Red Heart Knitting Worsted Yarn - Pros and Cons
By Joan Young on
Red Heart knitting worsted can be found nearly everywhere and is good for for craft projects, garments, what have you.It is a good, reasonably priced yarn, but not what you want to use for really high-class projects
Red Heart 4-ply worsted is a good all-purpose yarn.One of the best things about it is that it comes in over 100 colors (counting the variegated ones).You can usually find it in 4 or 7 oz skeins.And for a number of years now its been sold as No Dye Lot, which means that you dont have to worry about matching an 8-digit number as well as the color number if you manage to not buy enough to finish your project the first time.
It is 100% acrylic yarn, machine washable and dryable.This has been well tested in our house over the years.It does really well with retaining its original shape after washing and drying.
It is not an overly stretchy yarn, so its fairly easy for most people to maintain consistent tension when knitting or crocheting.It is quite consistent in the actual heft of the yarn.Every once in a while a brand will have the same label on two different colors, but when you get it home you discover that one color is a slightly different diameter than the other even if they are both labeled 4-ply, or whatever.I havent found much variation with the Red Heart. The pull-out skeins almost always work right, so you dont get a tangled mess when you try to find and start the loose end of the beginning of the skein.
Ive been using this brand of yarn for years, and compared to other inexpensive brands, this one is great. It wears well, doesnt get pills or stretched out of shape quickly. The second picture is a part of an afghan I made hubby about 20 years ago.He uses it almost daily, and you can see its still looking good.
The skein wrappers often have free patterns on the back.Now, some of these are nothing great, or yet another endless variation on some familiar theme, but Im currently making an afghan for a friend using one of those patterns, and its very pretty and rather unique.
Now for the down side. Its acrylic.If you are seeking to make a top quality garment for someone special or yourself, it just isnt wool, and never will be.
My only other complaint about it is that the overall feel of the yarn is a tiny bit scratchy. There are many yarns available with a softer touch.Some of the cheaper ones have issues of their own, but if you want something really soft for a child with sensitive skin, or a cuddly blanket, you might want to check out other brands.
