Best yarn for every project

The right yarn depends far more on what you are making than on what is on sale. Each guide below covers the fibres and weights that suit the project, realistic yardage by size, and the traps that ruin the finished piece.

Crocheting rather than knitting? Start with the best yarn for crochet guide — it covers blankets, amigurumi, garments and accessories, and how much extra yarn each crochet stitch uses.

• Sweaters

  Best yarn for sweaters

  For most sweaters, choose a springy wool or wool blend in DK, worsted or aran weight. Wool holds shape at the shoulders, blocks beautifully, and needs the fewest stitches per row for a garment you will finish.

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• Cardigans

  Best yarn for cardigans

  Pick a plied wool or wool blend in DK to aran weight. Plied yarns keep button bands crisp and stop the fronts from drooping — the two things that make or break a cardigan.

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• Blankets

  Best yarn for blankets

  For most blankets, use a soft washable acrylic, cotton, or superwash wool blend in worsted, aran, or bulky weight. Washability and dye-lot availability matter more here than luxury fibre.

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• Baby blankets

  Best yarn for baby blankets

  Use a soft, machine-washable yarn in DK or worsted weight: premium acrylic, cotton, or superwash merino. Choose a tightly spun, non-shedding yarn and a firm stitch pattern with no large holes.

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• Scarves

  Best yarn for scarves

  Choose the softest fibre you can afford: merino, alpaca, or a merino/silk blend in fingering to worsted weight. Nothing that scratches, whatever the price tag says.

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• Amigurumi

  Best yarn for amigurumi

  Use a smooth, plied cotton or cotton blend in sport to worsted weight, worked on a hook one to two sizes smaller than the ball band suggests. Cotton gives sharp stitch definition and holds shape when stuffed.

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