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Lets talk Yarn
Since my budget has become much tighter of late I need to compare the price and quality of yarns.
This morning I have been comparing the Brassard 8/2 (which I have always used) to the Valley Yarn 8/2 cotton, from Webs. Webs is a full cone, of 3360 yards, and Brassard is 1680 yards. Price-wise, Brassard is $12. to $13. depending on where you purchase, and Valley yarn is $26.99 and at Webs there is always some kind of sale going on, so if you don’t need it today, or next week you can get a discount. This week’s discount is 20% nice deal this is a regular discount. Over $100 order and the discount is 25%. I have never gotten a sale price on Brassard anywhere unless its a discontinued product. I just ordered the colors I need for a project I am working on. But now I am thinking. Even thou, I got the yarn at the right price how will it work with the Brassard I already have, and will I be sorry I purchased Webs Valley yarn over Brassard? I have always had great service from Webs, and my local Brassard dealer, however, that is changing, and I am no longer getting the good service from my local dealer.
Here is the big question, what do you use for cotton, and why, have you compared Brassard with other brands, or Valley yarn with other brands and why did you choose one over the other? Do you have a favorite cotton other than these two and why do you like it?
I know one of the first things that will be asked is what are you making? This particular project will be towels and or a scarf, It’s a Stubenitsky design, I loved the colors, and all the different treadlings in it to make one or 6 different projects. Not decided on what to do yet. Looking forward to all your input. I live close to Brassard and Webs, so they are the main yarns people buy. Other places to buy across this country who gives you the best service.
Thanks all.
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7 Replies
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Personally, I vastly prefer the Brassard cotton to Valley for its strength and smoothness. It’s ring spun, whereas Valley is open spun and therefore weaker and more likely to pill. Valley cottons are probably also more absorbent, though I haven’t tested myself to compare the two. @laura-fry and @carly-jayne have each done a fair bit of scientific testing of absorbency of different cottons, structures, and setts and can probably tell you more.
When comparing prices and quantities, it’s useful to work out the price per pound. You said that the Valley cottons are $24/cone and the Brassard cottons are $12-13 per 1/2 spool. Assuming the Valley cotton comes on 1lb cones, that’s effectively the same price. Bonus: you could get a larger variety of colors in the Brassard, since you only have to get 1/2# of each.
As a LYS owner myself, I heartily encourage you to support your local stores rather than the big box online places if you have the option. If you’re not getting the same quality of service that you used to, you could talk to them about that and see if there’s a solution. If you don’t have a local store (and so few of us do, because it’s fiendishly difficult to keep such a business afloat) then consider finding a local-to-someone-else yarn store to patronize. If everyone shops at the big box stores, ALL of the little local stores will close and no one will have any choice but to shop online, where you’re not likely to find someone who’ll leverage their experience and expertise in helping you decide which yarns or tools to buy. Having said that, the big online retailers of weaving yarns are still much smaller businesses than a real big box store and also deserve and need our support! They simply have lower overhead and a larger customer base than any brick and mortar store can compete with.
If you’re shopping on a budget and time isn’t an issue, there are Canadian stores that sell Brassard cotton for less than the US retailers because of the way that Brassard themselves prices things for wholesale. If you’re buying a large enough quantity, the savings per spool outstrips the extra shipping cost. For instance, at the Canadian retailer I know best (cough), the price per spool of 8/2 unmercerized cotton is less than what you’re finding at Webs, and that’s in Canadian dollars. In USD, it’s less than $7.50/spool, ergo under $15/lb.
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And this Canadian Yarn shop you know (I’m not usually in a hurry) of, what is the cost of shipping to little old Vermont? Will the US dollar get me enough yarn to cover the shipping? I have noticed that shipping has gone nuts from Canada to here. What a lot of folks do here on the border is have post boxes in the post office on either side of the border where they get mail. I live close enough but don’t have a box in Que. Might you post me the web address because I would love to do business with this person since I have the highest respect for (OPPS) her. LOL
Janet, even thou the yarn was basically the same price I got a big discount from Webs, which saved me $20. more than enough to cover shipping, The Woolery, is also a great place to buy but they cost more than the local shop which is really not local either I can drive there I make it a weekend trip when I do. But the service has gotten poor and I just don’t want to deal with it. So what is the link to that Candian shop?
