Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge – February 2023

Do you love new crochet patterns? Do you love friendly competitions? Then you’re going to love the Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge!

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But what exactly is a Yarn Off? Well, it’s like a bake off, but with yarn!

Each designer will have the same basic “ingredients” to work with, but the outcome will be different!

What are the guidelines?
  • Same Yarn
  • Same Colors
  • Same Theme

Everything is the same to start, but then we use whatever hook we want, and of course we choose our own stitch work too!

We also won’t know anything about each other’s designs! It will be a complete surprise!

Then we let you vote on your favorite crochet design! It’s going to be so much fun!

Who is participating in this Yarn Off?

Sonya from Blackstone Designs and Jennifer from A Crocheted Simplicity! (You knew that, didn’t you?!)

Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge Blackstone Designs and A Crocheted Simplicity

Me and Jenn have been doing CALs and other events together for many years, so we thought we would shake it up a little!

What yarn will we be using?

For the first round of Yarn off we will be using the beautiful and squishy Wonderfluff from WeCrochet in the colorway Hare Heather!

We Crochet Wonderfluff Yarn Knit Picks

Wonderfluff is a lightweight and soft Bulky Yarn (#5) made up of 70% Baby Alpaca, 23% Nylon, and 7% Merino Wool.

WeCrochet says this about Wonderfluff: “Softer than a kitten, fluffier than a cloud, Wonderfluff is a technological marvel! Silky baby alpaca and fleecy merino fibers are blown into and caught in a lightweight tube of nylon mesh. The result is a yarn that’s beautifully bulky yet lightweight and warm, with surprising resiliency.

And I can attest that there are no lies detected! It has been a snuggly dream to work with and the finished project is coming out so cozy, but also not heavy.

We Crochet Wonderfluff Yarn Hare Heather Knit Picks

For most yarn you get a suggested crochet hook (or knitting needle) to use with it, but with Wonderfluff they suggest a range!

For crochet hooks they suggest between a K/6.50mm and an M/9.00mm!

For knitting needles they suggest between a #10/6mm to an #11/8mm!

You get 142 yards per 50 gram ball too, which goes quite a ways with this chunky yarn!

What’s the schedule?

How often we host these Yarn Off Crochet Designs Challenges will largely depend on you!

If you like them and we see lots of community participation, we will host them every other month!

So make sure to leave comments on posts, join in the voting, share with your friends…etc.

As for the schedule for each challenge, it will run for three weeks:

  • Week 1: Yarn Reveal and Review, Starts February 10th
  • Week 2: Project Reveal and Voting Opens Monday, February 20th; Voting Closes, Winner revealed, Prize Winner Announced, Patterns released Thursday, February 23rd.
Oh, did I forget to mention there will be prizes too?

For the first Yarn Off, WeCrochet has generously offered a $50 Gift Card, to the WeCrochet site, to one winner! Make sure to pop by their Facebook page and give them a big thanks!

There is soooo much awesomeness you can get one their site for $50! Seriously, the yarn and tool prices are so amazing!

WeCrochet Wonderfluff Yarn Hare Heather Knit Picks Wonderfluff

What do you think about the Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge?

Let us know in the comments!

Voting

Voting is closed! Thank you for participating in the first Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge with your votes!

Results
Yarn Off Challenge Crochet Hooded Cowls

These patterns are available, forever free, on the participating designer’s website! (Jennifer’s will be available later today)

Thank you for voting! See you Thursday for the winner reveals, prize winner announcements, and pattern release!

Happy Crocheting!

Written text and photographs © 2023 Sonya Blackstone of Blackstone Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Sonya Blackstone is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

126 thoughts on “Yarn Off Crochet Design Challenge – February 2023”

  1. Can’t wait to see what the next challenge is. It’s so much fun to see what different people come up with given the same yarn.

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  2. What a great idea ladies! Something a little different. The cowls are both beautiful and I can’t wait to see what else you’ll come up with going forward

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  3. Some things in life are so hard and this is one of them, how to vote when both are gorgeous I ummmed and ahhhrrred before landing on Trio Lace Hooded Cowl it looks so cute, But I truly love both of them and your both winners X♥X

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  4. I’m from Saskatchewan so the Easy hooded cowl was what caught my eye! It was -33°C overnight last night! Brrrrrr! Love them both though!

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  5. This looks fun and might be just what I need to get back in the swing of things. Voted for my preference and off to find a good sub as I’m allergic to alpaca

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  6. I really liked the look of the easy hooded cowl but I thought the trio was more practical because it might stay up as a good better. Depends how cold it is. Lol

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  7. I voted! It was impossible to pick a favorite because I like them both equally but had my grandkids pick one for me..lol. They are 2 and 4 years old. <3

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  8. Such a neat idea! I love a bit of friendly competition and I’m always fascinated how the same yarn can look completely different just by using a different stitch and hook combo. Both are equally beautiful!

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  9. It was a tough decision, but I did end up voting. Thank you for letting us vote! I can’t wait to see which one wins and make both patterns.

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  10. They are both nice but Sonya I have say that is the prettiest Hooded cowl I have seen yet, and can’t wait to have a go making. This yarn off idea seems great fun. Maybe we can get involved by perhaps voting for the next make when we vote . For the present item in the future xxx

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  11. Both lovely but I ended up choosing the Trio Lace Hooded Cowl as the ties will make it a snugger fit around my neck which gets cold very quickly! Looking forward to voting in more Yarn Offs over the coming months xx

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  12. I follow both of you lovely ladies, so I knew it would be a close call. But I always tell people it’s the little details that make things go from nice to wow and in this case the pompoms were it.

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  13. Great Job Ladies! The Trio lace looks so light and soft. The Easy hooded cowl looks super warm. This was a very hard choice, but I voted.

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  14. I just love the idea of this and especially that we get to vote on our favorite one. I picked the easy hooded cowl. It looks like a great pattern and I can imagine I am wearing it right now. It makes me feel warm and cozy. Oh well, I guess I will have to make myself one like it.

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  15. Voted! Shocked to see what a big difference there is between the numbers, thought it would be much closed since it was so hard to decide-both are very nice!

    Reply

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