Let`s talk about chenille

amigurumi panda

Let’s talk about chenille yarn. On one hand, it’s synthetic and “bad,” but on the other hand, it’s unbelievably soft and cozy. Chenille yarn is taking the world by storm and spreading like wildfire on TikTok. So, what should we think of it?

This isn’t a scientific article, just a small opinion piece based on personal experience.

amigurumi panda

I don’t know what you think, but I’ve always been a bit skeptical about chenille yarns. Mainly because they are synthetic. There’s already so much plastic in the world that I’m not sure I want to make toys for small children out of synthetic materials. On top of that, the environment is already struggling with waste and pollution, so should we really contribute to this by producing more synthetic toys?

One principle I’ve held for many years is to carefully choose materials and prioritize only the best. Synthetic yarns don’t quite fit into that picture.

Despite my views, chenille yarn is growing in popularity. Since I’m always curious about different materials, their character, and their nature, I decided to give this yarn a chance. This time, I tried Rico Chenillove yarn. It’s 100% polyester and comes in large 100-gram skeins, with 110 meters of yarn per skein. I found it very nice to work with using a 4 mm crochet hook.

amigurumi panda

I crocheted a panda bear with Chenillove, and it turned out oh-so-soft! The velvety softness is enough to make your knees weak. If you’re worried that working with synthetic yarn means dealing with static hair standing on end, it’s not quite like that. Crocheting with this yarn was very enjoyable – silky and velvety.

Speaking of advantages, you don’t need to be as meticulous with stitching as you would with cotton because the fluffy texture of the yarn helps mask technical imperfections quite well.

That said, chenille yarn does have its quirks. Chenillove could be unraveled, even multiple times, but if you needed to remove an already-attached ear and reattach it slightly higher, the yarn would tangle, and you’d have to use a new piece of yarn for sewing. This is probably one of the most disliked traits of chenille yarn. It tends to become uneven when unraveled, which can lead to extra work.

Occasionally, small tufts of fluff came off the yarn, but this might be a characteristic of freshly unwrapped skeins. Later, when the toy is in use, these may no longer appear. However, I can’t be certain, as I don’t have long-term usage experience.

why it`s hard to work with chenille yarn
amigurumi panda

In my opinion, chenille isn’t suitable for every design and would never replace pure wool or cotton for me. But for certain designs, this yarn can have just the right character, as it did with the panda bear. I had been thinking about making a panda for a while, as if it had been waiting for the arrival of chenille yarn to truly take shape.

What do you think about chenille yarn? Share your thoughts in the comments below this post. Maybe you have some valuable experiences to share with others.

14 thoughts on “Let`s talk about chenille

  1. Györgyné Andresz says:

    Szerintem ezek a állatfigurák kisgyerekeknek készülnek.Néha még rágcsálják is őket.A zsenília erre alkalmatlan,míg a pamut nem rendelkezik ezzel a (rossz)tulajdonsággal.Hiba esetén nem lehet visszafejteni,pedig még az ügyesen horgolók is hibáznak.Amigurumi-pamut!

  2. Donna says:

    I don’t like using chenille yarn as I find the completed project looks “tacky” (not professional) and I prefer a more polished look that cotton gives, however your panda looks amazing and has so much more stitch definition than other chenille yarns. Very cute!

  3. Rosa says:

    Pienso lo mismo, no me gusta para los amigurumis, a lo mejor un muñeco, pero prefiero el de siempre.

  4. Jana says:

    I just came here to say that the world definitely needs this panda pattern! It is absolutely adorable! :)

  5. Lorraine says:

    I have only tried chenille yarn once and I had awful trouble even seeing where to put my hook for the next stitch every time. I abandoned the project. I am also allergic to polyester, so this would be a no go for me. The end product does look lovely though.

  6. Vivien says:

    Hi he looks amazing, but I have got to be honest I am not keen on using Chenille for crochet work
    It seems to start falling apart.
    I think I shall be sticking to using a cotton yarn.

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