How to Choose Yarn and a Hook (Without Wasting Money)
The yarn aisle is overwhelming and most of it is wrong for bags. Here is what I actually buy, what I avoid, and why.
If you buy the wrong yarn, your first bag will sag, stretch, and disappoint you — and you’ll blame yourself when it was the material. Let me save you that.
Cotton, not acrylic, for bags
Acrylic yarn is cheap and soft and fine for blankets. For bags it’s a mistake: it has no structure and it stretches under weight. Use mercerised cotton. It holds its shape, the colours stay true, and it actually gets nicer with washing. It costs more, but a bag is worth doing properly.
Weight: worsted / 8-ply
Yarn comes in weights from lace-thin to chunky. For granny square bags you want worsted weight (also called 8-ply or DK-heavy). It’s thick enough to work up reasonably fast and to give the bag body, thin enough to keep the stitch detail crisp.
The hook
Match your hook to your yarn. For worsted cotton, a 4mm or 5mm hook is right. Smaller hook = tighter, firmer fabric (good for bags that must hold shape). Bigger hook = looser, draped fabric (good for scarves, bad for bags). When in doubt for a bag, size down.
How much do you need?
A medium tote takes roughly 400 to 600 grams of cotton. A small crossbody, 200 to 300. Buy a little more than you think, from the same dye lot — colours vary slightly between batches and you don’t want to run out mid-bag and find the new ball doesn’t match.
What I avoid
Novelty yarns (fuzzy, sparkly, ribbon) — they hide your stitches and fray. Very dark colours when you’re learning — you can’t see what your hook is doing. And bargain bins of mystery fibre — if there’s no label telling you the fibre and weight, you can’t repeat your results.
One good brand beats five cheap ones
Buy one ball of good cotton rather than five of the cheap stuff. You’ll learn faster on material that behaves predictably, and you won’t build the habit of fighting your yarn.
Once you have your cotton and hook, the next lesson walks you through your first granny square. And the bags in the collection are all made from exactly the cotton I’m describing here — you can see how it wears on Etsy.
Merve Yamak
Founder, My Happy Made · Istanbul
