Two hundred years of German spinning
Schachenmayr's longevity is the interesting bit: a mill that has been running for nearly 200 years has had time to settle on what it does well. In practice that is consistency. Catania, its mercerised cotton, is spun tightly enough that stitches stay crisp and the colour range is wide enough that you can find a shade of green for a leaf, a stem and a lime in the same family – which is precisely why it dominates amigurumi and small toy making. The merino lines are soft and superwash-treated for wearables. Bravo, the acrylic workhorse, is the yarn people buy in quantity for blankets and charity knitting because the price and the washability both make sense.
Picking the right line for the job
- Amigurumi and toys: Catania. Firm, non-splitty, huge shade range, and it holds stuffing without gaping when worked on a small hook.
- Baby garments: the superwash merino ranges, soft against the skin and machine washable.
- Blankets and afghans: Bravo, bought in one dye lot, in DK or aran.
- Summer tops: cotton, sized down slightly to allow for the growth cotton always gives you.
- Colourwork: any line with a broad palette; the family-based shade cards make picking three tones of one colour easy.
Tension and how much to buy
Ball bands here are accurate, but your hands are not the ball band's hands. Swatch 15cm square in the stitch you will use, wash and dry it exactly as you will treat the finished piece, and measure the middle. Cotton behaves differently to wool in this test: it does not spring back, so a slightly loose cotton swatch is a warning, not a rounding error. On quantity, plan by metres. A crocheted toy is usually well under one ball per colour, a pram blanket around 400 to 700 metres, a large throw well over 1,500. Buy one dye lot and one spare ball, particularly for anything striped where a colour change would be obvious.
Hooks, needles and stitch choice
For amigurumi in cotton, go down one or even two hook sizes from the ball band so the fabric is dense and the stuffing stays hidden; expect it to be harder on the hands and take breaks. For garments in the same cotton, use the recommended size or one up, because a tight cotton fabric is stiff and unpleasant to wear. Merino likes a slightly loose hand and blocks beautifully. Acrylic wants a firm, even tension, since you cannot fix unevenness afterwards with blocking.
Care and finishing
Cotton takes a hard wash and comes back looking better, but it gains length under its own weight, so dry flat rather than hanging. Superwash merino can go in the machine on a wool cycle but should still be dried flat. Acrylic must never meet a hot iron: hover the steam well above the fabric or skip pressing altogether, because direct heat flattens the fibre permanently. On toys, sew limbs on with the project yarn and go through the body twice for security, and use safety eyes with locking washers for anything given to a small child.
Schachenmayr questions
Is Catania yarn good for amigurumi?
Yes. It is a firm mercerised cotton with excellent stitch definition and a very large shade range, which is why it is a standard choice for toys.
Is Schachenmayr yarn machine washable?
Many lines are, including the acrylics and superwash merinos. Always check the individual ball band.
What weight is Catania?
It is generally used as a 4 ply to DK weight cotton; follow the ball band tension for your project.
Where can I find matching patterns?
See Schachenmayr knitting patterns or browse all crochet patterns.
