New In - Cottonsoft Yarns in Bright Colours
I've been wanting to attempt a granny square crochet top for ages. Recently someone contacted me to buy a selection of yarns to try crocheting a granny square cardigan. Like me, they are new to crochet, so they inspired me to give the top a go! That meant that along with ordering their selection of yarns, I had to order my own selection too! I went for the colours in the pattern, my customer went for her own combo. Both are going to turn out great.
Tip: before crocheting clothes, it is a good idea to test your tension. Had I not done this, there is no way on earth the top was going to fit me. I had to adjust my needle size by a couple of sizes!!
Summer top in Granny Squares crocheted with King Cole Cottonsoft DK
Other Cottonsoft DK colours
Cotton Yarn Knits
Cotton yarn - colourful and cool
There are some drawbacks to working with cotton yarn. It's not great for projects where you need it to hold its shape, or structured knits that you will wear. Cotton is great at holding water, which means it gets heavy when it is wet. This make it prone to stretching and sagging, and it won't return to its original size or shape once it has stretched. Cotton has no elasticity or memory and can be slippery. It's lack of elasticity can make it difficult to keep an even tenstion. I also find that some cotton yarns shed tiny fibres as you knit, these fibres make me cough and my nose itch. But, I love working with cotton yarn and the discomfort is mild.