First thanks for all your lovely caring and complimentary comments on my last blog post, they made me feel a lot better :-) Mr Sweetpea is nearly better now and is back to work with his sore foot - just hope he can drive home again! We buried Petal under Eldest Sweetpeas oak tree behind the beach hut - I hope she likes it there.
Now I have to share with you an urge that I have. Is the urge to bungee jump ...... visit faraway lands ....... learn to fly a helicopter ..... do a degree in astro-physics ... buy a Camper van and pootle off around the country in it .... ?
Nope it is none of the above, my urge is to create my very own crochet ripple blanket (well to be honest the last thing on the above list is also an urge but I need to save up for that one for some time first :-(). This is where I need your help :-) I know a lot of you are very good at the crochet thing, can you help me with the following questions:
Do you know of a good yarn that doesn't cost a lot (as I want to save for that Camper :-)).
Does anyone know how many balls I may need for an average sized blanket?
Anyone know of where to buy yarn at a good price?
Thanks very much for reading about my urge :-)
Take care
Zoe
x
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI can heartily recommend Stylecraft Special DK wool, which is an acrylic one but one of the better ones in that it's nice and soft and doesn't squeak or go greasy when crocheting like some of the other brands. You can buy this from about £1.70 or so per 100g ball online. Depending on what sort of yarn you're after, Rico do a cotton yarn in nice colour ranges which is a 50g ball but still only a couple of pounds or so a ball (I think) as opposed to Rowans cotton dk.
For Stylecraft have a look at Deramores, knitandsew.co.uk, or Masons which are currently selling Stylecraft at £1.40 a ball: http://www.masonsneedlecraft.co.uk/zcart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65_102_293_295
You can find Rico at first4yarns and cucumber patch.
Good luck with it - ooh by the way, Lucy at Attic24 has a smashingly easy tutorial over on her blog should you want to have a look!
Love Julia x x x
I am a fan of baby rico for blankets, its acrylic but sooo soft and lovely colours. I started a double bedspread and calculated it would take about 24 balls = £60 if that helps. (its now a scarf instead tho!) Where are you in Cambridgeshire? The LYS in Burwell, Tinas, has it in stock if you want to squidge.
ReplyDeleteI'll second the Stylecraft, excellent value & washes well. I buy mine from Masons ,they have a huge range of colours & reasonably priced too.
ReplyDeleteI'll third the Stylecraft! Washes well and you get a lot of bang for your buck!! Fanatstic colours too. Lots of places do a "Lucy Pack" but I would also check out www.kempswoolshop.com for bargains in all yarn goods.
ReplyDeletexxxx
I don't know anything about crochet, I'm rubbish although I have done a chain stitch, but that's it. So sorry to hear about your lovely chooks, I hope you and the children are ok .. and your husband, of course, with his foot !!
ReplyDeleteI'm using Stylecraft for the granny square blanket I'm crocheting at the moment, and it's ok but being acrylic it does squeak a bit if your hands get warm as you're crocheting. I also have an urge to crochet a ripple blanket (when I've finished the granny square one) and I've decided that I'm going to go for a wool yarn for that. I know it will cost alot more, but I don't have to buy it all at once.
ReplyDeleteI have started and stopped ripple blankets so many times - mostly stopping due to the amount of wool it was eating! I shall be reading the recommendations here with interest ...
ReplyDeleteWell...I do love crochet but have no experience of actually doing it and so I am sorry to be no help at all...except that I do know Stylecraft Special DK wool is mentioned an awful lot on blogs I visit for crochet...and I am sure it will look wonderful because I love those ripple blankets!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to read about little Petal in your last post...It makes it even harder when you have little ones around, doesn't it?
Hope you have a good weekend,
Susan x
Hi
ReplyDeleteBlog hopped and found you.. what a lovely blog.
I used King Cole yarn for my ripple blanket but I have since looked up yarn suppliers. I came across this one selling Stylecraft Wool togsandtoggleswoolsandyarns.com
Their double knit is only £1.75, which is much cheaper than the yarn I used. I want to knit myself a colourful stripy cardi and am going to buy it..
I don't know how much you will need for your blanket as I bought 12 different colours and do have about a quarter of each 100g ball left. I shall soon use it up making granny square cushions, so it won't be wasted.
Do enjoy your blanket crocheting, it is very restful and you'll love it as it grows
Happy hooking!!
Chris xx
www.togsandtoggleswoolsandyarns.com
Togs and toggles wools and Yarns.Visit us Today
Hi there, it's got to be Stylecraft.
ReplyDeleteStylecraft special is 100% acrylic but they do one called Stylecraft Life which is 75% acrylic and 25% wool. Much nicer than the acrylic and still nice and cheap about £2.50 for 100g.
The granny blanket on my blogs sidebar took 800g of yarn so your looking at about £20.
Happy hooking.
Fiona
Life has been really hard lately.....a lot has happened, I have left quite a lot of stuff out, as I think a few ppl might find it upsetting. But on I march....
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about the dear little hen.....:>(
Hope you hubbies foot is on the mend and well rested.
Melx
yup stylecraft is a good economy brand, and the one with 25% wool added is lovely, I like the more muted colours too.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the granny stripe I did for my double bed.. that used up 1 3/4 packs of the lucy pack from Masons, so approximately £40 for a double bed sized blanket.
I've recently made a large granny square blanket (sewing together 4 very large granny squares) out of James C Brett Marble Chunky, which is another lovely acrylic. It is around £4.50 for 200g; and being an aran type yarn, i works up fast. For the large granny square blanket I used probably £30 worth of the marble.
My own ripple, I made from left overs; that's single bed size(ish) so not really sure how much that cost to make.
Oohh and I've washed my granny stripe blanket quite a few times now..and it's still lovely and even softer!