Have you used Brava Yarn before in any of your projects? This is not a new yarn. It’s been around for some time, so I imagine that even if you haven’t tried it in any of your personal projects, it is likely that you have seen others who have.
Some time ago I purchased several skeins of Brava yarn in both worsted and sport weight to try out, wanting to see if the hype I’d been hearing was true or not. I must say, the first impressions were good. They were well packaged, the colors were beautiful, and the squish factor was wow!
And, honestly, I then set them on my shelf because I was already working on several other projects. I know, it’s sad, but I love to snag things when they are on sale, so I didn’t want to let the sale pass, but I also knew that it wouldn’t serve me well to start yet another project without finishing at least some of those projects I’d already started.
Can you relate to this? Having just one or two WIPs (that’s Work In Progress for those who may be unfamiliar with the term) will never be this girl’s scene, but if I start to get too many then it just feels heavy, so I try to set at least some boundaries on WIPs.
I will say, however, that the yarn looks beautiful on the self and kept me motivated to get to using them. And, I’m now excited to report that having worked through a few WIPs I felt really to pull the Brava yarn off the shelf. I’ve now worked through several projects using Brava yarn and even gone back and purchased more for said projects which I will be sharing with you as the computer work, pictures, etc. are finished.
In fact, it was while I was writing up the pattern posts to share here on the blog, in the section where I give the information about the yarn I used in the project that I found myself starting to write a novel about Brava yarn.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s 100% normal to go on and on about a good yarn, but I soon realized that it may be better if I wrote an entire post where I could talk about all the options available within the Brava line and share my personal experience, including the pros of cons, that I’ve found while working with it. So I excitedly bring you the Brava Yarn Review!
For full disclosure, please note that I am an affiliate with WeCrochet and KnitPicks, where this yarn can be purchased, however, I was not paid to do this post. I have personally purchased all the Brava yarn I own at this time, and the opinions I share here are my own.
As an affiliate, I have used links to their shops within this post. If you use the link I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase. Thanks for your support. Please see the disclosure page if you would like further details.
Brava Yarns: Sport, Worsted, and Bulky
Brava yarn is available in a few different weights; sport, worsted, and bulky. While I considered writing about all three of them in separate posts I ultimately decided there would be so much repetition in a lot of the information that it would serve everyone well to discuss all three of them here in one post. If there is something that I do not cover that you’d like to know please leave a comment and I’ll try to answer your question.
That said, out of full disclosure, I have not yet purchased, used, or felt, the bulky version of this yarn, so at this time I’ll give some of the specifics about it but I can’t give my full opinion on it as I can with the sport and worsted options. I’ll update this post in the future if I decide to do a project in Brava Bulky.
All three of these options are made of 100% acrylic and are available in various solid colors. At the time of writing, there are 45 colors in the sport weight, 50 in the worsted weight, and 29 in the bulky weight.
More Options Available in Brava Worsted Weight
The worsted weight option also comes with several more options including Striped (10 variations), Speckled (8 variations), and Tweed (6 variations).
The worsted Brava yarn also has the option to purchase twelve of the solid colors in a larger skein (called Brava 500, which contains five times the amount in a regular skein) perfect for those larger projects.
Brava Worsted also comes in packs of mini skeins. Brava Mini Packs are a great option when you want to try out the yarn before buying full skeins or when you are working on small projects and don’t want a lot of leftover yarn. It’s also a great way to try out several colors without the investment of full skeins that you may find are not your favorite colors.
The mini version comes in sets of Red (which includes various reds but also some yellows, oranges, browns, and purples), Blues (which includes various blues but also some greens, greys, and white), Jewel (which includes a good variety of jewel-toned options), and Rainbow (which includes a spectrum of brighter color options across the color scale).
Which Options Have I Personally Tried?
Respectively the various versions are referred to as Brava Sport, Brava Worsted, Brava Bulky, Brava 500, Brava Tweed, Brava Striped, Brava Speckled, and Brava Mini Packs.
I personally, bought the regular-sized skeins in nearly all the solid colors in both the sport and worsted weight sizes. Throughout several projects, I’ve worked with many of the colors, but not quite all of them. I’ve also purchased four of the eight Brava Speckled colors and have currently worked with one of them.
I will say, that when I see a sale again on Brava yarn, the Tweed options (and maybe the Stripes too) are going into my cart because I love using tweed yarn for my amigurumi, especially animals.
I have not seen the Brava 500, Mini Packs, Striped, or Tweed in person. I’ll update this post as I work through my current stash and try out more options.
Where to Purchase Brava Yarn
Brava yarn is available to purchase online through Knit Picks and their sister site, WeCrochet. I know that buying online can be a deterrent for some. It was for me for several years too because I preferred to shop locally and be able to feel the yarn before I purchase it. But over the years I’ve had more success than not purchasing online although I still shop locally in-store when possible.
