Hi guys! This week I thought I would switch things up by posting my first yarn review: Craft Smart Value Solids Yarn. Now I know what you might be thinking: “Craft Smart? How low can you go?”. Trust me, I get it. When I first started crocheting 5 years ago, I had no idea what yarn to buy; I just bought yarn based on colour, without taking the different textures and weights into consideration. One of my first yarn purchases included a red skein of Craft Smart Yarn. It rubbed my finger raw, so I decided to never waste money on Craft Smart yarn again.
Flash forward 5 years. While browsing through Michaels, I saw a beautiful mauve yarn. I didn’t even realize it was Craft Smart Yarn until I saw the red and white label. The yarn looked much softer than I remembered, so I reached my hand out to test my theory. Surprise! The yarn was pretty soft, and not too fuzzy/pill-y.
So, I picked up some Mauve and Blush coloured yarn to try it out. Below, you will find my thoughts on this yarn!
Let’s get to the review!
This review evaluates the softness, drape, accessibility, bang for your buck (cost), colour options, frogging difficulty, finding the yarn tail difficulty, and everything else you need to know to make an informed purchase!
If you have sworn off this yarn, like I did 5 years ago, this review might make you change your mind.
Pin this Yarn Review for Later – Here!

This post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links that support the content on ThisPixieCreates. If you make a purchase through one of my affiliate links, I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support! Find more information about affiliate links, as well as my Privacy & Disclosures Policy here.
A bit about Craft Smart Value Yarn:
- Worsted/Aran Weight Medium 4 yarn
- 100% acrylic yarn
- $3.99 CAD or $3.49 USD per skein
- 354 yds/ 324 m in each skein
- 27 Colours Available
Is this the Yarn for Me?
Craft Smart Value yarn is an economy yarn, which basically means that it is budget-friendly. For this reason, this is an ideal yarn for beginner level crocheters and knitters – it’s a cheap acrylic yarn that they can practice on, before venturing out to more expensive yarns – or fiber artists on a budget. I fall into the fiber artists on a budget category, so I am always on the lookout for a good quality economy yarn to use in my crochet projects. Yarn prices can add up quickly, so if you love to crochet, and do it often, economy yarn is a good option to have.
Accessibility: Where Can I Buy this Yarn?
Craft Smart Value Yarn is only sold in Michaels stores. Since Michaels is based in both the United States and Canada, this yarn is only accessible to North American crocheters. Michaels does not offer currently offer international shipping.
Craft Smart Value Yarn: Michaels Canada
Craft Smart Value Yarn: Michaels U.S.
Is this Yarn a Good Bang for your Buck?
Each skein of Craft Smart Value yarn has 354 yards or 324 meters, and costs $3.99 CAD/$3.49 USD before tax. So, yes! One skein of this yarn goes a long way, and is a great bang for your buck. With just 1 skein of yarn, you can make a scarf, hat, mittens, wall hanging, and more. Large projects, like sweaters and blankets ,will also be cheaper because you will not need to buy as many skeins to reach the required yardage. You could easily make a baby blanket with 4 or 5 skeins of yarn, and a full size blanket with 7 or 8 skeins.
Softness, Thickness, and Drape
Craft Smart Value has clearly rebranded and changed yarn suppliers because their yarn is noticeably softer and less fuzzy. I examined two different colours, Blush and Mauve, using a 6.5mm crochet hook. Working a small moss stitch square (8 rounds), I noticed that the thickness and softness vary between the two colours. This variation could be due to the colour of the dye and how it reacts with the yarn base.
As you can see below, the Blush coloured yarn has great drape and stitch definition, looks soft, and has a nice sheen to it. However, the Mauve yarn is thicker, less soft, and lacks a sheen.

• Blush Softness (6.5/10) – similar to Bernat Premium yarn in thickness and softness.
• Mauve Softness (5/10) – similar to Caron One Pound yarn in thickness, but a tad softer and less fuzzy.
Due to the variation in thickness between the colours, the Mauve square was 0.5″ wider and longer than the Blush square. This is a major downside when crocheting with multiple colours in one project because the difference in thickness could affect the size of the project and make it look wonky.
