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I'll be honest: I have a love-hate relationship with velvet yarn. Some days, I absolutely love it because of how soft and luxurious it feels. Other days, I curse at my past self for buying such a frustrating yarn. Don't get me wrong, velvet yarn is fantastic but comes with its struggles.
Surely, you've seen velvet yarn in yarn stores before. Several different brands have velvet yarn, but I feel like I see Bernat's version the most, which is what I've used. As you walked past the stunning velvet yarn, I'm sure you wondered, "What could I make with that?" You can make so many fun things with velvet yarn! But before you get sucked in by the softness, I want to warn you about some of the struggles that come with using velvet yarn.
Working with velvet yarn comes with challenges, but in the end, it's worth it. I've had my fair share of struggles using velvet yarn. We all strive to find the perfect soft yarn for blanket projects. A chunky velvet yarn is by far the softest yarn you'll find. Unfortunately, using soft yarn comes with a price. It knots easily, and the fuzzies are out of control! While it may seem like velvet yarn is out to get you, I have a few tips to help you conquer the softest yarn on the market.
Follow these 5 tips for working with velvet yarn, and you'll have all the tools you need to use it in your knitting patterns. I've included some pictures showing off some of my biggest struggles with velvet yarn. I'm trusting that this is a safe place, and you will only laugh at my failures a little bit. Don't let my failures scare you too much. I've learned from my mistakes and want to help you not make the same ones while you're working with velvet yarn.
1 - Know when to give up and cut your yarn.
"Cut yarn??? Are you crazy?"... maybe.
I know that many people are adamant about not cutting their yarn when it gets tangled. Admittedly, I give up way too fast on unraveling yarn and start cutting as soon as it makes me mad. While I should just put my project down and wait for the next day before making rash decisions, I'm guilty of busting out the scissors and cutting anything that's tangled and making me mad. Usually, that's not the best idea because the tangled yarn can still be saved, but that's only sometimes the case with velvet yarn.
When velvet yarn tangles, it starts to lose fuzz. Velvet yarn is constructed of a tiny string that looks like a strong piece of sewing thread, and the fuzzy velvet pieces are attached to that one string in the center. The fuzzies make it really easy to get the yarn tangled because it sticks together really well. If the knots get too bad, the fuzz comes right off the string, leaving you with unsightly "bald spots" in the yarn. Sure, you could ignore the missing fuzz and hope that it blends in eventually, but it leaves the risk of it continuing to lose fuzz. Sometimes, I'll leave the bald patches in if they are small or in a part of the project that will be seen only occasionally. But if you have big patches of "bald spots," then it's best to just cut your losses literally and snip the yarn.
Don't be afraid to cut the knots out of your yarn. Of course, preventing knots is always ideal, but we all know they can't be avoided. You may be a pro at never tangling your yarn, and if that's the case, I need pointers from you! I am the worst at tangling my yarn. I wish I could say that it's always the yarn's fault, but I know that it's usually a user error. Velvet yarn is particularly prone to tangling, so knowing when to cut your losses and weave in an extra end will save you headaches in the long run.
2 - Rewind your skein to make it easier to work with.
To avoid the dreaded knot problem, I suggest rerolling the yarn skein into a new ball. Often, I find that working directly from the ball causes more tangling. I recently used Bernat's baby velvet yarn to knit a baby blanket. I love Bernat yarn, but I was working with two strands at a time to make a chunky knit blanket, and it was a nightmare of tangles. I wish I had rerolled the yarn sooner to avoid the tangles.
Similarly, I recommend not using the center pull. I usually LOVE a good center pull, but with velvet yarn, the risk of yarn vomit is too significant (yarn vomit = the center pull tangling and pulling out a ton of knotted yarn at once). As I mentioned before, I am notorious for tangling yarn. It's my specialty, unfortunately. Center pulls can create an issue with any yarn. I know some people NEVER use center pulls and are very adamant about not using them. I normally like them and don't have any trouble with most yarns. However, velvet yarn is a different beast, and center pulls are just asking for a big tangled knot.
Rewinding your yarn might sound like a waste of time, but untangling all of the knots along the way while delicately trying to avoid pulling out any fuzz will be much more time-consuming. I hate nothing more than putting down the knitting needles or crochet hook to untangle yarn. It completely ruins my peaceful crafting time and turns into a game of untangling yarn. Rewinding a velvet yarn ball is ideal because it lets you work out any knots ahead of time, and the ball you roll will likely be tighter than how it came from the store, which minimizes the possibility of "yarn vomit."
Below is a picture of two balls of Bernat Baby Velvet yarn completely tangled together. This is not my proudest moment…
I don't have a fancy yarn wall for storing my yarn (yet!), so all of my yarn is stored in bins. This happened when I left the velvet yarn in the bins I dug through to find other yarn. I definitely recommend storing your velvet yarn in a place where it won't get tangled because this picture could be your future.
3 - Be prepared for the fuzzies.
The thing that makes velvet yarn such a super soft yarn is the fuzziness of the yarn. However, that fuzziness comes with its own issues. Any time you cut the yarn, be prepared for a snowstorm of fuzz! Everyone in my family knows when I've been working with velvet yarn. There is fuzz everywhere! I wear mostly dark clothing, but I knit and crochet mostly in bright colors, so the fuzz is always super noticeable when it's all over my clothes.
I only find the fuzz to be an issue when cutting the yarn or untangling a knot. Weaving in ends is what produced the most fuzz because I was cutting yarn ends and threading them through needles, causing a ton of fuzz to fall off. Otherwise, the fuzz really doesn't come off on its own, which is great. I wish I had a better tip for handling the fuzzies, but my only advice is to be prepared. Maybe lay down a towel or be ready to change clothes.
