Red Heart Super Saver ??

[dragonfli]

I just bought some really pretty Red Heart Super Saver 5 oz skeins of a verigated yarn called Watercolor. It is very pretty. I want to make and afghan and I just started it and the yarn is sooooooo stiff and rough. It splits real easy so I have to be very careful. Also the pattern calls for a medium worsted weight, which it is, and a G hook. The guage is a full square for the afghan so I am working it now, but the hook "feels" to small for the yarn.

 

Are there any of you who have experience with this yarn? Will this RHSS soften up? When I finally wash it and rinse with Downey will it be as soft as the Caron SS. As I am working with it I am thinking there is no way I would want this rubbing up against my skin. Is the splitting normal? Does it "feel" to large for the recommended hook because it is so stiff? Should I just keep going and see what happens?

 

I have never used RHSS before so I don't know what to expect. I am a die hard Caron customer, but they just don't have the colors I am looking for lately and the RHSS varigated is such a yummy color.

[Krystal16]

I use RHSS very often, and yes - it DOES soften up after washing and drying. As for the "G" hook feeling too small - I have my OLD set of G hooks, and I had to buy a new G hook (because the other two disappeared and I was under a time crunch) and the new one is WAY smaller. You could check different brands, or see how your gauge turns out. I never use a gauge, because I'm always making afghans so it's not really essential as long as I'm in the ballpark. The splitting I have had on every kind of yarn I've ever used except the Caron one pounders (they are like a small rope to me - love that stuff!), but I've never used Simply Soft.

 

I am making an afghan now that uses the watercolor - it really IS pretty!

[Sylviaf]

I don't think this yarn will ever be as soft as Simply Soft, but sometimes you sacrifice some texture to get the ideal color, and that one is really pretty. Why not just go up a hook size and see how it feels?

[CrochetCronies]

I use this yarn all the time as well. I personally have never had a problem with splitting. But as far as roughness... I have found that different colors are softer than others. It seems to me like the darker colors are much thicker and are more stiff to work with than the lighter colors. But overall I think it really is a great great yarn. Keep truckin', hopefully you won't be dissapointed.

[dragonfli]

Ok, I just finished the guage square with the RHSS Watercolor and put it through the wash and in a Downey rinse. It is still itchy and stiff. What do I do? I bought enough for an afghan!!! I still want to make the afghan!!! Help!! My daughter said, "Mommy, its so itchy maybe you can make one of those door rugs, you know the kind that scratches the dirt off of the bottom of your shoes".

What to do?

[Krystal16]

Did you dry it, too?

 

I dry mine, though only on medium.

[dragonfli]

Yes, I dried it on medium. Also, it looked good when I put it in, nice and flat and perfect, now it is puckered and out of shape, is not normal?

[Yearnin' for Yarn]

I taught myself how to crochet on RHSS, and once I learned I moved on to Caron SS (which has its own problems), but no matter how many times I wash the RHSS projects, they never, ever get as soft or have as nice of a drape as the Caron SS. RH is just a scratchy, itchy yarn. I use fabric softeners and dryer sheets, and RH just doesn't soften up enough for me to use.

 

Do you have your receipt? Can you return the yarn and get something else?

 

I do wish Caron SS would come out with the pretty varigated colors that RH has---the watercolor is nice looking; I just can't stand the feel of the RH, but that is just me personally; I have sensitive skin.

 

Nicole

[dragonfli]

Yes, I have the receipt, darn it!! I loooovvveee the color. I just feel like there has got to be some way I can make this work and do this!! My husband laughs at me and says "honey you are like a dog with a bone, give it up sometimes you just can't make something work". Alot he knows!! I refuse to believe it. I just know there is a solution out there somewhere!! I want to make this darn afghan!! Aaannnddd, I want it in this color!! I have washed that square three times and soaked it in Downey for an hour. It is still scratchy. My oldest daughter (24) is telling all of her friends this story "Mom vs. The Scratchy Yarn" updates at 11. She is keeping everyone posted on the washings and soakings of the "helpless granny square". Oh Pooohhh! She better be careful, I will make her a fitted sheet out of it and sew it to her mattress!!! Hummm:think

[Ga_Rebel]

I have used Red Heart before. I use both the liquid softner and the dryer sheets and came out fine for me. Sometimes you just can't win.

