Yarn recommendations for a Lego afghan

[tashapet]

Hi everyone, my 11-year-old son has asked for a Lego afghan. I mostly make baby blankets so I'm limited in what yarns I've worked with. The pattern is all done with single crochet so my usual Caron Simply Soft won't really work - I think it will be too heavy for a full afghan in a dense stitch. So I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for a good yarn to use. It needs to come in bright, primary colors and be fairly soft. Fairly inexpensive is good too - it will take a lot and I'd rather not pay a fortune for it LOL Thanks in advance

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville! 

Both caron and red heart's soft yarn tends to be heavier than their cheap worsted weight yarn. 

Try a yarn that is a looser ply with a slightly bigger hook, like a J. I'm using lion brand's pound of love with a J hook to make a dense twin bed topper. It's heavy, but not too heavy for my 4 yo grandson. I'm not sure about the colors. 

Both lion brand and vanna's choice, as well as most store brands are a looser ply than RH and caron.

[tashapet]

Thank you! I'll go have a look at those.

[Empress Busy Bee]

Interesting.  I find Simply Soft lighter than something like Red Heart Super Saver.   Either way both soften and lighten up after washing.

If you are on Ravelry, here is the Lego blanket search.  Click on a few then click on the yarn suggestions tab to see what others used. If you click on the "used" how ever many times, it will take you to just those projects and you can see yourself.  If you are not on Ravelry, you need to join to see but it is free to join.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=crochet&view=captioned_thumbs&query=lego&sort=best&pc=blanket

Hope that helps.

 

[tashapet]

I bought some of the RH Super Saver today so I'll see how it goes. At least it came in the right colors, and in much bigger balls than the Simply Soft! 

[Granny Square]

Red Heart Super Saver and Caron Simply Soft are a bit different, but not that much - only about 4 hundredth of a percent between heaviest to lightest of the batch below.  I'm really surprised at the Caron pounder, I used it once and thought it would be the heavy one.  Comparing 'soft' to 'cheap stuff':

RH Soft = 141 grams, 256 yards = 1.82 grams per yard

RHSS 'regular'= 198 grams, 364 yards = 1.84 grams per yard

CSS = 170 grams, 315 yards = 1.85 grams per yard

Caron Pounder = 454 grams, 812 yards = 1.78 grams per yard 

Used the gram measure as it's a much smaller amount than ounces (28 g per oz), thought it would be more accurate

To the OP, I think the RHSS will work out fine.  I use it a lot, even for (knit) garments.

 

[redrosesdz]

That surprising that the soft ones are so close in grams/yard to their regular ww counterparts. The soft ones are thinner than the regular ww, so maybe it takes more yarn to make the same size.

I don't notice a weight difference in smaller objects, but I've made couch size afghans from css. They are much heavier than the same size afghans made from rhss and cp.

[Granny Square]

Since moving to a colder (winter) climate and relearning to knit a few years ago I've made myself a pullover or cardigan every winter, using RHSS but once in Caron S. Soft.  The Caron one always seemed heavier to me (weight- nor warm- wise)...maybe it's just less fluffy, or limper maybe, that gives that impression.

 

[tashapet]

Thanks for your replies everyone! I appreciate it!