Shipping costs can also be a deterrent at times. I hate when it costs nearly as much to ship something as it does to purchase it. And with that, I’m excited to say that while the specifics vary depending on where you live, at the time of writing, FREE shipping after a certain purchased dollar amount is available on both the Knit Picks and WeCrochet sites. See the site for details and specifics. (WeCrochet / Knit Picks)
I’ve purchased from both sites and have been pleased with my overall experience and will return again. That said, if you’re interested, I’ve also seen a few of the Brava yarns available on Amazon as well, but in comparison to purchasing on the original sites the selection is more minimal (at least at the time of writing this post).
The Pros of Brava Yarn
The pros of the Brava yarn in my opinion are many!
The Soft Squish Factor! This yarn, although 100% acrylic which sometimes gets a bad wrap, is crazy squishy and soft when compared to many other value yarns. If you haven’t yet tried it and want to know what to compare it to, I would say Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn comes closest when compared to yarns that may be found more locally to you like I Love this Yarn, Red Heart Super Saver, Caron Simply Soft, Caron One Pound, Vanna’s Choice, Big Twist Value, or Impeccable.
The Sheen! Do you love a good sheen or hate it? Personally, I’m alright with it. The Brava yarn definitely has a sheen to go along with the squish factor and a bit of halo fuzz too. I will say that in comparison to the other acrylic yarn brands noted above it is not as shiny as Caron Simply Soft which is totally fine and perhaps even preferable.
The Color Options! While there aren’t as many colors available in the Bulky Brava coming in currently with 29 colors, you can be appreciative of the 45 solid colors in Brava Sport and 50 solid colors in Brava Worsted. And of course the stripe, speckle, and tweed options in worsted weight as well.
Can we wish for even more options? Sure, I always do, but I can also without a doubt say that everyone will have something to choose from no matter if you prefer pastels, muted, neutrals, or bold primary colors. And each of the colors is vibrant and gorgeous.
The Stitch Definition! In all honesty, I have worked this yarn primarily in making amigurumi, so in single crochet stitches worked in the round, but with this experience and the few other looser crochet swatches that I’ve made, I would say that Brava yarns, in at least the worsted and sport weight (which I’ve used), in my opinion, have a stitch definition to be appreciated.
The Value Factor! You have to love the value factor of this yarn.
Can you find cheaper or comparably priced yarn? Sure. Will the yarn be as soft, squishy, vibrant, and in as many colors? I don’t know, but definitely not always. I will say that the price point is a good one for me.
I’ve created a chart below to show the current price of each of the yarns, the yardage, and the total price per yard (in US dollars) for each Brava yarn option. You can see that on average they are all about 2¢ per yard.
So the cost per yard will go a very long way, especially as an amigurumi maker where you often use far less than a skein of yarn in a project.
Brava Yarn Options Priced Per Yard
| Yarn | Regular Price | Yardage | *Price Per Yard |
| Brava Bulky | $3.99 | 136 | .029¢ |
| Brava Worsted | $3.99 | 218 | .018¢ |
| Brava Sport | $3.99 | 273 | .015¢ |
| Brava Tweed | $4.99 | 218 | .023¢ |
| Brava Stripe | $4.99 | 218 | .023¢ |
| Brava Speckle | $3.99 | 218 | .018¢ |
| Brava 500 | $12.99 | 1090 | .012¢ |
| Brava Mini Packs | $19.99 | 1308 | .015¢ |
Sales! Don’t forget to watch for sales! WeCrochet and Knit Picks frequently have sales on their various yarns which can make the value per yard even sweeter. I know this is when I like to shop the most!
Both sites also often have premade Value Packs for variety of their yarn lines at a discounted rate so it may be helpful to check these out too to see if they meet your needs. You can find current options here: WeCrochet/Knit Picks
At the time of writing, they also have a great “make your own” sale option if you need the yarn now and a current sale isn’t running. Simply add 10 or more skeins of the same yarn line to your cart, enter the code MYYARNPACK at checkout, and enjoy 10% off your personal value pack purchase. This works on both the WeCrochet and Knit Picks sites. I love it when there’s always a sale option!
Skin Tones! I find skin tones in the Brava yarn to have both pros and cons, see the cons section below for all the details.
The Cons of Brava Yarn
While there are not many, there are a few minor cons that I can think of to note.
Only available online. As noted above this yarn is only available for purchase online. This means no walking down the yarn aisle squishing it and staring at all of the beautiful colors before gently placing it in your basket and taking it for a nice stroll around the store while you decide if you should actually get the five other skeins you resisted putting into the basket the first time. And then there’s no driving it home and sinking your hook into it right away.
