The qualities and benefits of knitting with Red Heart Soft yarn

Our yarn this week is Soft by Red Heart. I’m continually impressed by the range of high-quality yarn produced by Red Heart and Soft is no exception. Made from 100% acrylic, it has 256yd [234m] in one ball. My favorite care instructions; machine wash and dry. Now, let’s really get into the meat of this yarn.

The lovely colors Biscuit, Leaf and Sea Foam.

Soft yarn by Red Heart has a little bit of a shiny sheen to it. Nothing overly sparkly or anything, but a soft glow. I really love this effect; if you’re knitting a garment in a solid color, it adds a lot of depth to it. Even in the ball, the light highlights off the skein and makes it seem lighter in some places and darker in others.

Soft yarn in the colors Chocolate, Biscuit, and Sea Foam.

Soft yarn is perfect for making a simple pattern in a plain color look more sophisticated. The way the light bounces off the yarn makes it look a little bit fancier with no additional work needed. I have mentioned before about using the right yarn for the right project. If your yarn is busy, use a plain pattern, if your yarn is plain use a textured pattern. I really think this yarn is an exception to that rule because in all senses of the word, this is a plain yarn, but it does well in either a plain pattern or a busy one. It accentuates any stitches very well, even the stockinette stitch.

From bottom to top, stockinette, seed stitch, and eyelettes. All these stitches look fabulous in this yarn.

The yarn really lives up to its name and is very soft. As I sit here fondling Red Heart’s Soft yarn, there are no bumps or imperfections on the surface. Since this yarn has so much depth, I expected it to be a little stiffer, but it’s very relaxed and fluid.

A close up on the eyelets without the doubled up fabric

This is a perfect yarn for working on a garment where you don’t want a lot of stretch. I’ve tripped over that pitfall when working on market bags. You knit something up perfect, but once you put anything into it, the bag stretches down to the floor. I’d say if you were knitting any garments you wanted a bit of stretch in (a hat brim, fingerless mittens, etc.) I’d use a German Twisted Cast On, to add more stretch where you need it.

Soft yarn in the colors Cinnabar, Chocolate, Biscuit, and Sea Foam.

In summary, I don’t think there’s a project you couldn’t knit with Soft yarn. It lends itself very well to most things. Unless you’re looking for something to make an intentionally itchy sweater or some kind of hair shirt, you’re going to be pleased with your finished object knit up with Soft yarn!

Join me tomorrow as we explore a project knit up with Soft yarn!

This is part 1 of 2 in this series.

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