This is a complete, unbiased review of Village Yarn brand Craft Cotton yarn. Just so you know…I have not been paid nor asked by Herrschner’s who sells this yarn to do this review.

I sell my own handmade items online on a number of sites. In the last couple of years, the sale of my crochet cloths has skyrocketed. In 2016, I literally sold almost 3,000 of these cloths! I keep waiting for my fingers to be “whittled off” but fortunately, they’re still attached and hence I keep crocheting!

For assorted reasons, I recently decided to try different brands of cotton yarn because I felt it was time to consider a change in the brand that I used for years. One brand I tried (and WILL use in making cloths to sell) is Herrschner’s Village Yarn brand Craft Cotton yarn. This is a brand you won’t see in any store. It seems to be a brand exclusive to Herrschners.com. So, it can only be purchased online at the Herrschner’s website. I believe some view it as one of the “underdogs” in cotton yarns since it’s not a major brand that cannot be found in many different stores or websites. However, after trying it, I believe it needs a bit more recognition and praise.

Here is what I found regarding specific points that may be of interest to anyone using cotton yarn…

Ease of Use…Flow Over Crochet Hook  (∗∗∗∗∗)
I have made crochet cloths with this yarn using an I size (5.00mm) crochet hook with a half-double crochet stitch for the body of the cloth and a single crochet stitch for the edging. I found it to flow smoothly over the hook with little effort. It was a joy to work with and I found I could work pretty fast with this yarn with little issue.

Although I have not tried knitting with this yarn, I feel it would be a great yarn for knitting any project calling for a 4-ply medium weight cotton yarn.

“Feel” of the Yarn (∗∗∗∗∗)
This yarn has a nice soft feel/touch to it, unlike some other brands of cotton yarn. The finished cloth is soft enough to use as a facial washcloth, yet it is still tough enough to do the job as a dishcloth. I think the softness also helps in giving it a smooth feel on the hook, allowing for “smooth” crochet action.

Ease of Flow of Yarn from Skein (∗∗∗)
The end of the yarn coming from the center of the skein is not readily available. So, it seems it’s designed to be used from the outer end of the skein. Perhaps one could “dig” into the center to pull the yarn from the middle (which might be best), but I have not tried that approach yet (maybe I will…it might flow better that way!). So, when working from the outer end, the yarn does not flow smoothly. I had to stop crocheting and  unwind yarn before I could keep working. This is a simple thing, and may not be an issue for many people. But when making thousands of cloths in a year, this represents a good bit of time. Although I really DO love this yarn, I wish it was wound differently so it would flow more readily from the skein.

Size of Skein and Price (∗∗∗∗∗)
The solid skeins contain 2.5 oz/71 g/115 yards
The ombre skeins contain 2 oz/56 g/92 yards
This yarn also comes in a 16 oz cone/454 g/ 743 yards

I have only purchased the small solid color skeins so far. They are usually priced at $2.39/ball. When 3 or more skeins are purchased (in any color combination), they are reduced to $2.19/ball. The cones are normally $14.99 each.

Herrschner’s does not automatically offer free shipping with larger orders; however, they often run specials with assorted discounts and/or free shipping. If you join their mailing list, you’ll receive discount/sale notices pretty often. Careful shopping can save you money when ordering this product during a special sales event.

When using the small skeins (solid colors), I get two crochet cloths per ball, with very little yarn left over. This is absolutely perfect for me! My cloths are about 7-1/2 to 8″ square. This brings my cost per cloth to $1.10 each, assuming I purchased the yarn in bulk (which I always do), and also assuming that I got free shipping (or a discount large enough to offset shipping costs). From my experience, this price is about average for many cotton yarns. Some are cheaper, while others would cost more. I feel this yarn is worth the price.

Colorfastness (∗∗∗∗∗)

This is REALLY an important point for me. Some brands of cotton yarn lose color readily and that can lead to unhappy customers. So, I tested this yarn for colorfastness. I took small scraps of sage and white yarns and made a small swatch of a cloth (see picture). I didn’t bother cutting off ends nor weaving them in since this was just a test for color fastness. I used the cloth that is pictured in washing dishes numerous times. The sage did NOT bleed at all. If it did, I would have noticed it in the dish water, and also the white yarn would have been stained. As you can see, the white yarn is still white, not a pale green. Hence, I’m VERY please to say that it did not bleed!

I also tested a piece of the parsley green yarn in water that was heated in the microwave, almost to boiling. The yarn was placed in the water and left there for a few minutes. NO bleeding!

