What Type of Yarn Should I Learn With?

Occasionally I get a question like this from a student: “What kind of yarn is best to learn with?”

Most classes, online and in-person, will include in the description a specific type of yarn the student is asked to bring. It’s important to pay attention to those descriptions! The teacher usually has a specific reason for calling for that type of yarn, and bringing something different may limit your ability to follow along in the class. As you can imagine, failing to bring a second color of yarn to a colorwork class would lead to frustration, as would bringing superwash yarn to a class that involves felting.

But in absence of specific directions, there are certain attributes that lend themselves better than others to learning new techniques, whether you’re in a class, working along with a video at home or choosing yarn for a pattern that uses a new or unfamiliar technique.

Smooth

The most important aspect of a learning yarn is that it should be smooth. By that, I mean that it should be free of nupps, bumps, loops, and other things that catch. It shouldn’t be super fuzzy; mohair and novelty yarns are right out. Why? Fuzzy yarn, or yarn with bumps or other fancy textural features will obscure your stitches and prevent you from easily seeing what they look like. It can also resist pulling back (especially mohair!) and like it or not, when we’re learning, trying again is usually part of the process.

But Not Too Smooth

Some yarns take smoothness too far. When a yarn crosses the line from “smooth” to “silky,” it stops being a good learning yarn. Yarns that are silky, slinky, and shiny — such as those with very high silk or bamboo content, or some acrylics that are made to mimic that — are harder to learn with because they don’t grip at all. It’s the polar opposite of mohair; some of these yarns want to practically unknit themselves as they’re being worked. Fighting to get the yarn to stay in place while you’re learning is no fun at all.

Uniform

Uniformity in both weight and in color is helpful in a learning yarn. Thick-and-thin yarn won’t create uniform stitches, which can mean it’s hard to tell if you’re doing something wrong or if it’s the yarn making your knitting look a little wonky. Tweed is not ideal because it contains many little bumps in other colors and even textures that can distract the eye from seeing the stitches you’re making. And variegated yarns should be saved for your actual projects. Color changes within the yarn can make you crazy, especially if you’re learning any form of colorwork. It can be frustratingly difficult to see the contrast between the yarns when there’s a lot of contrast within one yarn.

Weight

I like to recommend a worsted- or DK-weight yarn for learning because the stitches are large enough to see what you’re doing without being too unwieldy.

Color

Unless specified otherwise, a light colored yarn is best, for the simple reason that you want to be able to see your stitches easily. This doesn’t have to mean white. You should use a color you’ll enjoy! Pastels and brights can be great, but I try to stay away from very dark yarns.

If you’ll be doing colorwork of any type, your teacher will probably recommend you bring yarns in two or more colors that contrast against each other. I prefer to choose one very light yarn and one that’s a medium color (for example, light blue and royal blue, or light pink and cherry red, or off-white and any medium tone). If one of your yarns is very dark, the stitches will contrast, but you may have trouble seeing stitch detail in the darker yarn.

Fiber

It’s best to choose a fiber that is easy on your hands, and one that you like the feel of. I love working with wool because it has a nice balance of stretchiness (which means it’s a bit forgiving) and stickiness (so it won’t be slipping off my needles). Most cottons are too firm for my liking, but there are some preparations of cotton that are spun to be bouncy and light, and those can work fine. I think many acrylic or acrylic-blend yarns make good practice yarn, so don’t hesitate to pull out some of that leftover Red Heart or Lion Brand if you enjoy knitting with it. Working with a yarn that doesn’t feel too precious can help you to allow yourself to be okay with mistakes and re-dos.

Yarn that has all of these attributes will make for a more pleasant class experience. It will allow you to easily keep track of what you’re doing while you’re working and to see how the finished stitches look. You’ll more easily identify mistakes, and be able to pull back and try again or drop down and fix those mistakes. These guidelines are also a good choice when you’re choosing yarn for a pattern that uses a new or unfamilar technique.

They’re the exact sorts of yarns I generally recommend my students to bring to my classes (and yes, definitely the right yarns for my upcoming brioche and colorful cast-ons classes). I hope these suggestions help you make good choices the next time you’re learning something new!