Which yarn should I choose?
The options are cotton, tanguis cotton, mercerized cotton, or recycled cotton
This week, I teased the newest maxi skirt design.
If you’ve been following for a while, you may already know that I released the original pattern a little over a year ago after it was rejected from crochet pattern publication. My intention was to create another sample to update website photos, and then I ended up with a completely new design that will be coming to the pattern studio.
In the meantime, I have a commission lined up for a custom maxi skirt order, which means it’s time to do some yarn shopping.
THE CUSTOM ORDER
will be a striped down version of The Maxi Skirt pattern design with only one stitch variation and more negative space between stitches.
As requested, I am also sticking to a light pink-to-fuchsia color story.
Here’s everything I’m currently looking at:
The one cotton
60% recycled cotton, 20% linen and 20% Tencel fibres | DK · 186 yds/100g
$11.00 $8.80
I’ve used Wool andd the Gang’s Shiny Happy Cotton and was really pleased by the fiber density and smoothness. It was also incredibly strong, so I’m curious to see if the Tencel and linen content will make the project a little lighter without loosing the softness.
Dishie cotton yarn
100% Cotton | Worsted · 760 yds
$17.99
760 yards for under $18 means this skirt could come in at two cones. The color, Sweet Valley sits right in that peachy-pink zone, which I prefer, because it blends better with lighter pinks. Plus, I just love when yarn comes in a cone.
Berroco Modern Cotton Yarn
60% Cotton 40% Rayon | Worsted · 209 yds/100g
$9.00
40% Rayon content in means that this yarn should feel fluid and silky to the touch. I also considered that, even without a lot of lace or stitch work, the luster can still provide great stitch definition. The only tradeoff is that the final piece must be washed and laid flat to dry, which adds some upkeep to the piece.
Lion Brand 24/7 cotton
100% Mercerized Cotton | Worsted · 185 yds
$5.99
This is the most practical option on this list. Mercerized cotton is strong, holds color beautifully, and can be fully machined & dried, which is more convenient for those unfamiliar with maintaining natural fibers. The color range skews classic, so I’ll be digging into whether their pinks hit the fuchsia range my client needs.
Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK Yarn
100% Cotton | DK · Light Worsted 137yds (125m)/50g (1.76oz)
$3.09
Paintbox is where you go when you need a wide color range at an accessible price point, and that’s exactly why it’s on this list. Their shade selection is genuinely impressive and if the pink-to-fuchsia gradient exists anywhere at this price, it’s here.
CotLin Yarn
70% Tanguis Cotton, 30% Linen | Sport · 123 yds/50g
$6.29
The linen content might give this one a similar structural quality to The One Cotton, but Tanguis is a Peruvian long-staple cotton known for being softer and stronger than standard. This one might be the winner, because the price is decent and the sport weight would crochet up beautifully fine and drapey at a loose gauge.
It will take me some time to decide between strength of fiber for a loose net stitch, color availability in the pink-to-fuchsia range, and care requirements that are accessible.
For now, I’ll be making my swatches and sharing more updates throughout the process.
Comment below if you have any new yarn suggestions!
-Harmony