“What’s your favorite yarn?”
We always want to choose the perfect yarn for our projects, no question about that. For most of my projects, I specialize in amigurumi and I often get asked, “what’s your favorite yarn?” A valid question and an important one to consider. After much experimenting with a different number of yarns, I am felling pretty confident about the line that I am most happy with when it comes to Amigurumi!
I will just come out and say it – My favorite yarn for Amigurumi is Basic Stitch Value from JOANN! In many of my Tik Tok video’s, this label might look pretty familiar to you. When deciding the best yarn for amigurumi projects, there’s a lot to consider.
There are a number of things I look for in yarn to use as my “staple” and down below, you can find each category that I put value in and why I rank this so highly. I will be keeping amigurumi in mind but this yarn is universally good for any array of projects such as home décor pieces and wearables like scarves!
This is a commercial brand and I will be comparing it to other commercial brands that can be found in big box stores in the United States. This is not compared to locally dyed yarn.
Click HERE to order some for yourself and get started on your newest project! Here are some examples of my work to show what the yarn looks like all worked up:
**Disclaimers
This is a commercial brand and I will be comparing it to other commercial brands that can be found in big box stores in the United States. This is not compared to locally dyed yarn.
Down below, you can find my full review of my favorite brand of yarn for Amigurumi and by clicking HERE, you can shop the full catalog from JOANN and order some for yourself. This is also through my affiliate link, so when purchasing it helps support me as an artist as well. Thank you in advance and I can’t wait to see your projects with my recommended yarn!
JOANN is a company that I work very closely with (blogging, media events, etc) and have a strong relationship with. I generally stick to their options but from everything else I have, these are all still my own personal opinions and a yarn I actively choose to use. This was NOT a paid post but I do get asked often enough which yarn I enjoy the most, so I thought I would give more information about it!
This review will only be about Big Twist Value Yarn, Not Big Twist Soft (or other variations) Those are also great but will not be todays focus as they work up differently.
Uniformity – 5/5
The first thing I consider when looking for a yarn is how consistent each skein is with one another. Often with yarn, I notice that if I use the yarn from the color A skein compared to the color B skein, the sizing will be slightly off and not consistent. This can make your projects look off especially when designing.
With Big Twist Value, each skein I’ve used (which is a variety of colors!) have all been the same size and having the uniformity makes me feel confident when working with it.
This yarn can still split sometimes, especially in those first few tight stitches when working in the magic ring or the chain. But after a little bit of time getting used to it, splitting my yarn isn’t a common issue!
Your yarn straight to fray when inserting into a darning needle too many times – will recommend having a clean cut with scissors.
Price Tag 5/5
One of the most compelling reasons to purchase this yarn, especially if you’re new to amigurumi, is how budget friendly it is! For 380 yards of yarn, it is only $3.99 USD. This is extremely cheap for a yarn that is higher quality – and since it’s JOANN, there is generally coupons and sales to make it even cheaper!
When I go into the store to pick some up for myself, I generally spend around $2.50 on each skein. (This is the price tag in my area – Portland, Oregon. For this same price, there are lots of other worsted weight yarns that can feel cheap and scratchy. For the price, this yarn does not feel that way.
Feeling 4.5/5
The feeling of yarn can go a long way in choosing your yarn and I find this one to be pretty soft for being an acrylic yarn, I am sure many of us have tried to go for yarns that aren’t so harmful on our wallets and end up with a yarn that is super scratchy. In terms of acrylic yarns, this is one of the softest and I really like the way it feels gliding through yarn fingers. It does sometimes get caught up on your oily hands but that can be fixed pretty easily and at the end of the day, its still acrylic.
Higher quality yarns will feels more smooth but for the price, this excels upon other yarns in the same category. This may not be the softest when it comes to using it for clothing pieces, but it’ll still get the job done.
Color Choices – 4.5/5
I love the color options that are available with this line of yarn! I really mean it. Often when I am searching for yarns to use, the color I want comes in every variation besides the one that I want.
For example, if I look for a yellow, it’s either too pale or harsh and never just a solid yellow. Big Twist has every color in the most standard way and when it comes to designing and customizing, it makes my life so much easier. On top of the basic colors, variations still exist to make your work look personal to you! Click here to see ALL the color options that are available.
With that said, the color choices aren’t breaking the mold like some other brands may be doing. If you are looking for more complex colors, this won’t be for you. But if you’re just wanting solid colors with some slight but impactful variation, you will be happy with the choices!
My only complaint with the color choices are how lacking the color choices are for Brown – I have made many tree’s and I just can’t seem to get the color correct!
Here are some quick specs you can take a look at!
Ease of Access 4/5
Unfortunately, this yarn isn’t the easiest to come by for everyone. Many yarns are carried in multiple big box stores and other craft stores but this yarn is exclusively found in the JOANN isles.
It can be unfortunate especially if you don’t have a JOANN near by. However, they do ship! And when visiting their site, coupons are offered often which can make it even easier for you to get your hands on. It is also a store only in the United States.
You can find their online site HERE and order some for yourself. And if your are lucky enough to have a JOANN near you, the shelves usually have enough stock to let you go home happy!
Environmental Impact 2.5/5
At the end of the day, this yarn is still a 100% acrylic which is harmful to the environment. The carbon footprint from the manufacturing of acrylic yarn is significant and every time it’s washed, micro fibers get release into the water supply. It is also not recyclable or biodegradable for the earth either. (You can click HERE for a really in depth article about the environmental impact acrylic has!)
It still earns a 2.5 because when using this kind of yarn thoughtfully, you can create your own quality slow fashion pieces and dolls to reduce wastefulness as well as creating art that has a long shelf life. Creating dolls and home décor that are reused year after year can lessen the amount and waste each year!
So who is this yarn perfect for?
This yarn is perfect for many different crocheters and knitters! If you fall in any of these categories, this yarn is definitely worth trying out just to see if you like it. Fortunately, it’s affordable to try!
- If you are a new crafter and needing a yarn that is dependable to learn the craft with
- If you are on a tight budget and want to be able to get the most yarn for less money.
- I think this yarn line is perfect for any amigurumi artist!
- If you want standard colors in your collection.
- For designers, this yarn is great for consistency with every color.
I hope this review was helpful to everyone who was looking for a new yarn to try! And I hope it answers questions about why this Yarn is always seen in my projects. If you would like to order yourself some online, you can click this link to grab yourself some!
Summary
Okay I know I’m pretty much giving this yarn line a pretty high score but it’s really how I feel! In terms of budget friendly, choice variation, and uniformity of it, this yarn can’t be beat when compared to other big box store yarns. This yarn feels higher quality than what you are paying for. However, it is not a yarn that should be used in substitute for everything else! At the end of the day, it’s still acrylic and their can be better options for you when choosing to make a scarf, sweater etc. (Still not a bad choice though!) The colors don’t do anything too unique but if you want solid colors, the options are great. It is still impacting the earth in a negative way and while people may not have the financial or demographic privilege to get others, being mindful when your projects will be important.
Elka says
I love love love love LOVE Big Twist!! It’s truly one of my fave all purpose go-to yarns. Great for a wide variety of projects, BT is a workhorse yarn that does pretty much whatever you need or want it to do; yet it’s super soft, gives good drape on blankets and throws, and comes in a nice variety of colorways.
Try it on projects that typically yield a rather “stiff” fabric, like entrelac and other Tunisian stitch projects. It’ll change your life! 😁👍🏾