However, you can imagine all of these things while adding the yarn to your online cart and then have the fun opportunity of waiting with giddy excitement as you stalk the tracking app until the package arrives on your doorstep. Please remember to thank the delivery person! See, not all bad, just different. And, if you spend over $45, shipping is free in the US!
When it arrives at your house and you eagerly open the package it may be just absolutely perfect at which time you can get that hook busy working on your project, but there is the chance that the color might be slightly different than you thought it was on your computer screen due to differences in computer monitor settings and all that.
This does happen sometimes when buying online, but as the website says, “Your satisfaction is guaranteed! If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your order, you may return it within 90 days of purchase.” (If this turns out to be the case for you, please see their website for all the details and how to contact customer service if you need additional help.)
Joins and frays. By joins I mean where in manufacturing two pieces have been knotted/tied together to form a whole skein for purchase. At this point in time I’ve worked through several skeins. Many of them have had no joins, but because it does happen, and honestly, it will at some point with any yarn you purchase and use a lot of skeins of, it is something to note.
I’ve also found a couple of times where the yarn strands are not all fully wound together, some of them fraying out is the best way I can describe it. Once again, not a common occurrence but yes it happened, so I’m noting it for all honesty.
Personally, I don’t find joins or frays too difficult to work around, especially with amigurumi where I can just cut out the undesired piece from the skein, and then join back in like I would if I were changing color there, without much loss of yarn or time.
An amigurumi bonus is that you often don’t even have to weave in the additional ends because they can be knotted and hidden on the inside of the work! That said, if you don’t want to be surprised by a join or a frayed section you can always wind the skein into a cake or ball prior to use so there will be no surprises…..or just live on the wild side and take it as it comes!
Yarn Barf. If you’ve never heard the term “yarn barf” before I’ll explain. When you get a skein of yarn sometimes it’s easy to find the center pull of the yarn and other times it is not. When it’s not you must reach your fingers into the center to try to find it. This can sometimes result in large chunks of yarn pulling out from the center of the ball in a “tangled” mess.
More often the chunks are not tangled and knotted so much as just come out in clumps, sometimes small and sometimes big, quite big. In general, I find the less you mess around with it the less it actually becomes a tangled mess.
I would say that I find yarn barf happening more frequently with Brava Worsted and Brava Sport (remember these are the two I have the most experience with) than with other brands I’ve used.
When yarn barf happens I do one of a few things depending on how big the yarn barf is.
If the pile is small I simply begin crocheting from the starting tail and it tends to work itself out. If it’s larger I wind the yarn barf portion into a ball starting from the point closest to the skein. You don’t cut it, just wind it into a ball until you reach the end of the working yarn and can begin crocheting. This results in a ball you have to work through before getting to the skein portion. If I don’t use all the yarn in the ball in my current project I personally just stuff the ball back into the center of the skein for next time.
Another option is to take the yarn nearest the skein and instead of winding it into a ball, wind it on the outside of the skein onto the end closest to where it is coming out from. You’ll have to work from the outside of the skein for a while until the yarn barf portion is worked up but then it’ll pull from the center.
Dye Lot. Some yarns will have no dye lot meaning that when you buy a skein in a certain color it should always look the same. This is not the case with Brava yarn. They have dye lots, meaning that if you want to use a certain color in a project it’s best to buy all the yarn you’ll need for that project from the same dye lot so that it can be assured to all look the same.
For amigurumi projects, which are typically smaller, this isn’t too big of an issue because you’ll likely use less than a skein so this doesn’t often become an issue, but it is something to keep in mind if making something like a sweater or blanket, or starting a new amigurumi piece when you’re almost out of a certain color.
I will say that in the orders I’ve made where I’ve purchased more than one skein of the same color they have sent the same dye lot. This is typical of a lot of yarn stores as they understand the importance of dye lot in a project.
I will also say that I have gone back later to buy more of a few of the colors that I’ve used most, and when holding them side by side with prior purchases they look the same to me. Still, it is always best practice to buy the same dye lot for a single project.
Unevenness. I hesitate to mention this because it happened once in the Brava Worsted in the color Dublin with two of the skeins I had purchased to make Christmas designs, but I haven’t seen it in any of the other colors I’ve used. The majority of the skein was fine, however, I got to certain parts where the yarn was uneven, being either a bit thinner or a bit thicker. I’m thinking it was likely an anomaly and wouldn’t hesitate to purchase the yarn or this color in the future.
As noted above under joins, you can always ball or cake the yarn prior to use if there is any concern about surprises that might arise.