An Easy Fix: I would recommend shopping for the yarn in person, (for your first purchase) so you can feel each skein and see the differences in the colours.
Colour Options Have Improved!
When this yarn first came on the market, it featured a lot of neon and bright colours, which is typical for an economy yarn. Now, Craft Smart Value includes trendier colours, like blush, mauve, terracotta, and honey yarn. I am not going to lie guys, this is a major improvement in my books because it shows that this company is trying to reach different levels of crocheters.
Here are a few colours that I’ve been drawn to:
- Blush (a peachy/pink that is hard to come by – it’s really pretty)
- Mauve (the camera does not do it justice, but it’s a really nice shade of warm, purple mauve. It is my favourite shade of mauve that I have seen so far. I am always on the hunt for mauve!)
- Clay (a terracotta colour that is very similar to the I Love This Yarn Solids in Terra Cotta)
- Curry (this colour looks much better in person; it’s a bit darker than Vanna’s Choice in Honey)
- Raspberry (I love purple, and this colour is a bit brighter than I Love This Yarn Solids in Mixed Berry)
The Right Crochet Hook for this Yarn
A 5.5mm crochet hook is recommended on the yarn label, but I find that a 6.5mm hook is perfect, especially if you crochet tightly. The 6.5mm worked great with the Blush yarn, which was a bit thinner than the Mauve. If you are working with the thicker Craft Smart Value yarn, you can even try a 7.0mm crochet hook. Play around with hook sizes until you find the look and drape you prefer.
How Easy it to Frog with this Yarn?
Frogging is the process of ripping out stitches and rows because you made a mistake or the piece is not turning out how you would have liked. If you need to frog, your stitches come apart easily and do not stick to one another. This means that you won’t damage the yarn if you have to rip out some stitches/rows.
How Hard is it to Find the Yarn Tails?
Every skein of yarn comes with 2 tails – one in the center of the skein, and one tucked into the top. Below, you can see a picture of where the center tail is, in both the Mauve and Blush skeins. The yarn tails are very easy to find, so you can easily crochet with the center strand. There are also no snags or tangles when you pull from the center!
If you are new to crochet, and wondering why you would crochet with the center strand, it is because the ball of yarn will not move around as you crochet. It just makes pulling the yarn so much easier.

What Projects Would Work Well with This Yarn?
Craft Smart Value is an acrylic yarn, so you can basically use it to crochet anything. I think it would be great for making blankets (very budget-friendly), Amigurimi, pillows, wall hangings, hats, scarves, shawls, mittens, and even sweaters. The softer colours, like the blush, have great drape, so they would be perfect for garments or accessories.
Here are a few projects to give you ideas:
- Burst of Sunshine Pillow
- That 70’s Pillow
- Hip Granny Pocket Shawl
- Bellame Baby Blanket
- For the Love of Texture Afghan





Check out some more fun and budget-friendly crochet patterns on the blog.
Overall Opinion of Craft Smart Value Yarn
Overall, Craft Smart Value yarn is a good quality economy yarn that is easy on the budget. I have 7 skeins of blush that I am hoping to use in my next blanket design (whatever that will be). My one suggestion is to see and feel the yarn in person, for your first purchase. During this first trip to Michaels, you can figure out what colours you like, and which colours have similar thickness (you can tell just by looking and feeling the yarn). This way you will not be disappointed after your purchase!
I hope this review helps you make an informed decision on whether or not this yarn is for you. If you love economy yarn, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the new and improved Craft Smart Value yarn. I know I am.
Have an amazing day!
Love, Dayna
Dayna, thank you for the review. I have recently been having SERIOUS issues with several of the yarn brands owned by Yarnspirations, including several of my faves: Red Heart, Caron, Bernat, Aunt Lydia’s, Lily Sugar-N Cream. To make a long, painful, tedious story short, Yarnspirations will not stand behind their products unless you buy it from their website AND have a receipt. I sent pictures and detailed explanations but they blamed it on “user error.” When I wrote back saying their response was unacceptable, they blew me off again and didn’t even bother to respond to my email. Yarnspirations owns 14 different brands but fortunately Craft Smart is not listed as one of them so I’ll have to check it out. I definitely can’t afford to buy “boutique” yarn and good quality “value” yarn is hard to find. It’s very disheartening and discouraging to say the least. I look forward to reading further reviews so I can find quality alternatives to Yarnspirations brands.
