Fiber Friday – Lion Brand ‘Beautiful You’ Yarn Review

Hiii friends!

I’m starting a new weekly blog segment called Fiber Friday.

Fiber Friday

Every Friday I’m gonna share with you one new yarn that I’m absolutely loving, including allllll the info – the yarn specs, what I would make with it, what I’d use it for, why it’s great for certain types of projects, and what patterns I’ve found that use this yarn including my own patterns and patterns from others! It’s fun to really focus on one specific yarn and explore all the projects people have been making with it. This is one way that I find new patterns, new designers and new designs that I love and can add to my Ravelry queue to make when I have time to start a new project!

When I started knitting and crocheting, I basically used Lion Brand Thick and Quick yarn exclusively. I’m sure you’ve tried it before.. It’s the best. It’s a fun, high quality department store chunky yarn that is easily available and inexpensive – perfect for beginners or those who love those quick gratification projects. If you’re learning to knit or crochet, I would recommend learning with this yarn! For the last 3 years, hats made with Thick and Quick have been my main source of income for the year, and I think now it’s time to venture into new territory and explore some thinner yarns!

Lion Brand – Beautiful You

Lately, I’ve really wanted to expand my stash to new brands, new fibers and new types of yarn. I’ve been allowing myself to order new yarn every month and it’s been really fun trying out new materials and new yarn weights. This month, I acquired a few new yarns, but I want to talk about one in particular: Beautiful You.

Patterns

I have already designed 2 crochet garments with Beautiful You, the Grand Arches Cardi and the Granite Yoke Tee (both shown below). I actually created the yoke top using the leftover yarn from the cardigan!

I also have a sweater quantity of Glacier Grey, so a new pattern from me will be coming soon once I decide what to make with it!

I found a few other patterns that use Beautiful You that are definitely worth checking out!

A few patterns to check out are:

1. Willow Lace Vest – Two Of Wands

2. Fade Into You Scarf – Sewrella (beginner-friendly free pattern)

3. Fiery Fiesta Top – Stephanie Piper

4. Skipping Stones Peplum – Barkley Audiffred

Before we get into this, let me preface this with saying that if I didn’t like a yarn, I wouldn’t write about it. I’m only sharing my favourite yarns that I loved so much as to even write up my own pattern with them and use them myself. If I don’t love it, I won’t use it, and I definitely won’t recommend it to you in a blog post, promise 🙂

Yarn Specs

• Fine, Category 2, sport weight yarn
• I326 yds/298m per 100g skein
• 100% acrylic
• Recommended needle size 3.5mm
• Recommended hook size 3.75mm
• Machine washable + dryable
• 15 really gorgeous colours (you have to check out Porcini, Glacier Gray, Cypress, and Spanish Villa)
  • There’s also a black and a white, which I love. Sometimes it’s nice to pair a colour with a neutral and this line of yarn has both of those covered. I really hate when I find a yarn that I love, but it only has bright, funky colours.

My Thoughts

When I first got my hands on this yarn, my first thought was yikes, this is thin.. whatever I make will take forever. I’m so used to bulkier yarn that this yarn kind of scared me (lol)! I knew that whatever I made with this yarn had to have a lacy, open stitch pattern, otherwise it would be stiff and take me 729464 years to finish. I knew right away after feeling this yarn that it would be perfect for garments. I used an open stitch pattern for the Grand Arches Cardi, and I used an open stitch pattern (alternating closed stitches and chains) for the Granite Yoke Tee as well. This allowed for really drapey fabric.

Basically, what I look for in a yarn when I’m making clothing include: smooth, shiny, tightly twisted, no pilling and it can’t be too fuzzy. This yarn checks all those boxes. I wanted to make a sleek garment that wouldn’t get fuzzy and worn over time, and this yarn is durable enough that it allows your handmade garments to have a clean, store bought look.

 

I’m being totally honest with you when I tell you that this is one of my favourite Lion Brand yarns I’ve ever used. It’s such a thin weight yarn that you can use it for a more advanced crochet or knit patterns, but it’s not going to cost you hundreds of dollars to make one sweater. It’s only $5-6 per skein.

Something I noticed about using this yarn was that when I crocheted the single crochet border on the bottom of my cardigan, at first it felt really structured, like it wouldn’t lose its shape. After crocheting the rest of the cardigan, it had gone through a little wear since I was bringing this project everywhere with me for about a month. Once I was finished and it was time to wear it, the solid, stiff, border was really soft and drapey. It softened up a LOT. I did not expect this to happen but it was a really nice bonus. Drape is a hard thing to get out of crochet projects. The nature of crochet is just bulkier and more stiff than knitting. It takes a combination of open stitches and smooth, thin yarn to achieve drape in crochet clothing. That’s one thing this yarn allows for: great drape.

I used a 3.75mm hook, the recommended hook size on the label, for my Grand Arches Cardi. Everyone seems to have a favourite hook size, and mine is actually 3.75 (and also 5.5mm).

To make this cardigan, you will need 7 (8, 9, 10) skeins of Beautiful You in any colour for sizes S/M (L/XL, 2X/3X, 4X/5X). Pick up yarn for your size here! I made this pattern size inclusive up to a 5XL so that no matter your measurements, you can make this cardigan.

The other pattern I created with this yarn – the Granite Yoke Tee – will be released in October. More info to come! 🙂

To sum it up, I am a huge fan of Beautiful You. If you want to check out the yarn and all the pretty colour options, click here to browse.

If you want to check out the Grand Arches Cardi that I created with this yarn, find the pattern here on Ravelry or here on Etsy. Use code “PATTERN10” for 10% off.

If you want more info on this pattern, you can read the blog post here, and make sure to stay tuned for the release of the Granite Yoke Tee next month 🙂

Let me know if you’ve ever used this yarn and what pattern you made with it, because I am always looking for fun, new projects to make and I would love your suggestions!

Thanks so much for reading!

Happy making,

Janine xo