Skin Tones. Honestly, this point has both pros and cons, and the reason I included it in both of the categories. As an amigurumi designer and/or maker, especially if you make dolls, a good selection of skin tones matters. Keep in mind this is not often the focus of a yarn line’s color choices in production, but as an amigurumist it’s awesome when you find a line that meets your needs for doll making too.
Aside from perhaps Lion Brand’s Basic Stitch Skein Tones yarn designed specifically to be various skin toned/neutrals, every line of yarn I’ve come across on my crochet journey has some gaps in it when it comes to a wide variety of skin tones.
Oh, it would be magical to design a yarn line with amigurumi dolls specifically in mind that would also cover all amigurumi desires. I have so many ideas, perhaps someday this will be a reality I could help bring to life, but I digress from the current topic.
That said, I would say that Brava does have a wider option of skin tones than many other lines (pro!), at least in the sport and worsted weight sizes, the bulky is a different story altogether as there are fewer colors overall in this line so I’m not going to go into bulky options. If making a doll in Brava Bulky you can use the information I share for the other weights and carry it over to help with your decisions there.
It is my option that the lack of skin tone options in Brava yarn is found mostly at the “black” and “white” ends of the spectrum. In the middle, “browns” spectrum, especially in the worsted weight yarns, there are several beautiful options. I’ll share more of my thoughts on all of this below.
The skin colors available in the sport and worsted weight vary, with a few more available in the worsted size than the sport. They have a pure black in both options, but it then jumps to browns except for the Umber Heather (available only in sport) which is a heathered option, so a visible mix of black and brown. While I think it would be beautiful for amigurumi animals as fur, I’m not yet convinced about skin tone. I could be mistaken as I have not worked it up for a doll.
Note: My plans are to design a doll pattern and work it up in each of the colors to give you a better idea of each of the colors (and to make sure that I actually fully like them as a skin tone when fully worked up as a doll), but in time, so I’ll have to update here when that happens.
The Umber Heather is closest to Carob (available in worsted), a deeper brown. I would love to have at least one other color in between Black and Carob closer to black, but not grey.
As far as “white” goes, the White (available in both options) is too stark to use as a skin tone. It’s definitely a bright white and not an off-white. The next option would be Cream (available in both options). In my opinion, this is a good option but it does still have a bit of an orange/peachy tint (keeping in mind that this may be desired).
It passes though, and honestly, with the choices given Cream would be the yarn I’d reach for (especially compared to many options found in other value brand lines). At the same time, it continues to remind me of my early days of designing and making when often the best color you could find for lighter skin in many yarn lines was a “Light Peach” which was definitely more like a fake orange tan, lol.
I will say, that this color is MUCH better than others I’ve used in the past. That said, as with the Black, at least another option or two in the lighter range before getting to brown would be grand for doll-making.
Now let’s talk about the browns. There are beautiful dark, medium, and light browns available in each weight option. Could you have more colors in between the shades? Sure, and it would be fun to have even more options, but you definitely have options to choose from amongst the browns that are available, especially in worsted weight.
*Skin Tone Colors Available in Brava Sport and Brava Worsted Yarns
| Colors | Brava Worsted | Brava Sport |
| Black | x | x |
| Carob | x | |
| Sienna | x | x |
| Gingerbread | x | |
| Espresso | x | |
| Brindle | x | x |
| Almond | x | x |
| Cream | x | x |
| Umber Heather (???) | x |
Additional Things to Know About Brava Yarns
Machine Washable. All the Brava yarn lines are machine washable. I must say that I personally have no experience with washing the yarn. At this point in time I have only made several amigurumi with it. If I make something in the future that I put through the wash I’ll update the post with my thoughts.
A side note on washing amigurumi: When it comes to amigurumi I would typically recommend spot washing as needed rather than throwing the whole item in the washing machine.
Hypoallergenic. All of the Brava yarn lines are hypoallergenic meaning that they are relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.
Fiber Content. Each of the Brava yarn lines contains 100% Premium Acrylic except for Brava Tweed which is 97% Premium Acrylic and 3% Viscose.
Put up. Each of the Brava yarn lines comes in skein form.
Wrapping Up the Brava Yarn Review
So there you have it! All the pros and cons that I could think of for Brava yarn. When all is said and done, I think the pros outweigh the cons and I would highly recommend Brava yarn. If you’re in the market for a soft, hard-working, and inexpensive acrylic yarn that comes in a wide variety of colors and various size options, great for both amigurumi and other crochet projects you should give Brava yarn a try. I’d love to hear what you think!
Have Any Questions?
I hope that you feel like you’ve been adequately introduced to Brava yarn, that you’ve found this review helpful, and that I’ve been able to answer any questions you may have had. If you do have further questions please leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them. Until later, happy crocheting!
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