Paintbox Yarn has always been at the top of my list of brands to try; the magnificent color swatches and adorable packaging would excite knitters and crocheters alike! Unfortunately when looking into where to purchase the yarn, I found they were only sold online. Since I most often buy my yarns at my local Michael's, A.C. Moore or Joann's, this made a bit nervous to test Paintbox out. I always preferred buying yarns in-store so that I can really get a feel for the color, texture and weight of the product. However, I've heard such great things about Paintbox that I decided to give it a go!
I decided to purchase the yarn through loveknitting.com as they had been running a sale for 25% off Paintbox Yarn! I went with the 100% Cotton Aran Yarn, because I always use cotton for my projects and aran yarn is, in my opinion, the best weight for making amigurumis. Paintbox has so many different colors to choose from (you can see in the picture they have 56 available) so I decided to get them all and see if they really are as vibrant and stylish as in their photographs!
After ten anxious days of waiting, the yarns finally arrived. They were packaged in four elegant sheer bags--a nice unexpected touch to the unboxing experience! With all of the yarns laid out, it was like a beautiful rainbow washed over my bedroom. With so many different shades to choose from, I instantly was hit with the realization that starting a project with these guys would be a tricky dilemma!
Sorting the yarns by color, I realized that not every section was necessarily as unique. While the cooler tones like blues, pinks and purples were clearly each distinct in their hue, the various shades of red or orange seemed eerily similar. While it is just my opinion, I think getting every swatch of Paintbox was useful to make this observation, and I will definitely be sticking to one or two reds from now on!
In terms of Paintbox yarn quality, I definitely was pleasantly surprised at it's softness, but would say it was a bit finer than expected. This isn't too large of an issue, though, so all in all I would say it is a great investment for amigurumi projects! The bundles of yarn themselves are on the smaller side, though, so make sure to pick up a few skeins if you're looking to make a bigger project. Even though they are smaller, the yardage/price ratio was on par with what most cotton yarns will go for, so I think Paintbox remains a very reasonable brand. Look out on my Instagram for projects tagged with #paintbox yarn!