Help choosing yarn for crochet tote bag?

[CrotchetyCrocheting]

I'm really new to crochet, I've only been learning for about a month. Dd would like me to make her a sunflower granny square tote bag, I've done a test run making the granny square and am pretty confident I can do it I'm just not sure what yarn would be best? I get super confused between it all, do I want aran weight? Dk weight? I don't even know what they mean tbh, I'm thinking cotton would be best but again I don't really know so I'd love if someone more experienced could tell me what to buy!

Can't help, sorry. Made mine from string.

My first thought was cotton, or a cotton mix. However I knit more than crochet.

String would be stiffer, would give the bag more rigidity. However, if its sunflower, I;m assuming you want different colours to make the flower.

Thanks for the replies, yeah she wants it to be sunflower colour so string wouldn't really work. Hopefully the image will work to show the bag she wants.

Wool/yarn comes in different weights and each uses different knitting needle/crochet hook sizes. DK uses around 4mm hooks and aran uses around 5mm hooks. Chunky uses around 6mm. The thicker the yarn, the bigger the hook it needs and the faster your work will grow.

I'd think a cotton yarn will be harder wearing for a bag, but you'd need to check if the colours run when wet, whereas acrylic tends not to run but looks 'fluffier' I've seen a sunflower bag pattern by 'crafted by cat' that looks like an acrylic mix yarn and one by crochet 365 in cotton yarn.

I'd probably use something like Drops Paris (aran) or James C Brett Pure cotton (DK) yarns, as they're cheap and cheerful and I've had good experiences with their wool/acrylic yarns for knitting jumpers.

Good luck, it sounds like a lovely project.

Budget may factor in your final decision.

If I were making the bag for myself, I would probably make it from a cheaper acrylic double knitting yarn (like a Stylecraft or James C. Brett yarn) for about £1.90-£3 per 100g, because I don’t mind if the yarn looks fluffy as it rubs against clothing/stuff in the bag.

If I were to crochet as a gift, I’d either use a slightly nicer acrylic yarn (I’ve crocheted lots for family using the Woman’s Institute yarn from Hobbycraft, it wears very well without too much fluffing up), or a good cotton or cotton acrylic/viscose mix like Cygnet 100% cotton 100g for £3.19.

I have just noticed a cheaper 100g double knitting weight 100% cotton yarn by James C. Brett at Wool Warehouse here at £1.59 https://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn?blend_nav=5159&yarn_weight=2046

Googling that was fatal, now I’m planning about a thousand projects using that cheaper cotton yarn, as well as that gorgeous sunflower bag 😂

I use anything from a 3.5mm hook to a 5.5mm hook, depending on my project with double knitting yarn; I always go down a size by 0.5mm as I crochet quite loose.

I’m currently crocheting the Hobbycraft free Easter wreath pattern https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/ideas/how-to-crochet-an-easter-wreath-and-garland.html on 3mm hooks with various odds & bods of mainly Stylecraft/WI dk yarn; I think any amiguri characters look better with closer together stitches so the stuffing doesn’t show through, but that’s just me being fussy lol!

I would probably use a cotton DK. Some are quite splitty so worth reading reviews so you don't get the rage...

Or compromise with an acrylic/cotton blend like Scheepjes SoftFun which comes in loads of colours and is lovely to work with.

Nice bag!

Stylecraft do a nice cotton DK weight yarn, which comes in loads of colours. It's called Classique. Cotton would be best as it won't stretch as much when it's used as much as acrylic would.

DK weight with a 4mm or 4.5mm hook, or Aran weight with a 5/5.5mm hook, the Aran weight will just come out slightly bigger squares, so will result in a slightly bigger bag.

Thanks so much for all of the replies! I'm going to a yarn shop tomorrow so will check out things in person but I think I'll go for a cotton dk. I'm still a bit nervous about buying online because I've no idea what I'm doing so hopefully the shop will have what I'm looking for.

www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/paintbox-yarns-cotton-aran

They also do a DK, that I'm using right now and I think you would want thicker for a bag.

Thicker than dk?

I would say thicker than DK for a bag, it will take forever. DK is good for tiny baby clothes and stuffed toys.

Although I do find there is a lot of variations between brands. Cotton DK always seems to be thinner than acrylic I find.

Don’t worry too much about hook size - try the one suggested on the label and change if it doesn’t feel right.