Bernat Velvet Yarn Review
Easily one of the hottest yarns to use for amigurumi. Should you jump on the wagon, too? Find out with my honest Bernat Velvet yarn review. Free Gengar crochet pattern included.
Hi everyone!
Instagram is full of amigurumi made with Bernat Velvet yarn right now. Bernat Velvet is not new to the market in 2021. It has been on the market for a few years now. I’m surprised it’s still around with how fast the larger yarn companies discontinue and bring out new lines. Maybe this one is here to stay?
The yarn has a 3.3 out of 5-star rating on Yarnspirations and it doesn’t seem to be leaving the limelight anytime soon.
While reviewing Bernat Velvet yarn, I designed a pattern for the ghost Pokémon Gengar.
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What Is Bernat Velvet?
Bernat Velvet yarn is a 100% polyester blend in the size 5 weight class. It comes in a decent ball size at 300g/315 yards. It is recommended to be hand washed and generally used for home décor purposes.
Colour:
Bernat Velvet comes in 15 colors ranging from bold and bright, to pastel, neon, and dusty. If you’d like more options, they have more available in their Crushed Velvet and Baby Velvet lines. The Crushed line is practically the same as the original with the only difference being variegated colors. Baby is a weight class below and features more colorful pastel tones, and instead of hand washing, you can machine wash projects made with it.
Feel:
Impeccably soft and smooth on the hands, Bernat Velvet is lovely. This yarn doesn’t do the dreaded “yarn squeak” while crocheting. I’d also like to mention that this yarn has a beautiful shine. It brought my Gengar to life and gave it an eerie glow. This sheen works well with amigurumi by adding extra depth if the light hits it just right. A side note would be that it does tend to lose some fluff while working with it, especially if you have to frog a lot. I suggest being careful while frogging and doing it gently and slowly. It will snap and lose a lot of fluff. I would keep a lint roller nearby.
Ease Of Use:
Bernat Velvet is surprisingly easy to work with for accessories/garments. Beginners will not have a problem working with this yarn when making décor pieces. Making amigurumi plushies with it was more of a challenge. The smaller crochet hook used to get the tight stitching required made it difficult to see the stitches. I had to focus and sometimes feel for the stitches.
Skill Level:
I recommend an intermediate skill level before using Bernat Velvet for amigurumi. Beginners are welcome to use this yarn for décor and more.
The pros of Bernat Velvet outweigh the cons. Not only does Bernat Velvet make great amigurumi, but it’s great for other projects, too.
Anyone can use this yarn, from beginners to veterans of the craft. I would suggest beginners use it with patterns other than amigurumi, though.
I will say that the inability to machine wash this yarn is its biggest downfall. I love to make my plushies with machine-washable yarn.