Anyway, first up is Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn. Loops and Threads is the house yarn for Michael's craft stores. As such, it is reasonably priced, and goes on sale often. For my more casual acquaintances (or future new friends reading my blog!), it is important to know that I buy A LOT of yarn. My mom and I have a so-called small business and sell our knit and crochet stuff under the name Bouquet of Crochet. We vend on Etsy and at the City Market on 104 in Edmonton once a month after our pile of stuff gets too big and needs to move on. I've become a Michael's coupon ninja, and I'm always looking out for a sale to stock up on yarn. Also, being a vegan I don't use wool or silk yarn, so acrylic is my mainstay. Because we really don't make any money from our crochet sales (it is just for fun, if you've seen our stuff and our prices you know it's true, there's no profit there!), the yarn has to be affordable and plentiful in order to make it at all worth doing. Therefore, I've bought A LOT of Loops and Threads.
 | |||
| I could be anything you want me to be! |
There are several different brands of "saver" worsted weight yarn out there. You've got Red Heart, Bernat, Vanna's Choice (Lionbrand), and Loops and Threads all sharing both retail and market share spaces. So the question is, what makes Loops and Threads stand out from the saver yarns of these brands?
The answer to this comes from a combination of personal taste, yarn comfort and skein size. I find that Red Heart Supersaver is the least comfortable out of these four saver yarns, it scratches the everlasting hell out of my fingers when I'm working with it. Its texture is not quite as awful as the ultra-cheap Craftsmart (also a Michael's brand product), but still quite annoying to work with. Bernat is lovely on the hands, but the highest of the bargain yarns in price. I find Vanna's Choice to be comparable to Loops and Threads in terms of comfort to work with, but Vanna's skeins are surprisingly small compared to others in this category.
I'm also pretty happy with the colour selection for Loops and Threads. The colours are all relatively normal, bright, and there is a selection of really interesting varigated colours. Take for example this afghan project that I made using Loops and Threads:
 |
| Basket of nice colours... |
 |
| Becomes really pretty and bright blanket! |
This afghan (which was actually a Michael's freebie pattern available here) is made up of the prescribed Loops and Threads colours. When you're making an afghan, you know that the yarn has to be comfortable, because you're going to be putting in a minimum of ~20 hours on that puppy. I can honestly say the Loops and Threads didn't bug me at all, and was a pleasure to work with. My only bitching point on this project was that (of course) they way overestimated the amount of coloured yarn needed. I used most of the white, but had lots of leftover coloured, which I used to make this baby blanket:
 |
| J'taime squiggle blanket. |
So, Vegbrarian says: Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn is a good deal all around. It has a really good balance when it comes to skein size, variety of colours, feel, and price. And it is a heck of a good deal if you're armed with a Michaels coupon.
Thanks for your detailed review! As I can't work with wool, acrylic is also a mainstay for me. I've never worked with Impeccable before but was thinking of buying some to make this: http://www.pvcloom.com/?p=268. I love the colors Dave used, but he told me he used a wool/acrylic yarn. I loathe Red Heart but have recently started using it for tawashi for which you want a scratchier acrylic. I love Bernat Worsted, it feels softer to me than Bernat Super Value which might just be my imagination - I haven't actually bought any Super Value. Unfortunately, Bernat Worsted is only sometimes available at AC Moore and in limited colorways. I liked working with Reynolds Utopia which I stumbled across at some yarn store in NH a few years ago, but sadly it's been discontinued. I haven't been excited by the Super Value colors so I've been on the lookout for something else. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI find that Red Heart becomes very soft after .machine washed and dried
DeleteI have made my grandson several blankets with it. I do crochet a little looser and that might make a difference.
Hi! Do you happen to remember what the colour of that impeccable was called? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFluffy rats. Press on the word here where it says free pattern here for the granny squares. It will take you to the pattern. You will see all the colours there. Hope this helps. Francine
ReplyDeletedo u have to block this yarn??? Thank you
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn,
DeleteI have never blocked any of my projects using this yarn. I guess it depends on the project, but I haven't even done it with the afghans.
Cheers!
Great blog! Can you tell me how the color handles washing? Does it fade much? Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI found the colors bled onto my hands leaving them a brilliant green in less than 5 rows of knitting, anyone else having this problem or did I buy the only 2 balls out there that does this?
ReplyDeleteThis yarn is terrible. First you can't find the end to pull out nicely. Second, I had to pull all the guts of the yarn out to eve get started. Once the guts were pulled out it took me 30 min, no joke, to even get to the end. The yarn was so tangled and it had knots in it. I would never buy this again. Yarn has gotten so expensive that when you buy skeins you want it to be what you paid for. Ugh
ReplyDeleteI had this problem, too, but the color and feel of the yarn has me thinking of buying it again. I'm just going to pull from the outside of the skine and let it roll around like a cumbersome ball in a container.
DeleteI recently purchased 7 skeins of Loops & Threads yarn and different colors. I will NEVER buy this yarn again even if it is selling for $0.03. I work yarn from the center end. After a while it snags so pulling it out, I get a tangle and after this happens several times, the other end comes out. This creates a spaghetti mess and takes hours of valuable time to untangle into one ball if lucky, or you have to cut and create several balls if it is just too messed up. I will never buy this yarn again. I have not had this issue with any other yarn.
ReplyDeleteSame here, but the color, feel, and moderately low fuzziness of the yarn has me coming back sometimes , so I just pull from the outside and let it roll around until it's small enough to make a ball quickly (before it collapses)
DeleteThought you should know the new circular needles have an issue as, when using two different sizes these ends came apart and had to use crazy glue. Years gone by this did not happen.
ReplyDeleteAlso your packaging has no web site and I have contacted Michael's.
Not sure how you would have mistaken this for a manufacturer. This blog is a person who crochets at home and was posting a blog article about the brand's yarn.
DeleteWho actually makes loops and threads yarn. Can you buy it online besides thru Michaels
ReplyDeleteLOOPS & THREADS Trademark of Michaels Stores Procurement Company, Inc., but other than that you can find them on Amazon and elsewhere without really mentioning Michaels. Whether it's a single-source/factory or a name under which to assess white label products and re-label it I have no idea. The product names like Impeccable are very consistent and obviously singe-source within themselves, at least.
DeleteI'm am trying to buy couture baby by loops and threads lot # 622936 color #602 upc code 0 23033 03113 2. I can't find anywhere. Can u help me locate or order this? Thanks
ReplyDeleteIs loops and threads joy dk in blossom still being made? In Canada its impossible to find and I am short for a project. Evelyn
ReplyDeleteWhere to buy rainbow nerds online?
ReplyDeleteBest nerd ropes near me.
Best nerd rope edibles online.
I love the idea of wearing a loose-fitting shirt during outdoor knitting sessions! It's so important to stay cool and comfortable while we pursue our hobbies, and your suggestions will definitely help.
ReplyDelete