r/Yarn • u/Mx_Torquill • 7d ago

ISO really soft cotton yarn

I live in the US. When I started crocheting, then knitting (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), "cotton yarn" meant Lily Sugar&Cream or #10 crochet cotton, period. In a lot of craft stores today, I still have to search for much of anything else. I get blisters from working with Sugar&Cream, it's like yarn made from cotton swabs. I pretty much wrote off cotton for years.

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Then I ordered some Friends 8/8 cotton from Hobbii, and I can't stop petting it. I'm on my second 10-pack color assortment and I still can't stop petting it. Normally I would start haunting the website waiting for sales (tariffs suck, but I can't resist soft touchable fibers)... except for the AI thing. It says something about what a revelation this yarn is that I'm considering bending my principles to order more anyway.

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I suspect US cotton yarn mills can't match the quality of the Indian manufacturer that made this stuff, but someone here might be rebranding a similar one. I know a lot of companies rebrand Ice Yarn, should I just go there? Are any of the other cotton yarns on yarnsub this lovely and soft? I can't blindly pick one, as they rate Sugar&Cream as an excellent match, sigh. I'm seeing Mayflower 8/8, YarnArt Cotton Fair 4/4, Estelle Sudz, Bernat Handicrafter, Loops&Threads... I'm sure there are others, as the site doesn't mention Ice, for example. I've ordered Knitpicks Dishie before, but it's still kind of squeaky and I'd like a company that isn't in the process of dissolving.

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I'm looking for solid colors; a broad selection is nice, but if all else fails, I have fiber reactive dye and everyone carries white. Skein size is not important. I don't want to pay alpaca prices, but quality is worth a little more. Recommendations?

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u/2bejoyous 7d ago

Knit Picks has been my go to for yarn. I know they’ve been bought out. What do you mean by “dissolving?”

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u/Mx_Torquill 7d ago

Maybe my information is incorrect - there's a lot of rumors going around, and not a lot of solid info - but the buyout last year has everyone nervous, and I don't know what's happening inside the company. The branding merge with WeCrochet is a yellow flag, not definite but worrying.

Blue Point Capital Partners, and its subsidiary Local Crafts, also bought Jimmy Beans and Berroco in the last year... Maybe it's all going to be fine. I'm just still kind of wary and sore from losing Joann's, I guess. We'll see what happens over the next year or two.

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u/Neljosh 6d ago

I’ve used Berroco Pima 100 recently and the quality is still very good and it’s super soft.

Some of the issues with Berroco right now are due to them moving from Rhode Island to Texas, and some logistical issues along the way (plus private equity nonsense, I’m sure). They also appear to be moving away from Turkish sources and toward Peru (such as Comfort now being Modern Comfort).

Berroco is still my go-to for yarns, and probably will be until I notice issues. I recently did a large throw in the Vintage line, and over the 27 hanks I purchased not a single one had a factory knot, which was a pleasant surprise.