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Crochet bags make great gifts, and are a fantastic replacement for plastic bags, making them environmentally friendly for the most part.
The question when it comes to crochet bags is what yarn is best to use to make them? In short, you’ll probably find it best to use cotton yarn for your crochet bag. Primarily for its durability and elasticity, which is an important feature for any bag – especially if you plan on doing your grocery shopping with it.
Why else is it important to pick the right yarn for your crochet bag? Well, some of the common problems that people face with crochet bags are a lack of durability causing them to fall apart, or an inability to be washed.
On top of this, we have to consider the type of bag that we want to make. Whether it’s a tote bag designed to carry around your essentials, or a grocery bag designed to support the weight of your weekly shop, there are of course varying requirements of the yarn.
In this article, I want to share with you some of my favorite yarn choices for crochet bags, and explore the pros and cons of each fabric material so you can make the decision for yourself.
The 5 Best Yarns For Crochet Bags
So without further ado, let’s get straight to it. What are the 5 best yarns for crochet bags, and why?
Some of these are similar to our Best Variegated and Multi-Colored Yarn article. You could absolutely choose one of those if you want a multi-colored bag, but keep reading to find out why each yarn is great for a crochet bag!
| Rank | Product | Material |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lily Sugar ´N Cream Big Ball Ombres Yarn | Cotton |
| 2. | Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn | Wool |
| 3. | Mira Handcrafts Acrylic Yarn Bonbons | Acrylic |
| 4. | Studio Sam Pure Cotton Yarn Set | Cotton |
| 5. | Knit Picks Brava Mini Pack Worsted Premium Acrylic Yarn | Acrylic |
1. Lily Sugar ´N Cream Big Ball Ombres Yarn
First up, we have the ever-reliable and well-loved Sugar ´N Cream cotton yarn.
Cotton yarn is a great choice for crochet bags as it can provide sufficient durability and elasticity to make sure you won’t need a new one anytime soon.
Cotton also often comes out on top in stretch tests. Meaning it has just the right amount of elasticity, but without sagging too much like other yarn materials can.
Being medium worsted, you can be sure that this yarn won’t let you down. It can hold up to plenty of pressure, and as a result, is capable of making a nice sturdy bag.
What’s more, the well-established brand comes in every color you can imagine, meaning the potential for customization is endless. They even do a great range of variegated yarns (like this one) which will make your bag really stand out.
2. Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn
Check current price on Amazon.
If you care about high-quality crochet work, then you need to invest in high-quality yarn.
This wool yarn is made from Peruvian wool, and is as strong as they come. The perfect choice for a cozy winter crochet bag, you will have a lot of fun working with this beautiful wool yarn.
Wool isn’t perhaps the first material that comes to mind when you think about crochet bags, but it is a fantastic option for the beginner and will give you a very robust result.
Available in a range of rich colors, you ́d be the envy of the neighborhood strutting around with a crochet bag made from this yarn.
3. Mira Handcrafts Acrylic Yarn Bonbons
Check current price on Amazon.
Number 2 on this list of best yarns for crochet bags is this reliable acrylic yarn from Mira Handcrafts.
Somewhat surprisingly, acrylic can be a solid option for crochet bags. Being easy to get hold of, and offering reasonable prices, acrylic can be a good choice.
However, with this yarn, you won’t have to worry about inferior quality due to its affordability.
This beginner crochet kit will get you on your way to knitting mastery before you know it. So why not make a crochet bag as your first project?
Lastly, the colors available for this acrylic yarn are many, so you can add your own personal touch to the bag.
4. Studio Sam Pure Cotton Yarn Set
Check current price on Amazon.
This 100% cotton yarn set by Studio Sam is a great starting point for your first crochet bag.
As we’ve already established, cotton tends to be the best fabric to opt for this purpose, so this yarn is a great option.
The quality of this yarn is outstanding, and you will notice the difference in the end product.
Easily washable, you won’t have any issues maintaining your crochet bag with this material.
Perhaps the best feature of this yarn set though is the broad range of colors on offer. Spanning the colors of the rainbow, you’ll be able to get really creative with these balls of yarn and make the bag you’ve always wanted.
