this style of yarn will double or even triple the cost of the finished product. It will also be something that will last with proper care, maybe even long enough to outlive you. Intended for truly unique, and keepsake style pieces.
Dragon Hoard Yarn
Dragon Hoard Yarns have a lot of colorways that are inspired by books, mythical creatures, tv shows and/or movies. There are some truly stunning colors. The artist makes a lot of great muted tones too for sweaters and socks - though I don’t tend to make those. Highly recommend checking out their colors, as they change frequently! As an independent dyer, this small business offers a wide range of sizes of yarn, from fingerling (extremely small/lacy style material), to sock weight, to DK weight.
Please visit the Dragon Hoard Website to see all the color options!
Destination Yarn
This yarn co has some extremely stunning colorways. All hand-dyed and modeled after destinations that the artist has been to, or would like to visit. Their Hawaii Collection is almost always sold out, and their Christmas Collections are truly stunning. They’re one of my absolute favorites for unique colorways. As an independent dyer, this small business offers a wide range of sizes of yarn, from fingerling (extremely small/lacy style material), to sock weight, to DK weight.
Please visit the Destination Yarn Website to see all the color options!
Arcane Fibre Works Yarn
This artist pulls a lot of their color inspiration from nature and from the small things we see every day, like flowers. All colorways are absolutely stunning and have colorways you won’t find anywhere else. I don’t have a ton of yarn from this artist (yet!) but I love everything that I’ve seen from them so far! Like the others, they also offer a wide range of sizes of yarn, from fingerling (extremely small/lacy style material), to sock weight, to DK weight.
Please the Arcane Fibre Works Website to see all the color options!
Due to some people’s allergies from Wool, most of my toys are made from Acrylic Yarn. Acrylic Yarn is man-made and durable and allergy free ( for 99.9% of people ). Keep in mind that “Designer Yarn” is almost always going to be an animal by-product, and while the most durable, can trigger allergies if someone is allergic to wool. There is another option for those who don’t like either Acrylic or Wool yarn, and that is Bamboo Yarn. Bamboo Yarn can be somewhat on the expensive side - think $7.99+ per ball - but will create super soft pieces that are hypoallergenic.
Another commonly found yarn is Cotton Yarn. However, cotton does not have the same “stretch” or “give” that acrylic, bamboo, or wool yarn does, and therefore can be painful to work with, if making product in bulk. For that reason, I do NOT use Cotton Yarn on my toys. As an artist with carpal tunnel, I try my very best to keep my hands healthy, while also producing quality pieces to be loved for a long time.
Yarn Care:
Since all of my pieces are handmade, it is vital that some care goes into them if you are wanting them to last for a long, long time.
All toys can easily be spot cleaned.
For a deeper clean, all Acrylic Yarn toys can be washed on a DELICATE cycle in a washing machine. If you are concerned about protecting the piece further, you can put that toy in a pillow case or a sock bag, prior to the wash. Acrylic Yarn, unfortunately, does have a melting temperature. For that reason, I do NOT recommend machine drying. If you MUST, please do so on the lowest setting or the delicate setting. Anything higher could put your piece at risk. Setting out the piece in the sun is fine, as long as it’s not on metal - which could also heat up.
Bamboo Yarn can usually tolerate a normal cycle on a washing machine as well as a drying one, but again, to keep the integrity of the piece, I’d recommend air drying.
Wool Yarn has been known to shrink with high heat, and is also recommended to be dried on a low setting/gentle cycle if needed sooner, otherwise, also for integrity, I’d recommend air drying.
This is not to discourage you from playing with your toys! I do wash everything prior to shipment, so your toy has already been tested against a machine wash. However, I tend to put all pieces in a silk pillowcase or a mesh sock bag, just to help preserve all the hard work that I put in to making your piece. Yarn tends to be very durable and can withstand a lot of play, just be careful of machine driven high heat, and open flame as that can trigger melting of Acrylic Yarn.