Hi Tracey, I’m so sorry that you were treated that way! How does “user error” even apply to yarn? Bernat Premium is one of my favourite yarns (also by Yarnspirations), but I have noticed that the quality and softness is not what it used to be. I completely agree with you; it is disheartening to see some of your favourite affordable brands cutting corners and blaming customers. I hope that Craft Smart can be an alternative yarn option for you. Thank you for your nice comment – I really enjoyed writing this review, so I will be doing more. 🙂
There were two issues: one skein had BOTH ends of the yarn coming out from the middle and they said I must have made an error in starting it incorrectly. The second issue was the Unforgettable yarn literally fell apart just trying to wind it and crochet with it. The implication being I was “too rough” with their roving yarn somehow. I tried to copy and paste their response in this reply but when I right click, nothing happens and it won’t let me paste. I can email it to you if you’re interested. Thanks for the support however. So tired of major corporations ignoring customers because they know we lack the financial resources to take our business elsewhere. I sent them a response on 2/24/21 and they have yet to get back to me. I need to find a corporate headquarters address and try to explain to someone who may actually care about losing customers. :'(
I actually had the “two ends coming through the middle” situation happen today when I was using a brand new skein of Bernat Premium. It really sucks. I shoved the two ends back in the middle because they got all tangled, and then cut a piece from the outer part of the skein. Also, I completely understand about the Unforgettable yarn. It goes from really thick in some parts to really thin in others. I can see how it could break when winding it because some of the strands are so thin.
I’m sorry they haven’t returned your messages. I don’t know if this helps, but here is the address listed on Google when I typed in, “Yarnspirations Corporate Address”: 1700 Bassett Ave, Listowel, ON N4W 3G9. It also lists this as their phone number: (519) 291-3780. Maybe talking to someone over the phone would help because they can’t ignore you as easily.
The yarn review is very thorough. Appreciate your attention to detail. I’ve recently discovered Lion brand “Basic Stitch” anti-pilling 100% acrylic #4 wgt. Don’t recall what I paid but would consider it a budget type yarn. Very soft and a bit shiny. Really like it!
Thanks Andrea! I’ve heard of Lion Brand Basic Stitch, but I haven’t tried it yet. The next time I see it, I’ll be sure to pick some up. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
Thank you for the comprehensive review Dayna! While I haven’t been into a Michael’s store in a long time, I will definitely check the rebranded Craft Smart Value yarn out the next time I go there.
You’re so welcome Debbi! I hope you enjoy the Craft Smart Value Yarn, and the trip into Michaels is worth it. 🙂
I’m in the middle of making a cuddle sleepy using Craft Smart yarn and I’m wondering if it were to be washed when completed, if it might soften up a little?
Hi Sherry,
I imagine it would soften up when you wash it. I’ve heard other crocheters use fabric softener in their washer, especially when working with Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, and they say it makes a world of difference.
I have been crocheting for nearly 20 years and I love it I’ve always kept with the same brand but unfortunately AC Moore went out of business so I started using craft smart and I love I’ve used other yawn in the past so far I haven’t had an issue with it I’m going to be making for big projects with it so I’m praying that it holds true value and looks beautiful
Pingback: How to Crochet the Jazz It Up Afghan - This Pixie Creates
Hello.
i have no comment .I would like to ask a question can you knit leg warmers out of the neon craft yarn? My little grand daughter wants me to knit her a pair and that is the wool she picked out.
Thanks Anne.
Hi Anne,
Great question! You can use any yarn to knit leg warmers. I think the neon craft yarn will be a fun colour for your grand daughter, but also keep her warm too as this yarn is pretty thick. I hope this helps! 🙂