Fiber Content and Texture of Yarn

Hi, friends, Matthew of Mister Domestic to talk about the different types of yarn that are available for you to pick. That in itself can be super overwhelming, and it was for me. I think I just crocheted with acrylic for the first two years of my crochet journey, because I knew that yarn, I knew how to use it, and I knew what to do with it, but there are essentially three different types of yarn. One is animal-based, one is plant-based, and then one is synthetic. So the animal-based, no, it's not from the meat, it's from the hair. So there's mohair, alpaca, silk, anything that is produced from an animal that's turned into yarn. Now this, 100% wool. I would probably use wool more for apparel, outerwear, hats. That's where I lean at using animal-based products, but sometimes I like to switch it up, and that's why in here, I'm using about the same hue so you can see the difference in texture. But that's me, I think animal yarn, I think clothing and apparel. Not the only way, but that's just where my brain goes. The next one is plant-based. Plant-based will be cotton, hemp, bamboo. All of those have been turned into delicious, luxurious yarn, and where I tend to go with cotton is like dish cloths, towels, things that need that natural material. I've also made hats with it, and I've tripled up the strands to make it super thick. That's been fun. I've made afghans with cotton. The plant-based ones have a different kind of feel and drape. It's a lot denser of a yarn, but I really love the texture that that can create. And then the third and probably most ubiquitous, or everywhere, is synthetic. This one right here is a 100% acrylic, and not all acrylics are the same. Some feel different than others. That's why it's very important to know the brands, because it could be the difference between finding something that feels like paper and finding something that you want to snuggle up with. And that's where the acrylic comes in. When I think acrylic, I think easy, wearable, long-term durable stuff, afghans, outerwear, bags, anything that I want the color and the long-lastingness of something to be, then I reach for acrylic. And then, just to throw a wrench in, there are blends. A lot of times, these will be blended together. I haven't seen a lot of plant blends with other things. Usually I've seen like bamboo and cotton blended together, and those are luxurious, awesome yarns. But a lot of times, I'm finding wool and synthetic blended. You'll find a lot of wool blends that have different types of synthetic and natural ingredients in them, giving it a different feel, and it's really interesting to understand how the different combinations can impact the overall look and feel of a yarn. And those are probably the ones that I use the most, the wool blend, like a 20/80 wool blend, has just enough wool in it to give it that feel, and then it has the acrylic in it that mottles the wool, and just come together in harmony and create some gorgeous, lovely things. So this are, from soup to nuts, my basics on understanding the different types of yarn. They're all fun to play with, and don't limit yourself to just the categories that I mentioned, because who knows? You might find that you love using one for a different application, and then putting that one over here, and that's just what you want to do. And then you can come back and tell me some things about it, and I'm really looking forward to that, because that's the joy of being in a crocheting community. Hope you enjoy this lesson, can't wait to see you in the next one. Keep it positive, y'all. Mr. Domestic out.