5. Knit Picks Brava Mini Pack Worsted Premium Acrylic Yarn
Check current price on Amazon.
Last, but not least, we have the Knit Picks mini worsted acrylic yarn pack.
Made up of 24 mini bundles of acrylic yarn, this Knit Picks pack is a steal at the price.
Being a highly reputable name in the yarn business, you can rely on Knit Picks to deliver a high quality product, and this acrylic yarn certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Being a medium worsted yarn, you can use this at any level of experience, even beginner.
This yarn is also machine washable which is a useful feature for the day to day pressures our crochet bag will face.
Finally, since acrylic is artificial, the colors are vibrant and varied. So you’ll be able to make exactly the crochet bag you have in mind.
Types of Yarn: Cotton, Acrylic, and Wool
So now that we’ve covered the best yarn products to use for crochet bags, let’s go over each fabric in more detail so you can make the most informed decision when the time comes.
Each has its positives and negatives, but all 3 of the materials that we have already looked at are excellent options for crochet bags.
The important thing to consider is what the purpose of your bag will be, or indeed what type of bag you want to make. So let’s put each fabric to the test and then you can buy the right yarn for your crochet bag.
Cotton
As a rule of thumb, cotton is always a great go-to for most crochet projects, and bags are no exception.
For many of the reasons I’ve already brought up, cotton is king when it comes to crochet bags.
For example, cotton is wonderful at holding its shape. As a result, your crochet bag will look great with nothing in it, and with a bunch of stuff in it too. The quality shines through, and your stitching takes center stage.
Cotton is less prone to heavy stretching and suffering general wear and tear due to its elasticity and sturdiness. These are by far and away the most important factors to bear in mind when making a crochet bag, so these are big positives.
An at times overlooked benefit of cotton is its eco-friendly nature. Being 100% biodegradable, you don’t have to worry about damaging the environment when you use cotton yarn.
Ok, it wouldn’t be fair to list only positives, so let’s take a look – albeit brief- at the few negatives of cotton.
The main downside is that cotton isn’t considered completely beginner-friendly. Unlike wool, cotton can be challenging to work with for the first time due to its composition, so it’s worth considering if this is your first crochet project.
Also, cotton can be pricey sometimes, especially when compared with acrylic. But you shouldn’t let this put you off since you know you’re paying for good quality.
Acrylic
Moving on to another popular yarn choice for crochet bags, we have the more reasonably-priced, but slightly lower quality material of acrylic.
Acrylic is a good option for making a crochet bag, but you have to be careful you choose the right kind.
The pitfall of acrylic is that the cheaper ones tend to fall apart fairly quickly, which needless to say isn’t ideal if you want to make a bag from them.
But, providing you invest in the right kind of acrylic, like the ones I mentioned above, then you shouldn’t worry about this being an issue.
Now onto the positives. Acrylic is beginner-friendly, unlike cotton, so it could be the fabric for you if you’re just starting out in the world of crochet.
Acrylic also performs well in stretch tests, much like cotton yarn. This attests to its suitability as yarn to use for crochet bags, as the bag will be both sturdy and elastic in equal measure.
Wool
Finally, we have the coziest and beginner-friendly fabrics of the lot – wool.
Wool yarn is fantastic for making crochet bags because of frogging. What’s frogging you ask? Frogging is the process of unraveling and re-using the yarn. Something which is much easier to pull off with wool fabric.
Wool is a sustainable material too, and that should make it worth considering alone. Especially given the current climate, it would be a shame not to make the most of renewable and sustainable sources for your crochet projects.
The quality of wool is also one of its standout features. Especially when you consider splashing out a bit extra for something like the Peruvian wool from the Andes that we looked at earlier.
As for drawbacks, some people are allergic to wool as a material, so if you are someone you know suffers from allergies, a wool-made crochet bag wouldn’t be the best option for you.
Also, wool can be on the pricier side, but again, like with cotton, it is sometimes worth paying a bit more for that guarantee of quality.
