Can anyone talk to me about Drops Paris yarn?

[Tywinlannister]

Hi, I am making a baby blanket and I love the look and feel of cotton yarn. I often use Drops but haven't used Paris cotton before. If anyone has used it, could you tell me if the colours are very vibrant, or if it has quite a soft, silky finish, please?

There's a 50/50 cotton/wool mix they do too, if anyone knows about that, that would be great. (perhaps warmer than just cotton but still with the neat look of cotton?)

Its only £1.30 on Woolwarehouse so I will probably get it anyway!

I always look up yarns I' thinking on trying on Ravelry's Yarns tab. You will get honest comments from others who have used it and pattern and project ideas:

www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/garnstudio-drops-paris

ETA: Just spotted your name. There's some Yarn advice from your nephew!

Doh, grandson I mean. Coffee!! I need coffee!

Haha! Thanks Joff! I do usually have a look on Ravelry but the prob is I get so distracted! I end up looking up all the swaps people are doing and signing up! They love Drops on there, plus I think for £1.30 a ball, I'd be a fool to complain!

I'd be getting someone to taste test that coffee before you drink it, boy. Just in case!

I made a blanket out of this (and the Rico creative cotton which is virtually identical).

Yes, the colours are vibrant - at least the bright ones are, obviously the paler ones are, um, pale :o

It made a pretty heavy blanket but I think a baby blanket sized one would be a nice weight.

It is a little splitty but nothing insurmountable.

The 50/50 one is very similar to the Paris.

So far DK has been my max cotton weight and that was splitty too but no problem. That blanket looks lovely! Definitely vibrant colours! Right, I'm going to make the purchase! Thanks!

I must have inherited my love of all things yarn from you, grandad.

Now where's that wedding cake?

The drops cotton was very splitty- drove me bananas. I was crocheting a cushion cover in popcorn stitch.

I probably wouldn't use it again. The colours are nice and bright though.

I find it very splitty. I've got a lot I haven't used. For cotton projects, I prefer Stylecraft Cotton Classique or Rico Creative.

My main disappointment was when I washed it and it went all crunchy and hard and I didn't know how to make it soft again.

Hmm. Rico is slightly more expensive (yes I'm cheap) but I don't want it to go hard with washing!

That might be all cotton in general though? Or just that I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

I would try different hooks with it too, if you've got them. Some of them are a bugger for making the splittiness worse.

I love the Drops Cotton Merino mix by the way, just realised you asked about that too. That is sooo nice to work with. (but I don't know how it washes. ).

I'm ok with the splitting I think but the hardness is an issue. I usually only make cuddly toys for other people so I've not actually washed it myself.

The mix is more expensive but it might be worth it. I think I'll make the cotton first since I've ordered it and it's so cheap and then consider doing the 50/50 one too.

I found the Rico Creative as splitty as the Drops Paris. TBH, I couldn't tell the difference between them!

I think tumble drying may be the answer to any crunchiness - I think it's an issue with cotton in general. Towels are the same.

Ah it was drops cotton light I had, not Paris, I remember now. Sorry.

Hope you find it ok to work with OP.

I bought a load of Drops Cotton Light and I found it is only useable if you use 2 strands together at the same time plus a bigger hook. Weirdly not splitty then. Or maybe it was the Safran? Agh. I'm suddenly doubting myself. Either way, 2 strands was the answer.

I agree about had Rico Creative being splitty too. I definitely struggled more with the Drops though. I will try the tumble drying trick. I was too worried to let it dry fully in the tumbler in case I knackered it. I will be braver. Thanks!

I think cotton is fairly safe from a tumble drier point of view.