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Overly asked question... :-)


Shawlmaker

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(1) No, and (2) I doubt it, but I don't have any experience with German yarn. 

I suppose if you personally are allergic to some sort of animal fiber (some people are allergic to sheep wool but can work with alpaca wool for example), you should obviously never use it.  But there is no absolute 'no one should ever work with this yarn for any reason' rule.  One might opine that cotton is better for potholders, and wool is better for socks, and I would tend to agree (although I own a drawerful of purchased cotton socks and wool is actually better than cotton for pot holders heat-resistant wise). 

The only "never" I'd say is not the yarn, but the purpose -- never use acrylic yarn for potholders because they can melt.  I've used acrylic for a couple for trivets, and they don't melt but they sort of flattened out unattractively...  Some people advise not to use acrylic for garments because they're "too hot", but I've made several pullover acrylic tops, and cardigans,  and love them for keeping me warm in the cooler climate I moved to 11 years ago.   (I think most nevers, except for the melting thing, is just personal preference).

The second one sounds like propaganda from a German yarn company.  By the way, 'soft' yarn has a downside, because it pills worse, and at least one brand I've tried doesn't keep it's shape at all.  I avoid yarns advertised as 'soft' (again, personal preference).  Laundering often improves the hand of most yarn I think.

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No, there is no yarn you shouldn't use.  We can crochet with anything from sewing thread to rope if we want to and are willing to work to learn how best to use the specific material. People have preferences for different fibers, brands, weights, and my personal feeling is that the only thing we "shouldn't" use is yarn we dislike working with.

You may find some yarns recommended as "knitting" yarn but of course we can also crochet with them.  Some yarns seem to work better for each craft but again it depends on one's personal preferences/

No it is not true that German yarns are the softest.  Why do you ask?  

There are some very nice yarns from European companies like Schachenmayr, Scholler-Stahl are 2 that come to mind and I am not certain I have spelled correctly.  But yarn companies based in many countries produce great yarns.  And the yarn itself is often made in Turkey, China, or other places.  

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I wasn't the one typing at the same time this time (shock!) Lol

As you use different yarns keep track of the ones you enjoyed working and produced the results you wanted. You may find that it's a couple of brands that you like. Just because you like or don't like a particular yarn, doesn't mean that someone else feels the same way. 

Some textured yarn, like chenille, homespun, and roving, are more difficult to work, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be used. Some of my favorite projects were done with textured yarn. Yarn can even be made out of fabric or plastic bag strips.

Here are some tips on yarn...

 

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Did she say what brand it was, and what specific yarn within the brand?  You'd need to know those things in order to buy the same yarn.  

Just think about one company we're all familiar with, Red Heart yarns.  Some of their yarns are manufactured in the US.  some are made in other countries.  Some are all acrylic, some are blends, some are cotton.  Some are extremely sturdy and some are more delicate.  You couldn't just say, 'buy Red Heart, its great', you'd need to specify which one.  

Also before you invest in a yarn you need to know how to care for it.  a yarn that's really soft and squishy and cuddly is likely to be an animal fiber and need to be hand washed carefully, and laid flat to dry.  You may or may not want to do all that every time you wash it.  

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