Some love it, some hate it, but I think just about everyone starts off with Red Heart Super Saver brand of yarn. They have a large variety of colors, it’s on the lower end of the price spectrum and it’s acrylic so it’s easy to care for…but is it really a good yarn? In this Red Heart Super Savers review that’s exactly what we’re going to find out!
About The Yarn
Super Saver yarn has been a favorite among knitters and crocheters for over 30 years. This 100% acrylic worsted weight, size 4 yarn comes in over 120 beautiful colors, so you will always find the perfect color to complete your project. No-dye-lot solids mean all skeins of a solid color match, so it’s easy to buy another skein and continue the project. Plus after you make your project it will be made to last, as Red Heart Super Saver yarn is durable and will stand the test of time, wash after wash. This product holds the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification.
https://www.yarnspirations.com/red-heart-super-saver-yarn
Features:
Content Solids, Stripes, Prints & Variegates: 100% acrylic
Content Flecks: 96% acrylic, 4% other fibers
Ball size Solids: 198 g/7 oz, 333 meters/364 yards
Prints,Variegates & Stripes: 141 g/5 oz, 215 meters /236 yards
Ball size Flecks & Heathers: 141 g/5 oz, 238 m/260 yards
Care: Machine wash and dry
Gauge: 4 – Worsted
Knitting Gauge:
4” x 4” (10 cm x 10 cm) 17 sts and 23 rows with a 5 mm (U.S. 8) knitting needle
Crochet Gauge:
4” x 4” (10 cm x 10 cm) 12 sc and 15 rows with a 5.5 mm (U.S I-9) crochet hook
Recommended Knitting Needle: 5 mm
Recommended Crochet Hook: 5.5 mm
The above is all taken from https://www.yarnspirations.com/red-heart-super-saver-yarn/E300.html
Price
All of the prices are in USD
The price on this yarn varies depending on where you look, on the Yarnspiration website it is listed for $4.49 a skein. Joann’s has it for $3.69 regularly, Michael’s has it listed for $3.99 regularly, and Walmart has it at $3.44 regularly.
The price per yardage is:
- $4.49 = .01
- $3.69 = .01
- $3.99 = .01
- $3.44 = .009 (a bit less than a penny a yard)
- $2.99 = .008 (this is a common sale price that I’ve seen in big box stores.
Price Update:
The price on this yarn varies depending on where you look, on the Yarnspiration website it is listed for $6.99 an ogo. They don’t have regular skeins on there unless it’s jumbo. Joann’s has it for $4.49 regularly. Michael’s has it listed for $3.49-$4.49 depending on the color. And Walmart has it at $3.56 regularly.
- $6.99 = 0.019 (rounded up it would be 2 cents yard)
- $4.49 = 0.012
- $3.49 = 0.0095 (around a penny a yard)
- $3.56 = 0.0097 (around a penny a yard)
- $2.99 = .008 (Sales prices vary but I’ve seen recently)
The big box stores typically have coupons or sales that include the Super Saver yarn so I would definitely shop around before buying. But when buying regular price Michael’s or Walmart is your best bet.
Yarn Specs
Red Heart Super Savers (SS) comes in over 120 colors, is a yarn weight of 4, is made of 100% acrylic yarn, is 7oz* (198g) has 364* yards (333 m), and is made in Turkey.
*This is the weight and yardage of a solid color skein, see features for the differences in stripes, prints, & variegated and flecks & heathers.
SS has no dye lot because they do huge batches at a time. This doesn’t mean that there will be no difference in color between skeins, it just means that if you buy a bunch at once, it’s probably all from the same color batch. Having said that, I would suggest picking up as many as you think you’ll need for your project since you don’t have a dye lot numbers to go off of.
Something you don’t always see on packaging, it marks which side is which of the two ends that you can pull from. The inside or the outside depending on your preference. (I’m a inside puller myself, how about you?)
Variations Within The Brand
There are quite a few variations under the sub brand Super Saver:
- Super Saver Jumbo 744 yd. / 681 m
- Literally a skein with twice as much yarn in it as a normal skein
- Super Saver Ombre 482 yd. / 440 m
- A larger skein that moves from dark to light colors and then back again for a smooth color change without having to change yarns.
- Super Saver Pooling 236 yd / 215 m
- This is dyed specifically to create color pooling affects*.
- Super Saver Chunky 173 yd. / 158 m
- It’s a bulky 5 version of the yarn.
- Super Saver Fair Isle 236 yds (215m)
- Fair Isle is a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colours. This yarn is dyed to mimic that color change and pattern*.
- Super Saver Stripes 236 yards (215m)
- A yarn that’s dyed to self stripe while stitching*.
There maybe more, but these are the only ones I can find at this time. I will add to this as things change.
* This only works if you make the project the correct size and with the correct tension, they most likely have patterns for this on their website.
Comparison
The price range of Red Heart Super Saver (Super Saver) would put it a bit more expensive than Big Twist Value yarn (BTV), but much less expensive than, I Love This Yarn brand (ILTY)
The ILTY brand is the softest of the 3 yarns in my opinion. BTV is a close second, with Super Saver being slightly scratchy. It is known for this and can be a bit hard on the hands.
Price and yardage wise here’s the comparison of the 3 brands.
- Super Saver: $3.69
- 7 oz (198g) 364 yards (333 m)
- Big Twist Value: $3.49
- 6 oz (170g) 380 yards (347 m)
- I Love This Yarn: $4.99
- 7 oz 355 yards (324)
Based on price per yard SS is definitely the cheapest at .01 a yard.
Cons
The biggest con, and the reason for much of the hate, is that SS has a scratchiness to it.
It can be quite rough on your hands and is actually where most people get the idea that acrylic yarn, in general, is low quality and rough textured. In fact, I’ve heard quite a few people tell me that they don’t use any Red Heart yarns because they think it will feel like their value brand Super Saver.
My Red Heart Super Savers Review
Okay, so I will admit that the scratchiness did initially turn me off from this yarn. However, when I started looking into freeform crochet, I knew that I wanted lots of colors to use in my work. I picked up about 6 colors on a sale and it was about $12 for all that yardage!
I soon found that Super Saver was a diamond in the rough because, once washed, it becomes very soft. It didn’t take anything fancy, just simply throwing the finished item in the wash made it better. In case you were wondering, using fabric softener made it marginally more soft.
It’s also really hard to beat the yardage that you get, it goes much further even when using a heavy texture stitch.
Additionally, not all of the brands under Super Saver feel the same. The Ombre, which I adore for large projects, is just as soft as Red Heart With Love or Big Twist Value.
Once washed it’s actually just as soft as Big Twist Value and this is a bonus for me because BTV specifically, is not machine dryable.
I’ve seen many complain about Super Saver yarn having unsightly knots and not fully spun bits, but honestly I’ve had this happen in more expensive yarns as well. It doesn’t really bother me to snip it and make a cleaner knot or join. In fact now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve seen this happen more often in Big Twist Vaue, Caron Cakes, Mandala yarn, and Bernat Pop yarn then in Super Savers.
Final word
So, it is worth it? Yeah, I definitely think it is. This brand gives you over 100 colors and colorways to choose from, is machine washable and dryable, and is the cheapest yarn regularly priced.
I hope you found this article helpful! If it is, please show your support by liking this post and following my blog, so you’re alerted when ever I make a new one. You can also sign up for The Crocheting Owl Monthly Newsletter for free patterns, updates, yarny bonuses and more!
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Thank you for your information on Red Heart Yarn. It was helpful. I look forward to more information from you through the emails. Kathleen A
Happy you found it helpful!