What is your favorite yarn for afghans? Brand? Content?
thanks!
It depends who will be getting it. If it is an adult who will look after it carefully and does not mind washing or dry-cleaning it, equally carefully, once in a while, then wool is lovely. It is a natural fibre, soft, warm and breathable. On the other hand, if the afghan is going to be used by the whole family, including pets, to wrap up while watching television, eating and drinking, or if it is going to be spread on the floor for the kids to play on, then acrylic every time. It is cheaper to buy, lighter in weight and much easier to wash and dry than wool. I am not keen on polyester for afghans, I don’t find it warm enough, but maybe that is just me.
If the afghan is for charity, I don’t know who will be getting it, so I use either acrylic or a wool-acrylic mix, and make sure it is machine-washable and dryable. I also label it, just in case someone has allergies.
I don’t use luxury fibres like cashmere or silk unless the afghan is purely decorative, e.g. to drape over the end of a bed and maybe, occasionally, be pulled up as an extra layer of warmth on top of the other blankets. It is also stupidly expensive, so it would only be a special-occasion gift, like a wedding present.
I haven’t done one in awhile but there is no doubt that I would use acrylic because it is easy to care for. Wool would be so expensive and harder to care for. I would not use one of the rough acrylics like Red Heart. My knitting group put one together of different squares and it is really soft. I won it in a raffle so I know it is nice and it washed well. I think it is Caron Simply Soft. I’ll try to remember to ask when I go to knitting today.
Do you have favorite brands? 
Yes please do!
I like Wendy Aran With Wool (80% acrylic, 20% wool, machine washable and dryable) or Wendy Pure Wool Aran (100% wool, handwash only) for Aran weights. I don’t usually go much thicker than that, it is too much like hard work for my poor hands. I also like Sirdar Hayfield Bonus (100% acrylic, machine washable and dryable), but I find their Aran version is a bit thin for afghans, so I use their DK and double it up. I have some Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool (100% wool, handwash only) but I have not used it yet. I like the feel of it, though.
I must confess I tend to look for sales, but sometimes they only have end- of-line yarns and it is a case of get it now and stash it, or forget it, so I have used lots of different yarns over the years.
Not sure if this connects to your question, but I usually end up going with acrylic yarns for baby blankets. I try to use something softish; sometimes it’s a baby specific yarn, sometimes not. It’s kind of like @WeeBizzom said–baby blankets get harder use and it makes total sense to have them be easy care as well. I like Hobby Lobby’s baby yarn, but I just finished 2 blankets with their Sugar Wheel self-striping yarn and and last summer I did one with Lion Brand Mandala Sparkle, and they were decently soft. Apparently my niece thought so, too, because I see her posting pics with her little baby lying on it fairly often. But for a cozy couch afghan, I know my daughter likes to use some of the Hobby Lobby bulky and super bulky weight yarns for crocheting afghans and they really are soft and comfy. She is on a rather limited budget, so those are great for larger projects and still make soft and cozy blankets. But I am a sucker for some lovely wool or other animal fibers and a fine afghan made up with something like that would be heavenly to snuggle under, so, again, if it’s a gift to someone who would appreciate it, I’d say go for the finer stuff, but if you’re giving it to someone who doesn’t have time or the inclination to care for it properly, then there are a lot of acrylic yarns out there that are soft and would be a nice option.
Definitely fits!!! Thank you!!! Any and all feedback welcome!
@Char - I use 100% organic bare cotton for baby blankets. It wears well and lasts forever (and if you want to “add on” to turn them into toddler size later, it’s an easy thing to do). New mom’s seem to like the undyed organic content these days. For toddler size, I usually go with Lion Brand Heartland as it has a good color selection, has a very soft hand and washes up well. For adults/heavy use, my go to is Premier Everyday Soft Worsted because it really doesn’t pill and repeated machine washing/drying doesn’t make the yarn fray or get fuzzy over the years. Special or occasional use gets a wool blend sock yarn - take your pick, but as rkennel said, only if the recipient will care for it properly. Lion Brand’s Feels Like Butta is also a nice option but I haven’t seen how that one actually launders over the years. I stick with acrylic for most gifts as to avoid the whole allergy issue. Hope these options aren’t too late to help.