ladies who crochet (sp??)

what kind of yarn (bran/type/etc) do you recomend for a crocheted baby blanket. I'm having my grandma make me one for my little bean due in April:)

TIA

Wow - well, there are more types of yarn than you can dream of. Do you picture a thick, heavier blanket, or a thin, lightweight, lacy blanket? Do you prefer acrylic (easy to machine wash and dry, but synthetic), cotton, wool, or something else? Do you want super, super soft like a lot of the plush animals currently on the market? How much are you/she willing to spend?

What type of yarn and size hook does your grandmother prefer working with? Some of the specialty yarns take some practice getting used to. And I know that I prefer a bigger hook - an afghan using an F or a G hook would take me years to finish!

It would help tremendously, also, if you picked out a pattern and then asked us what type of yarn we recommend for a certain pattern. I always choose my pattern and then my yarn - when I don't, I tend to end up with bags of yarn sitting in my basement, waiting for just the right pattern that I never seem to find!

Finally, try going to a Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Wal-mart, JoAnn's or any other yarn store you have nearby and feel some of the yarn. See what you like and what you don't like. So much of yarn choice is personal preference. Don't buy yet, because you don't know how much the afghan needs until you pick out the pattern, but at least you know better what is out there.

I like Lion Brand really well. It is higher quality than most of the other stuff out there, and will make a chunkier kind of blanket. If you want a "delicate" looking kind of baby blanket, that is probably not the way to go. Also, while white blankets look so sweet... I don't recommend that for a baby.

The Mary Maxim (www.marymaxim.com) baby yarn is also really soft. But ITA with Lori, there are so many variables, it's hard to say without knowing more info.

J -

Which Lion Brand do you use? I've tried some of them and have been pretty happy with them. I'm curious to hear which is your favorite!

http://www.lionbrand.com/content-yarns.html

Woolese is my favorite, hands down. Which have you tried?

I really like the Homespun; it works up so soft, but it does snag easily. The Chenille thick & quick works up really cool, but I can't get past the shedding that you get with chenille. I've also used Wool-ease thick & quick (makes great scarves!!) and fisherman's wool. I don't think that I've made anything out of the regular wool-ease, but my mom made me a sweater out of it last year.