From these two tests, it certainly seems this brand of yarn is color safe. Yeah!!!

Thickness (∗∗∗∗∗)
This is classified as a medium weight 4-ply yarn. However, many cotton yarns are classified the same way, yet some feel very thin while others feel extremely thick and stiff. This yarn seems to meet the “Goldilocks test” where it feels “just right” being nice and thick, but not SO thick that it’s stiff and hard to work with. The stitches in the finished product are nicely filled out, looking evenly distributed, yet it retains flexibility. With these attributes, the crochet cloths are a delight to use!

Yarn Twist vs Splitting (∗∗∗∗∗)
Anyone who crochets or knits knows what it’s like to work with a yarn that splits easily. It’s annoying to say the least. Uncorrected splits can cause weak and even unsightly areas in a project. They are to be avoided if at all possible.

Any yarn can be subject to splitting, but some a lot more than others. That being said, the twist or spin of the yarn makes all the difference. The more or better the twist or spin, the less likely a yarn is to split. Once again, this yarn seems to meet the “Goldilocks test” where it has just the right amount of spin to hold the strands together making it unlikely to split when being used. Yet it doesn’t have SO much spin that it knots up when the yarn is unwound from the skein. Most of the time, I can make entire cloths with this yarn without having even one splitting episode! Yeah!!

Color Options (∗∗∗∗∗)

There are a total of 43 color options available in this line of yarn, with 26 solids and 17 ombres. While no one brand carries absolutely ALL colors possible, this brand does have a good selection to choose from.

The colors I purchased were…

Top row, left to right:
White, Cream, Honey, Linen, Brown

Second row, left to right:
Burgundy, Apple Red, Morning Sky, Turquoise, Deep Sea, Parsley, Sage

Are the Colors True to Their Names? (∗∗∗∗)
I purchased 12 of the solid colors to explore for now. I found that most of the colors I purchased were true to their names. However, two of them were questionable to me. I even double checked the color number on the label with the catalog number to be sure I was looking at the right color! 

The “Apple Red” color is not apple red. This was a surprise because the color in the catalog clearly looks to be an apple red. I took a picture of the ball of yarn next to a Red Delicious apple (left), a Braeburn apple (middle) and a Clementine tangerine (right) for comparisons. As the picture shows, the yarn is far from an apple red, yet it’s clearly not orange. It’s somewhere in between. Perhaps the dye lot was off in this batch? Maybe it should be called red coral? Maybe deep conch? Maybe orange-red? I really can’t decide what it should be called. Village Craft does have a “Really Red” color of yarn in this line. Maybe it would be more of an apple red color. I have not purchased that color, so I can’t verify it.

Another color that I found questionable was the turquoise. The picture in the catalog does look like a turquoise blue. However, the actual skein of turquoise that I purchased looks more like a very nice medium blue color. (See picture…Morning Sky on the left, Turquoise in the middle, Deep Sea on the right.) I really don’t see the “turquoise” in it. To truly appear “turquoise” it may need a bit more green in the dye. Again, maybe it’s just the dye lot of this skein. I’m more inclined to call my skein medium blue and not turquoise. So…if you truly need a deep turquoise yarn, this may not be it.

With the above being said, the colors are not that bad at all, with two colors out of twelve being somewhat off. My suggestion to you: If specific colors are very important in a project, buy one skein of each color you’ll need to be sure they’ll be right for you before investing a lot in a project.

Knots (∗∗∗∗)
I’ve used a number of different brands of yarn. It seems that just about any brand can be subject to having knots in the skeins. However, some brands (yarn mills) do a better job than others of minimizing their knots.

I’ve made a good number of cloths with this yarn and I don’t recall having any issues with knots along the way. However, when taking pictures for this article, I did easily notice a knot in one of the skeins. (See picture.) Obviously, the yarn mill could have done a little better job of minimizing the knot. When working with this skein, I’ll need to cut the yarn and redo the knot to make it less visible.

Conclusion

I’m very happy with the finished cloths I made with this yarn and will continue to use specific colors in meeting my customer needs. Note that I will be using more than one brand of yarn because I try to carry a wide array of color options in my crochet cloths. However, this brand will meet some of my needs and I’m very happy with it.

I recommend this brand for those who are looking for a good quality cotton yarn! The colors hold up very well. The finished projects are soft yet very durable and scrub dishes well. Crochet cloths wring out easily and dry well overnight. I believe this yarn would perform equally well when used in knitted projects. Overall, I found this to be a great quality cotton yarn. I suggest you try it!

Happy crocheting and knitting!
Judi

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