Have you heard about the new granny square yarn made by Red Heart yet?
Whether you have or haven’t, I’m sharing my honest review on this new yarn line that supposedly allows you to use one multicolor skein of yarn to create a granny square.
When I first heard of the yarn I had so many questions and I am here to share my honest opinion on whether or not this yarn is worth the money or headache.
In this review, I will go over the difficulty, price point, color options, and any issues I faced.
Let’s dive in!
Where to buy the Red Heart Granny Square Yarn
This yarn can be found on the Yarnspirations, Joanns, and Michaels website. However, to purchase this yarn in a physical store you will need to go to Joanns. Michaels has this yarn online only and is $3.00 more than Yarnspirations and Joanns!
At this moment you can buy one skein of yarn for $7.99 (normally $9.49) online and in-store at Joann’s. Also, I highly recommend you download their mobile app for coupons to use on this very yarn!
The Granny Square Yarn quality & color options
This granny square yarn line has 16 different color options with each skein of yarn coming in 5 colors. When I first saw the color options for this granny square yarn I was blown away! These colors are offered in vibrant, warm, and cool tones with the 5th row ending in white or black.
Compared to other brands, Red Heart yarn has always felt rougher. However, this new line of yarn is definitely on the softer side for Red Heart yarn!
Difficulty
The difficulty of making a granny square is beginner-level, however, this yarn I would say is not the same. I ran into some issues on both skeins of yarn that took way too much time troubleshooting rather than crocheting.
For a crochet beginner, you most likely haven’t figured out your tension or how to gauge the tension you may need on certain projects. For that reason alone a beginner to crochet may likely feel confused or defeated.
However, crocheting is a learning process and you will always learn new tricks and improve your skills over time. I do recommend anyone wanting to try this yarn to give it a go. Once you get acquainted with the gauge and tension, they work up quickly and make beautiful granny squares.
This isn’t so much a difficulty, however, I do want to mention that this yarn is only 5 rounds. To achieve a smaller square, you will need to cut off the unused yarn before you make another square.
I’ve seen other crocheters state they would like the option of making smaller squares. Unfortunately, this yarn isn’t made for that without wasting the yarn. Maybe in the future Red Heart will bring out skeins specifically for smaller or bigger squares!
Troubleshooting the Granny Square yarn
To begin with, you can find the exact steps for the granny square pattern on the inside of the yarn label.
Initially, I followed their steps, however, I found better luck with my method and continued with that instead.
For example, when starting the granny square it states to chain (ch) 4 and slip stitch (sl st) into the 1st ch off the slip knot or 4th chain from the hook. From there they advise to chain 3 for the 1st double crochet (dc) and chain an additional 3 to count as the chain 3 space.
What I did differently
Instead of following this method, I simply chain three as a starting dc then I yarn over (yo) insert my hook through the circle yo pull through, and make my first dc repeating one more dc after that and ch 3. I did not follow the exact steps they mentioned for chaining 6 because I would never have enough color on the first round.
Another issue while using Cyber Leaf (shown below) was the 5th round (black). Every time I started the 5th round I would always start with a 5 mm hook and use tight tension. This round specifically almost always had barely enough color to finish the round. Even after using a 5 mm hook and tight tension, I was still left with one cluster of dc that was in the starting color for the first round of the next granny square.
Another method I used to attempt a better transition on row 5 was going from 3 ch in each corner to 2 ch.
When you begin the granny square you may have just enough, not enough, or too much of the starting color. While using the Cyber Leaf skein, oftentimes I found I had just the right amount. Working the second round I would always have to go up a hook size with a looser tension. On this round, the recommended 5.5 mm hook was not big enough. When this happened, I would have to bounce in between a 5.75-6.5 mm hook(s).
Now I know switching between hook sizes isn’t hard, however, I would always use different hooks for each row transition. This is when the tension and frogging play a role in the process and become time-consuming.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re new to making granny squares or you’ve made a dozen granny square projects this new granny square yarn is intriguing. The thought of making a multicolor granny square without lugging around 5 different colors and eliminating the ends to weave in is a dream!
However, is it worth an easier option for a project if it means your project may not be exact every time? Most of the squares I finished came out good but there were a select few that no matter what I did there simply wasn’t enough yarn to fully complete the row. At this point, I had to accept the imperfections.
I would use this yarn again maybe for future projects, however, I do hope that Red Heart troubleshoots these small issues and improves as time goes on. I love how Red Heart made a yarn to eliminate common issues and inconveniences for crocheters such as weaving in ends. An effort such as this tells me this brand cares about the crocheter and is capable of finding innovative ways to improve.
Have you tried this new granny square yarn? Have you run into these same issues or none at all? I would love to hear your feedback on your experience in the comments!
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