Here's a picture of my shirt after cutting velvet yarn and fighting to rewind a tangled mess. Like I said, everyone in my house knows when I've been working with velvet yarn because I walk around looking like this! It isn't a huge deal that fuzz gets all over the place; it's just a slightly annoying aspect of working with velvet yarn.
4 - Avoid knots at all costs.
I know this is easier said than done, but avoiding knots will save you a lot of time. My best advice here is to go slow. Take your time when you're unraveling your ball. Take it slow to avoid tangling, especially if you're simultaneously working with two strands of velvet yarn.
If you see a knot forming, stop immediately and untangle it. I have a terrible habit of ignoring knots that I see forming until it's too late. I tend to ignore knots as I see them forming because I don't want to deal with them at that time. This is a terrible habit of mine, and I hope you don't do it too! Ignoring knots is never a good idea. I know that it's hard to put the knitting needles or crochet hook down and handle the tangles, but it's worth it in the end.
I wish I had better advice for you here, but avoiding knots is crucial when working with velvet yarn. Once those knots start to form, they begin to cause those "bald spots," as I mentioned in tip 1
5 - Remember that velvet yarn is worth the struggles.
Despite all of the struggles that come with velvet yarn, it really is worth it. Bernat velvet yarn is the softest yarn that I have ever felt. So many other brands have incredibly soft velvet yarn as well. It makes such a good baby yarn because of its softness, and who doesn't love working with chunky yarn? It goes so fast!
As long as you rewind your yarn, know when to give up, and take it slow to avoid knots, velvet yarn shouldn't scare you. It makes the most beautiful finished projects, and everyone who has felt one of my projects with velvet yarn is amazed at the softness.
Next time you're walking down the yarn aisle and see a beautiful velvet skein, I hope you pick it up and take it home. You can make so much with velvet yarn: amigurumi, blankets, accessories, and so much more. It might not be the most traditional yarn or the most practical for all of these projects, but it is the softest and a fun challenge. All the challenges I laid out above are nothing compared to the fantastic finished projects you can make with velvet yarn.
Working with velvet yarn might be challenging, but it is 100% worth it.
Bonus Tip – Hand wash your finished project.
After writing this entire article giving tips on how to work with velvet yarn, I made another terrible mistake… I washed my knit blanket. I worked on this blanket for so long. It used two strands of velvet yarn held together, making a beautiful marbled look with the two colors. Plus, it was soooo unbelievably soft.
Yes, I know it was crazy to put this blanket in the washing machine, but I promise I had a good reason. The blanket was intended for my new baby niece, and baby items just have to be machine washable. I knew this blanket would be machine-washed by the new owners 100% of the time, so I wanted to test it out before giving it away. Boy, am I glad that I did because it was a train wreck.
The yarn is machine washable, so it didn't shrink or break or anything unfixable, but the tension was completely wrecked. I've included an image (it's so painful to look at) of the loops the washing machine created in the yarn. My theory is that the velvet yarn is just so slippery that the washing machine backed some of the stitches out, creating weird new tension issues that wouldn't happen with other yarns. It's fixable, but it will take hours and hours to massage the tension back to how it looked before.
I've decided not to gift this blanket to my new niece because the little loops can be dangerous for little hands, and it's absolutely a blanket that will need to be hand-washed. I guess I got a new blanket from the situation, so I can't be too mad. I'll make her a new blanket out of a yarn that won't get wonky in the washing machine.
I also washed a crocheted unicorn made with velvet yarn at the same time, and it survived much better. Some of the tucked-in yarn pulled out, and it looked a little raggedy until I tucked them back in. I think that crochet stitches are tighter than knit stitches, and they don't have the same opportunity to change the tension with the washing machine. This will be gifted to my niece because it held up fairly well!
I have patterns for the blanket and unicorn that I just talked about, and they are both coming soon!
Put these tips to work with some of my patterns featuring velvet yarn.
Now that you're equipped with the tools needed to conquer velvet yarn, put them to the test with some of my patterns that use Velvet yarn. Push past some of the struggles that might come up with velvet yarn and tackle one of these patterns!
Don't let all of my struggles deter you away from using velvet yarn. Honestly, you might pick up a skein and have absolutely no problems. Many of my issues were surely user errors, but I still wanted to share them with you to ensure you don't make the same mistakes that I made. I also don't want you to get discouraged if you've used velvet yarn before and had any of these mistakes. You're not alone in having occasional yarn fails! It's what keeps crocheting and knitting interesting.
Puff Muff Pillow
This pillow pattern uses velvet yarn and features an insert for your hands. It's the perfect solution for warming up your hands on the couch! This was one of my first projects using velvet yarn, and it's how I fell in love with it. The velvet yarn works really well with the puff stitch to make this pillow look way more luxurious than it actually is. The stitch is simple, but the velvet yarn makes it look so much more detailed. I love velvet yarn for pillows because it adds an extra layer of texture to any couch.
FREE No-Sew Cupcake
This no-sew amigurumi pattern is available for free on Ribblr. It's a great small project for anyone dipping their toes in the world of velvet yarn. It works up quickly because of the velvet yarn, and because it's no-sew, there isn't as much of an opportunity for fuzz to go flying.
Amigurumi projects are also my favorite for velvet yarn. They are usually small, so it's an excellent opportunity to test out the yarn without committing to a big project. Plus, you want stuffed animals to be soft, so velvet yarn is the perfect choice. It adds an extra layer of squishy softness to your amigurumi.
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