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The Best Cotton Yarn in Every Yarn Weight
Cotton yarn is one of the best yarn options for summer crafting. It’s lightweight and much cooler to work with than wool. It’s a breathable fiber that feels comfortable to wear in the summer as well. Cotton is a great choice for making washcloths and dishcloths. It’s a good choice, one that most of us have somewhere in our stashes, and yet sometimes we overlook how great it can be. So today we wanted to give you some options for the best cotton yarn in each yarn weight category.
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Have You Seen Our Yarn Weight Chart?
We have a yarn weight chart that outlines all of the different yarn weights, what crochet hooks and knitting needle sizes you’d typically use with each, and some of the best yarn options for each weight. The post with that chart gives you options for yarn weights for different fibers. Today, we’ll look specifically at the best cotton options for each weight.
#0 Lace Weight Cotton Thread / Yarn
Lace weight yarn is really also crochet thread. Of course, there are many different thread weights as well. Some are much finer than what we’d consider #0 lace weight yarn. But, generally speaking, if you’re buying a common cotton thread off of the shelf at your local yarn store, it’s going to fall into this category. #10 Weight is the most common.
For example, one of the most popular choices would be Aunt Lydia’s #10 Classic Crochet Thread. That’s a great choice. However, we’d like to recommend that you check out Curio #10. This is 100% mercerized cotton in #0 lace weight. Like a lot of cotton yarn, it takes to the dye really well, so you get truly beautiful, vibrant colors to choose from Use this 2-ply thread to knit or crochet lace details, ornate tablecloths, simple coasters, super light weight accessories, and more.
#1 Super Fine Cotton Yarn
While most cotton thread would fall into the #0 lace weight category, the thickest cotton thread is actually #1 super fine weight.
Crochet Thread Weights vs. Knit and Crochet Yarn Weights
Fun fact: the higher a number on crochet thread, the thinner the thread. In contrast, the higher the number on yarn, the thicker the yarn. So, a #3 thread is thicker than a #10 thread. However, a #1 yarn is thicker than a #0 yarn. A #3 cotton crochet thread like Aunt Lydia’s Fashion 3 thread is a #1 super fine weight yarn.
Best Cotton Yarns for #1 Super Fine Weight
Although #3 cotton thread falls into this category, so does sock yarn and fingering weight yarn. Instead of a 100$ cotton yarn in this weight, we think that the best options are cotton blends. For example, Red Heart It’s a Wrap is a really popular acrylic-cotton blend in this yarn weight. Our favorite, instead, is a cotton-linen blend called Lindy Chain. It offers the perfect drape for this lightweight yarn class.
However, if you do prefer a cotton-acrylic blend to a cotton-linen blend, then check out Comfy Fingering Yarn.
#2 Fine Weight Cotton Yarn
This is also called baby weight yarn or sport weight yarn. Some of the variations on the classic It’s a Wrap yarn are actually in this weight category. For example, It’s a Wrap Rainbow is #2 weight yarn. And again, that’s a great choice for a cotton-acrylic blend.
However, we have a really special blend to recommend to you in this weight category. We think the best cotton yarn for sport weight is Shine Sport. It’s 60% Pima Cotton yarn, which is always a great cotton choice. And the other 40% is something you might not ever have heard of: “Modal natural beech wood fiber.” What does that feel like? A lot like silk! Silk cotton blends in this weight are luxurious and beautiful so check it out!
#3 DK or Lightweight Cotton Yarn
Many beautiful cotton accessories are knit or crocheted with #3 DK weight yarn. It’s not as slow to work with as a thread or sport weight yarn. And yet it’s a little thinner the classic worsted weight, so you get lightness, breeziness and great drape.
If you were part of BiCrafty Bootcamp then you won’t be surprised to learn that our favorite cotton yarn in this weight is actually a cotton-linen blend called CotLin. We used it to make Marly’s Colorful Crochet Market Bag.
That said, if you’re looking for a 100% mercerized cotton yarn in DK weight, we recommend Patons Grace. And if you want a cotton-acrylic blend, look at Bernat Softee Cotton.
Best Cotton Yarn for #4 Worsted Weight
Worsted weight is by far the most popular yarn weight regardless of what fiber we’re talking about. So, of course, you do have a lot of options here. For example, one of the most popular cotton yarns ever is Lily Sugar ‘n Cream. It’s a 100% cotton yarn made with US-grown cotton. There are lots of knit and crochet patterns designed using this yarn. Plus it has many variations like ombre colors or the changing textures in Lily Sugar ‘n Cream Scrub Off. All good solid choices.
But we want to give you some more unique choices for the best cotton yarn in the worsted weight category. If you head over to KnitPicks, you’ll see that Dishie, Comfy, and Shine are all good #4 cotton or cotton blend options. We love Dishie, which is 100% cotton. We used it in our Beginner Crochet Facecloth Pattern in BiCrafty Bootcamp. And we also enjoy the unique colorways of Comfy Color Mist, which is a cotton-acrylic blend.
But for something really unique, try Snuggle Puff. This is cotton that’s been blown into mesh tubing. You get some stretch and tons of soft lightness. It’s really an original yarn. Note that it’s considered “heavy worsted” so it’s a #4 but with the thickness and yet lightness, it may feel different to you than other worsted weight cotton.
#5 Bulky Weight Cotton Yarn
Did you join the Classic Cable Collection CAL that I did in collaboration with HanJan Crochet, MJ’s Off The Hook, and Briana K Designs? If so, then you’ve already worked with our favorite bulky weight cotton yarn: Billow. I used it in the design of my Bonny Billow Crochet Pillow pattern as well. It’s a great cotton yarn with terrific stitch definition that works up quickly for home decor projects like this.
Bernat Maker Home Dec Yarn is a cotton-acrylic blend that also falls into the bulky weight category, although note that it’s a tubular yarn so it looks different in terms of stitch definition.
#6 Super Bulky #7 Jumbo Weight Cotton Yarn
The two thickest yarn weights aren’t very conducive to the design of cotton yarn, so you’re not going to find a lot of options for super bulky and jumbo yarns in these fibers. Mostly these are going to be wool and some acrylics. However, we found what looks to be a good source: Hoooked Yarn. They offer recycled and plant-based yarn and even have recycled cotton yarn. Their Spesso Chunky is 100% recycled cotton in super bulky weight. Their Ribbon XL and Zpagetti are also bulky weight cotton yarns.
Note that if you’re looking for super bulky and jumbo weight cotton, you might want to search instead for Macrame Cord. You can find this in cotton and it has the thickness you would be looking for.
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