Minor Gripe about Bernat Softee Baby Yarn

[Shellie]

I LOVE this yarn, it comes in tons of colors and is really really soft! Of the less expensive yarns I think it makes the nicest baby clothes and I wouldn't mind making some bigger clothes with it! I just have one complaint-it KNOTS. You pull from the middle nicely with any other yarn, even their fingering yarn does a good job.

 

But Softee baby I can't find the middle without pulling the "guts" out which means I have to wind all the extra back around the ball so for several rows my yarn is constantly trying to roll away.

 

Then to top it all off, you finally get to the middle again and you are crocheting along merrily when suddenly the yarn goes tight. GRRRRRRRRRRR You have found one of many knots to come.

 

I spend more time unraveling this stuff than I do actually crocheting with it! When I say how much time it takes to make something I am tempted to include yarn wrangling time!

 

Anyway, there is no solution other than to not use it and I do love it. I just wanted to get it off my chest.

[darski]

There there dear,

 

have a cuppa

 

:2hug

 

feel better now!

 

I know what you mean and I do agree with you.

 

I have been working with the RH Kids and it is just as bad and splits all the time... maybe I'll go get a myself

[Momcrochets]

I use softee baby quite frequently, and *rarely* have this problem. But when I do, it's horribly frustrating. (Sometimes, wiggling my fingers in from both ends helps me find the center more easily) So I do feel your pain. If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, watch for the yarn bee "sweet delight" to go on sale. close to $5 reg price, it often goes down to about 1/2 that, and then it's definitely worth it. Softer than bernat's softee baby, and great range of colors (esp when you add in the tweeds/color twist, the pompadours, etc etc)

to you for your frustration. Hopefully things work out more smoothly soon.

[Empress Busy Bee]

I was under the impression that not all yarn is center pull. I've been using my Bernat Softee Baby like a 'ball' and unrolling as I crochet. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, watch for the yarn bee "sweet delight" to go on sale

I'll I've to keep an eye out, too. I've not used Yarn Bee yet so this is nice to know.

 

Speaking of Bernat Softee Baby has anyone else noticed the subtle change from last year to this year? It now has a slight sheen to it. It's still pretty and nice. However I've been working with the older 'flat' batch and I love it so much. I wish they wouldn't have changed it.

[Shellie]

Its true not all yarn has that center pull thing but Bernat Softee Baby does. The problem is good luck finding the end. lol To check if a yarn is center pull see if there is one piece sticking into an end.

 

Btw, yarns that aren't center pull drive me nuts. lol As you unravel them the ball tries to constantly escape!

[Empress Busy Bee]

I don't know. Mine is a ball, one end. It works for me.

I put them in my bag or something and my yarn stays put.

[Redheart]

Softee Baby is a huge pain to center pull. Big gobs of guts... I only use the outside end. Try putting it on a dowel stuck into a base like they have for paper towel holders that sit on your counter. I also just leave it in the project bag to keep it from rolling away and attracting cats.

[Shellie]

I think since I make a lot of layettes I am just going to go with your suggestion. lol I use shopping bags for my projects (unattractive but free and recycleable!), maybe if I knotted the top lightly it won't go walking. lol I had noticed the guts part. Appropriate for Halloween but NOT for ease of crocheting!

[Granny Square]

I've noticed that different colors in the same brand behave differently. I recently did a 2-color project with Simply Soft, all the white skeins behaved beautifully but all the the pink skeins were snarl city. I guess the winding machines are not created equal.

[01buckler15]

I use that yarn a lot too. About half of the time it ends up puling out a knot. But it's usually not hard to get it untangled. I have a hard time finding the center pull with a lot of yarns though. So I thought it was just me that pulled out the "guts."

[ErinLindsey]

I dont use Bernat, but I get the knotty skeins from just about every yarn I've ever used.

 

What I do now, is just before starting a project, I get the trusty yarn winder out and re-wind my yarn into nice little yarn cake skeins...and I dont use the center pull from my yarn cakes. (they lose structural integrity too quick for me) I let it unwind from the outside.

[Trinket]

I also love Softee Baby, and I've had that happen to me, too. I got to the point that I would just roll up the skeins into balls as I needed them. It takes a little more time, but it saves the frustration in the end.

[LittleJadeFrog]

When I buy yarns, I search the whole bin for 1) lot #s and 2) center pulls. Unless i have no other choice I find the ones that have the end sticking out. Man I hate pulling out half the guts looking for the center!

[Shellie]

I love that I am not the only one that calls it guts. ROFL

[Pepsi]

Speaking of Bernat Softee Baby has anyone else noticed the subtle change from last year to this year? It now has a slight sheen to it. It's still pretty and nice. However I've been working with the older 'flat' batch and I love it so much. I wish they wouldn't have changed it.

 

I, too, have noticed that the newer yarn has a slight sheen to it. To me, the newer yarn is not as soft as the older yarn was.

[TweetysNestVA]

I always dig in the center for my yarns. I too have the inners come out and it is frustating. I also use zipper bags with one corner cut off for the yarn to slip through. I am pet friendly and this really helps keep the hair off the skeins.

[wiz3283]

I have learned to just get the ball winder out and wind it myself before I work with it. This allows me to center pull it without all the headacks. I start with the outside, put it in my trachcan to keep it from rolling away and start winding. This has asaved me endless hours of frustration.

[darski]

The same for me. even if it is not centre-pull friendly, it will be when I get finished rewinding it on my TP tube winders. I do not use balls or skeins that are not working from the middle.

 

personal requirement is all

[LittleJadeFrog]

I have learned to just get the ball winder out and wind it myself before I work with it. This allows me to center pull it without all the headacks. I start with the outside, put it in my trachcan to keep it from rolling away and start winding. This has asaved me endless hours of frustration.

I have heard about this "ball winder thing". I have looked and have not been able to find one to see what it actually is.

 

Funny thing - I'm sitting at work and in comes the IT guy to run new computer lines. He is carrying a bucket with a lid with a hole in the top. I had mentioned that I needed something like that and he said Home Depot sells them. He than said that they throw them out all the time when they are empty because they have tons of them. He is going to bring me a couple (recycle baby!). These would be SO perfect for balls. Storage and usage at the same time!

[Empress Busy Bee]

I have heard about this "ball winder thing". I have looked and have not been able to find one to see what it actually is.

 

Here you go:

 

http://www.anniesattic.com/detail.html?prod_id=20460

 

[crochetgoddess]

I also love Softee Baby and have had to spend most of my time pulling knots and re-arranging the guts, but for the price of the yarn and the softness of it, I will continue to suffer through it.

[LittleJadeFrog]

Here you go:

 

http://www.anniesattic.com/detail.html?prod_id=20460

 

Thanks!

[Empress Busy Bee]

Anytime.