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Yarn & Needles

Yarn
Knit Picks is the new kid on the block (the yarn, not the company) but seems to be turning into a major powerhouse.  Instead of sending the yarn through several middle-men, they sell directly from the factory to the public, meaning much cheaper prices for great quality. Review1  Review2
  • KP Shine works as a substitution for Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, Rowan Cotton Glace', Rowan Wool Cotton, and Rowan Linen Drape so there are tons of great baby & kid patterns that already work for this yarn.
  • Wool of the Andes is fairly popular.  (also make a natural yarn to dye yourself)   If you are using them for soakers, they are fine for daytime use, but not ideal for the heavy wetter or night time diapering.
  • Merino Style was used by another mama who made the LTK flirty skirty soaker pattern and was very happy with the result.

Hand Painted, Raw Yarns

 If you are in the market for hand-painted yarns, especially for diaper soakers, here are several WAHMs who specialize in this.  Many also take orders for custom colorways.  

 Little Turtle Knits
Holy Sheep Yarns
Handpainted Yarn .com the pure merino wool bulky six ply is good for soakers
Wooly Wonders by Nada
Ewe Betcha
Some of my favorite commercial yarns

 Bernat CottonTots is a 100% cotton yarn that knits up really soft.  It is easy to get and fairly inexpensive.  Doesn't have a lot of patterns I like, so it usually requires a lot of math for me to convert a pattern I actually want to knit.  I mostly use this for fast garter stitch projects.  Machine washable and theoretically lay flat to dry, although I usually just toss items into the dryer with no problem.

 Paton Bohemian is a very soft, bulky yarn that works beautifully for scarves.  Beatnik Blues colorway is great for Men's scarves (blend of browns and blues).  Machine washable and dryable.

 Caron Cozi is a soft, two strand yarn that knits up nicely.  Thinner than Bohemian, with a better drape.  

Plymouth Encore  and Paton's Decor are both nice, reasonably inexpensive worsted weight yarns that work fine together in the same project.  Both are a 75% acrylic, 25% wool and machine wash & dry.  I strongly prefer natural fibers, but this is a nice enough blend to satisfy me.  The Plymouth was a tad softer, but not a lot different.  The Decor was a slight bit more shiny.


Yarns that I won't use again.

 Pattons Cha Cha is simply beautiful on the skein.  Great colorways, and really soft.  However, working with it is a nightmare.  I tried on my Clover cirucluars, Boyle aluminum straights, and Denise Interchangables.  I tried several types of stitches.  The 'spine' of the yarn is rough and like dental floss that hurt my fingers and got caught in the joints of the circulars, and the fluff is slick and kept trying to slide off the needles.  The material started matting while swatching it.  It also was impossible to frog and tangled. Terrible stuff.

Lion Fun Fur is the debel.  Similar experience to cha cha.  Especially bad when I tried to string the two yarns together for an end-of-scarf embellishment.

Red Heart is cheap in every way.  I got a whole bunch of Baby Teri thinking it would knit up really cute for baby items.  It made a flimsey, cheap looking garment.  Plus, since it was an acrylic, I couldn't even make 'practical' terrry cloth type items (no absorbancy).  I got some Plush to try and make myself a scarf and hat.  The material had no body and made my teeth hurt to knit with it.  It also looked really cheap.  I also got a bunch of the Kid's yarn to practice soaker patterns before investing in wool, and expected to make my child a sweater with it.  It sent shivers up my spine and had me clenching my teeth from the texture of it.  Even more maddening...after the first wash it was a pilly mess.  You can't pay me money to knit with Red Heart again.  YUCK!
Needles
My hands can really hurt if I use the wrong needles, so that has a huge influence on what I like.  I prefer the needles with a big more flexibilty so they give a bit as I knit, and needles that are not too slick, so I can stretch my hands out (or drop them to chase after a child) without all the stitches falling off.  I also really like knitting with circulars or flexible end straights to keep the weight off my hands/wrists as I knit.  As a result, I don't do much knitting with aluminium or other metal needles but rather stick to natural materials, with the exception of my Denise needles.  (a compromise to my budget that could not handle an entire stash of bamboo circulars and dpns)  

Clover circular needles - my favorite needles.  They get a nice pantina with age and are easier on my hands than stiffer needles.  I wish the tip was a little sharper, but other than that I love these.  I am really wanting to try some Crystal Palace bamboo because I hear that the tips aren't as blunt.

Brittany
  • Double Pointed Needles - good quality, and I like that you get 5 instead of 4 in a pack.  Perfect for knitting when you have to put down and pick up your work a lot (common problem with us mamas.  lol) because there is just a bit of grip to hold on to the yarn.  Also works well as a cable needle.
  • Straight Needles - I loved these until I discovered circular needles.  I still like them, but my hands hurt on any straight needles (although these are a lot better than most) because of the weight of the knitted item.  Circular keep the weight off my hands and wrists.
  • Crochet Hook - I am not big into crochet, but I like this one a lot better than the aluminum & metal needles that dominate my small collection.  Nice weight and comfortable too.
Denise Interchangeables - I like these a lot more than I thought I would.  I have been very happy with the performance, and the fact you get so many needle sizes and configurations means that I have what I need on hand.  I would recommend these for a beginning knitter or a knitter on a budget so that you have the basics and are never left unable to start a project when the yarn store is closed. (which is more often than not, in my experience).  They are more slick than bamboo or wood, but not as slick as metals.  Has flexibility similar to woods and bamboo.  (easier on the hands)  The smallest size is size 5, so if you are a major sock knitter, this isn't going to serve you very well.