[losingmymind2]

I'm currently using Carrot, Black and Aran Fleck on the same project (don't ask - racing team colors) and the black is so much thicker than the carrot. It's stiffere and I know it will wash out; but I just am NOT enjoying working this as much as nicer yarns that glide thru my hands and leap joyously onto the hook. Ok, I'm a fiber snob; I'd much rather work with alpaca blends than acrylic; but for what I'm making wool isn't practical. I may have to wash this lapghan frequently this winter and don't want to have to spread and block it every time.

[Krystal16]

dragonfli - I think if you're going to compare it to Caron Simply Soft, you're never going to achieve the results you want. But I don't think it's so scratchy that you can't make the afghan...Maybe your standards are a little higher than the person you're giving it to? I am making an afghan with the watercolor, and it's not THE SOFTEST thing ever, but it certainly isn't so scratchy it's driving me crazy. (I did wash the yarn first, but that's a LOOOONG story and doesn't change the results from washing it after).

[Natasha]

I have washed that square three times and soaked it in Downey for an hour. It is still scratchy.

 

Try adding vinegar or baking soda to the wash. Try washing it in Dreft. At this point, what have you got to lose?

[Greyling]

I use Red Heart SS for all my floor rugs using 2 strands. My cats like to curl up on them because after a washing or two, they are very soft.

 

I use Woolite, cool water, and Downy.

Then the delicate cycle on the dryer with a dryer sheet.

I do not dry it all the way. I take it out when damp and let air dry the rest of the way.

 

Hope this helps (Fluffy)

[MamaHooks]

I wash all my crocheted items in baby detergent - Dreft. I just have always loved the scent and the softness of the detergent. Plus I use dryer sheets to add extra softness. I grew up crocheting with RH WW yarn. In fact until I moved to the McMinnville area I had never crocheted with anything else. Which is ironic since I lived in Beaverton/Portland Oregon and I had more shops to choose from then I have fingers and toes combined. Then I move to a small town where my choices in town are zip. I must travel to McMinnville or Newberg to purchase any yarn and between the two larger towns I have about 7 to 12 places to buy yarn.

 

Back to RH, I am sorry that you don't like the feel of it. Maybe you would be happier with Caron Perfect Match WW. It tends to be slightly softer; however it is still not as soft or lightweight as Caron's SS.

[DesertCrocheter]

My mom made a Project Linus blanket out of the RHSS Watercolor and it was gorgeous! I washed it in Dreft or Woolite (whichever I had) and PL says no dryer sheets, so it got semi-dried without a sheet and then finished drying on the line. It looked great. Nope, not as soft as Caron SS, but it really did look like a Monet-inspired blanket. Yea, they pucker sometimes a little after I wash them, and I'm bad and don't really block these things, but I do lay them out and try to stretch them into shape halfheartedly. Definitely there is a difference between colors in the same line of yarn. Mom's guess is that it has to do with the properties of the different dyes.

[Feywalker]

I rarely use RH anymore for that reason. I was making a christmas stocking last year, using red and then white fun fur for the top. I have up. The red yarn was so rough it chaffed my hands.

[Happy_Hooker]

I use that yarn all the time... BUT I actually don't use one strand of RH by itself anymore... (once was enough!!!) I have made many simple afghans out of two strands of RH yarn held together... (the whole afghan is done in SC w/ an N hook.)

 

When the stitches are tighter and single stranded it is itchier that when it is doubled up... My blanket is definitely softer than what it was originally... but it is still holding up ok. I actually made one out of the same color with a solid against it... came out very nice.