Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission, at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you, from purchases made using the links provided.
When it comes to crochet, and other parts of my life actually, I am a creature of habit. I find a way I like doing something then I do it that way every time! With crochet, I basically only use I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. Sometimes ill use I Love This Cotton when I’m making baby things, and I’ve used Caron One Pound yarn from some rug designs I’ve been working on, but that’s about it!
I’ve been making an effort to try new yarns this year and I thought a great way to do that would be to make my favorite design, the Claire Bun Beanie, in lots of different yarn brands and see how each one works up. I tried 6 different yarns and ordered them from favorite to least favorite. All of the yarns were lovely to use though, and just because it’s my least favorite doesn’t mean you won’t love it! I made sure to use the exact same hook for each beanie so there weren’t any tension issues.
Yarn: Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek
Color: Teal Green
Type: 100% Low Pill Acrylic
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 5oz/232 yards
Price: 3.99 (Hobby Lobby)
Notes: This was my favorite yarn, I may even like it more than I Love This Yarn! It’s so squishy and soft. The sizing turned out perfect and the finished beanie looks super nice and well made!
Yarn: Red Heart Soft
Color: Deep Sea
Type: 100% Acrylic
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 5oz/256 yards
Price: 7.03 (Amazon)
Notes: I really liked this yarn! The Claire Bun Beanie worked up perfectly sizing wise and the yarn has a glossy look to it that makes the beanie look unique! It is also super soft and squishy.
Yarn: Lion Brand Heartland
Color: Grand Canyon
Type: 100% Acrylic
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 5oz/251 yards
Price: 7.50+ (Amazon)
Notes: The sizing was perfect with this yarn and the finished beanie looks great! This yarn was also super soft. I did notice the heartland yarn split easily and I had to frog my work a couple times because of it, but it might have been because I was using a Susan Bates hook.
Yarn: Red Heart with Love
Color: Berry Red
Type:100% Acrylic
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 6oz/315 yards
Price: 5.89 (Walmart)
Notes: This yarn was a little thicker than the others and the beanie turned out too big. It’s very soft though and I like the look of the finished beanie. If I were going to use this yarn regularly, I would drop down a hook size.
Yarn: Vanna’s Choice
Color: Barley
Type: 92% Acrylic 8% Rayon
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 3oz/145 yards
Price: 3.99 (Michaels)
Notes: The sizing turned out perfectly for this beanie and the color is beautiful. This yarn isn’t as soft as some of the others though and the skein is only 3oz making it the smallest of the 6 I tried.
Yarn: Caron One Pound
Color: Soft Sage
Type: 100% Acrylic
Yarn Weight: Medium 4
Skein Size: 16oz
Price: 9.69 (Amazon)
Notes: This was my least favorite yarn for Claire Bun Beanies. It was super stiff and the sizing turned out too big. It’s not a very soft yarn either. This yarn is perfect for making rugs, but I won’t be making any more Claire Bun Beanies with it. (Just my personal preference)
I hope you guys loved this post and found it useful! If you would like to see a part two, with different yarn brands, leave some yarn suggestions in the comments below. I really enjoyed getting to play with different yarns and I will probably be using the Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek more often because I loved it so much!
Don’t forget your freebie! Sign up to my email list and you’ll receive the Claire Bun Beanie Product Tags for absolutely free, and start receiving other handy freebies from me every week!
-Ashley