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It’s a bit tricky to make general observations about specific yarns in part because it depends (bet you’re shocked) on how the fibre was prepared for and spun.
But *generally* yarn available in Canada (where most 2/8 cotton yarn conforms to the quality of yarn sold by Brassard and Camilla Valley) are combed and ring spun, while *most* of the 8/2 cotton available in the US is open end spun. The resulting yarns, even while the same yards per pound, are completely different yarns.
For more info, check out my blog: https://laurasloom.blogspot.com/2020/08/those-pesky-numbers.html
I’ve written about cotton multiple times on my blog so if you want to know what I’ve said, you can go to my blog, scroll down the list of topic and click on the ‘cotton’ link.
That said, there are yarn suppliers in the US who do offer the ‘Brassard’ quality of yarn – Yarn Barn of Kansas, the Woolery are just two I’m aware of. WEBS is a bit tricky because some of their yarn is the rung spun while others is the open end spun. If you think you want to purchase routinely from a supplier, invest in sample cards of their yarn so you know the quality of yarn they stock.
If you have The Intentional Weaver (I think you said you do Sandra?) there is a chapter devoted to explaining the basics of how fibres are turned into yarn and examining the inherent characteristics of the fibres. I have some photos of yarns close up and personal, which I can’t find at the minute, but if you read through the blog posts I most likely used them for a post. :)
laurasloom.blogspot.com
The above photo is in black and white because it shows the difference between American open end spun 8/2 cotton (below) and ring spun 2...
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Yes, I have that book. I should have known you would know. lol, I talked at length with a friend weaver this morning, we had not talked in a long time, and it was nice to catch up. I was surprised to learn that Webs was bought out by a big online craft store of sorts from the UK. I don’t buy much from them as a rule, but I will try it this one time, and I will decide if I like it or not. And like Janet was saying, about buying from the big box stores, lol I guess this puts Webs now in the big box store category. I do very little business with big box, and would rather support the smaller local places. If I wanted I could go to Brassard they are about 2 hrs from me. My problem is I do not speak French, and travel in Quebec can be a bit rough if you are not French. I might have to beg my daughter-in-law to go with me. She is French. I will boot up that book and find that chapter.
Thank you Laura.
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Sandy,
I decided I preferred Brassard over Webs 8/2 for several reasons, one of which I now know is the ring spun versus not ring spun. Plus I really like buying 8 oz. cones rather than 1 lb cones. I usually buy my Brassard from Eugene Textile Center or Lofty Fiber. Although not local (I live in NH) they are small businesses. Both places have sales once or twice a year and I stock up. If you subscribe to their newsletters, it will let you know when there is a sale. I used to frequently buy Homestead 8/2 Cotton from Halcyon in Maine because they also have small cones. I am not sure if it is ring spun. Also I have a local friend who also orders yarn and we pool our order to get the minimum we need to get free shipping. Good luck! Miriam
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I wished I had someone I could go in with for bulk sales. My girlfriend when she first started weaving she and I had a chat, lol she lives on the Mass border I on the Canadian border of Vermont. We talked about how nice the cotton was from Webs and how soft. She loved it. I have nothing against Brassard, I love their colors and have always used it. I am just finding the service I get lacking from the person I was buying from. Unfortunately, that place has the best price, $.50 to $1. difference in price depending on who you buy it from. Shipping is also a concern. The place in VT I get my yarn charges a flat rate of $10 shipping, that’s fine but other places charge more. My same girlfriend and I had a chat yesterday I had no idea Webs had sold out to a big box store. An online craft store. Owned by a group in the UK. I guess that is better than being owned by the Chinese. But neither of us like big box stores and I have always ordered here in VT so my money was staying in the State. But no more I know several places that use Brassard. some do not always have all colors but I guess I will deal with that I do have a nice stash I have most of them. I will not run out of yarn any time soon. I purchased enough from Webs for a good discount. It may be my last since they are not locally owned any longer. Sad.
That all said, hold on to your hat, NH like Vermont is soon to be overrun by outsiders. We have been being warned for months now to make sure we have everything we need cos we will not get it on Monday. Stores, banks, everyone is closing up shop at noon tomorrow around here. And I live 5 miles from the ski resort that is having all the parties.
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