Has anyone used (gasp!) Lion Brand Watercolors?

[mrzmeg]

I'm looking for a yarn that's soft, pretty, not stereotypically baby-ish, machine washable, and affordable to knit up a baby blanket. I like the look of LB Watercolors, an acrylic/merino boucle that runs about $5 a skein). I have only been oogling it online, but am going to go on a scouting errand today to feel it in person. Has anyone knit with it? The only reviews I can find are from folks who regularly knit with lower priced acrylics (as opposed to natural fibers). Any reviews out there? Or does anyone have another recommendation?

[HelloKitty]

I used some last week - Desert Sky I think was the name of the color - to crochet my mother a scarf. It came out pretty but not as nice as I thought it would. The yarn really isn't very soft IMO - I wouldn't want to use it for a baby item.

[mpeel]

If you are looking for inexpensive and soft, my favorite is Lion Brand Homespun or Homespun Baby. Sooo soft. Not nec the easiest to knit with. But, I am using it for my 3rd, 4th and 5th projects (yes I am knitting three at once) and I am doing ok. It splits easily until you get used to it. They have some beautiful colors. I have not invested in more natural fibers yet as I can't find them here except for the Lion Fishermans Wool and I do not find it very soft. I am hesitant to buy wool online as it makes me itch sooo bad unless it is extremely soft.

[ekortering]

What is it? I have never heard of it before. Can you post a link?

Erin

[mpeel]

www.lionbrand.com

[mrzmeg]

Thanks for the replies! Michelle, I've used Homespun before to knit a gift and, though I like the way it looks, it drove me nuts! The gift was only a scarf, which was good because I don't think I could make it through a whole blanket of that, lol.

I went out to Hancocks and Michaels to feel stuff. The Watercolors seem super soft to me, especially compared to most LB stuff...I'm not so sure about the white binder fiber in person, though. I actually like the look of LB Colorwaves, another I'd considered online, a lot, but it really does feel like plastic. At Michaels they carry Patons Bohemian, which really felt amazing! Sooooo soft. It's totally synthetic, though, and is a chenille, which I've heard is hard to knit with. But I think they have it at Smiley's Yarns (online discounter), so I might be tempted...

So, I'm no closer, lol. Decisions!

[lorijds]

No wool snobs here!

I use the Lion's Brand alot, especially with things that I know are going to get alot of use, and not necessarily the nice kind. Like when I made washclothes, or when I made leg warmers or hats for my kids. I don't want to spend $40+ per skein on something that needs to be washed all the time, will quite possibly be lost or chewed up by the dog, etc. If I were making a really nice sweater for my dh or mom, I'd go more expensive.

But for kids and babies, I mainly use Lion's Brand. They have a nice variety of colors and yarns. And I also like their website for free patterns. Lots of easy, instant gratification projects (those are my favorites!!!)

Lori

[mainegirl]

LB Homespun is nice, though it will shed a lot if it touches anything made of a grabby fiber like wool. I knit a white scarf for a friend who had a black wool peacoat...yeah, it was a mess.

Now, I am a *total* yarn snob BUT, : believe it or not, I found Red Heart Soft Baby to be a really nice yarn to work with (if you can excuse the splitting, which is why I only crochet with it). The lighter colors are softer than the darker dyes...I'm crocheting an afghan out of the Angel print and I really like how it's coming out so far. You could probably double it up to knit with if you want to make a thicker blanket.

Here are a couple of pictures of the first bit, I've since finished that skein and started on the second:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ty/afghan1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ty/afghan2.jpg

When it comes to baby afghans I just want it to be soft and durable, and most importantly machine washable since it's going to take a lot of abuse. That made the acrylics more attractive to me (though I was tempted to blow a load of money on Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby!).

- Jen

[chellemarie]

My mother made an afghan for me from the Homespun and I.LOVE.IT. It is very soft, drapes well (I like afghans to "hug" me), and is getting fuzzy from use and wash - which I like for that particular afghan. She used a gigantor crochet hook to make it and I think it required a double strand of yarn. What am I talking about? I don't know. I love my "Ugly" blanket. (It's not ugly - but the colors reminded my parents of the stuff they used to stuff furniture with and my dad teases that it is ugly.)

[tippytoes26]

Okay, I'm no help with the yarn you are asking about, but I wanted to say that I've been making my dd some summer tops with bernat cotton tots yarn and LOVE it. It is super soft. I don't necessarily love knitting cotton (it's just not as smooth as wool to knit with), but of the cottons I've knitted with, this is my favorite.

For an acrylic, I really like caron simply soft. It's thin, so it crochets up better than it knits (it's VERY slow to knit with) .. but it's uber soft. My dd has a dress crochet from it and we've washed it a lot and it's still really soft and beautiful.

Amber

[emomama]

i second the caron simply soft... i've used it on quite a few projects, especially stuff that is going to be washed a lot and it is really nice and super affordable. i just finished a scarf for a friend of mine and he wanted it to be kind of thick and heavy so i knit with two strands and it is *really* heavy and nice. i would totally use it for a baby blanket... i like lion brand stuff and i haven't knit with the landscapes stuff yet, but i think it's pretty soft. i wonder how it would wash up though... i also like jiffy thick and quick by lionbrand for bigger projects. and it comes in nice not-so-babyish colors.

also, fyi- joann fabric's online store has a ton of lionbrand stuff on sale right now.

[chiromama]

I've never used the Landscapes, but have been told that it is feltable... so probably not machine washable.

I like red heart TLC.. it's a cotton blend. and very very soft!

[mrzmeg]

Thanks for the recs---I'm going out to the LYS and Michaels tomorrow and will check out the Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft. I've also had recs for Encore Worsted, so I think I'll try to find that too.
Chiromama, maybe you're thinking of LB Landscapes? Watercolors is listed as machine washable. I like the feel of it and I think I'd like the way it looks knitted up, but I worry about how the random plies of fiber will look after a few washes...

I'm really lusting after some superwash wool, after remembering that acrylic and other sythetics will just melt in the face of fire...which is an unlikely occurance but enough to get this mama worrying, lol. But, whew, those prices are high!

[chiromama]

Yep.. I was thinking of landscapes. Watercolors.. I think I've seen them, but never used them.

Have you looked at yarn on www.elann.com ? sometimes they have awesome prices!