Knit Picks Brava Sport Yarn Review – Quality, Colours, and More!

Hi guys! I have been wanting to try Knit Picks (a.k.a We Crochet) Brava Sport yarn for a while now. So when RaeLynn from Itchin’ for Some Stitchin’ shared a sign-up for a blog hop, with yarn support provided from We Crochet, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only did I get to try a new yarn, but it was also gifted to me from WeCrochet; a dream come true for this crocheter! Now that the blog hop is done (March 2021), and I have had time to use this yarn in a couple of projects, I am going to share my thoughts with you. This review will assess the quality, softness, colour options, pricing, frogging ability, and everything else you need to know, to make an informed purchase.

Before we dive in, I’d like to note that this post is NOT sponsored, and all opinions are my own. I hope to give an honest and fair review of this yarn!

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A bit about Knit Pick’s Brava Sport Yarn:

• Sport Weight 2 yarn
• 100% Premium Acrylic yarn
• $3.49 USD / $4.36 CAD / $4.79 AUD / $3.04 Euro per skein
• 273 yds/ 250 m OR 100 g / 3.5 oz in each skein
• 45 Colours Available
• Recommended Hook Size: 3.5mm – 4.5mm

The price of this yarn used to be $2.49 USD / 3.13 CAD / 3.25 AUD / $2.09 Euro, but the price has increased by $1.00 USD. This price increase could be due to higher demand or COVID related issues.

Accessibility: Where Can I Buy this Yarn?

Brava Sport Yarn is only available online through WeCrochet or KnitPicks. They currently ship to the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

There are two cons to ordering yarn online: The first being that it is hard to gauge the true colour, look, and feel of a yarn from a picture; and the second con is shipping fees. However free shipping is available if you meet the following thresholds:

• If you live in the U.S., shipping is $4.99 on orders of $0 – $34.99, and is free for orders of $35 or more on WeCrochet. On KnitPicks, free shipping starts at $65 or more.
• Canadians get free shipping on orders of $75 or more.
• Australians get free shipping on orders of $100 or more.
• Britons get free shipping on orders of 40 Euros or more on WeCrochet. On KnitPicks, free shipping starts at 60 Euros or more.

Can I Return the Yarn if I Don’t Like it?

This is one of the most important questions to ask when placing an order online. The answer is “yes!” You can always return yarn that you ordered, as long as it has not been used, or damaged (by you) in any way. However, there are a few conditions for returning your order:

• The yarn must be mailed back and returned within 90 days of purchase. If it is received after 90 days, you will only get 75% of your total refund.
• You are only refunded for your purchases, not your original shipping fees.
• The items must be mailed back, and received, before a refund is issued.

U.S. Resident Conditions:

• If it is your first time ordering from WeCrochet or KnitPicks, you can return your yarn for free. Just make sure to keep your order number or account information handy, as you will need this to print your return label.
• If it is not your first time ordering, a shipping fee of $6.99 will be deducted from your total refund.

Canadian, Australian, and Briton Resident Conditions:

• To return the order (full or partial), go to your nearest postal service and purchase a shipping label (shipping is not free or covered by WeCrochet/KnitPicks). I’m in this category too, so I know how important it is to choose the right yarn the first time around. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with yarn that you don’t enjoy, or have to pay to ship everything back, which can significantly eat into your refund.

Is this Yarn a Good Bang for your Buck?

Each skein of Brava Sport yarn has 273 yards or 250 meters, and costs $3.49 USD / $4.36 CAD / $4.79 AUD / $3.04 Euro before tax and shipping.

Shipping and taxes depend on where you live, so I will try to break down a rough estimate for the total cost per skein if you add shipping and tax.

Let’s say that we take advantage of the free shipping that WeCrochet and KnitPicks offers:

• USD: $3.49/skein + tax (6%) = $3.70/skein. You need to buy approx. 10 skeins to be eligible for free shipping ($35+).

• CAD: $4.36/skein + tax (13%) = $4.92/skein. You need to buy approx. 16 skeins to be eligible for free shipping ($75+).

• AUD: $5.90/skein (including GST). You need to buy approx. 17 skeins to be eligible for free shipping ($100+).

• Euro: $3.35/skein (including VAT). You need to buy approx. 12 skeins to be eligible for free shipping (40 Euro+).

This yarn is budget friendly and a good bang for your buck, when you are strategic with placing your order. Shipping fees lower significantly with the more you purchase, so try to stock up on multiple yarns for different projects when you are making a purchase.

Colour Options: Hit and Miss

I love this yarn, and how many colour options are available (45!), but the colours are a hit or mess for me.

Story Time:

When I placed my yarn support order with WeCrochet, I chose Brava Sport in the colours Seraphim and White because I thought the colours fit my brand and also fit into the “Spring” theme of the Spring Style Blog Hop. However, in typical Dayna fashion, I started overthinking my colour choice, and I worried that the colours were not “Spring-y” enough. So I placed a second order (this time with my own money), for Brava Sport in the colours, Blush, Seashell, Caution, Orange, Avocado, Clarity, and Dove Heather. You can see these yarns in the pictures below.

Colour Review:

Brava Sport is a great yarn. It’s fairly soft, you get a good bang for your buck (273 yards for $3.49 USD), and it has great stitch definition. I am a fan! However, I am not in love with the entire colour palette. Buying yarn online is tricky because colours vary on different screens, so it’s not always easy to find a colour you love. I haven’t seen all of the colours in person (one day, I will save up enough money to test each one), but until then, I can speak on the ones I have used.

*In the picture, here are the colours in order of appearance from top left to right: Orange, Caution, Clarity, Seashell, Blush. (Bottom left to right): Avocado, Dove Heather. (On Top/ Second Stacked Row): White, Seraphim.

• Seraphim: This is a purple mauve colour with brown undertones, that adds a subtle pop of colour to your project. I would group this colour in the neutral category. Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

• White: This is a bright white that gives off a cool undertone. if you are looking for a true white, without any hints of yellow, cream, or pink, this is for you! Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

• Clarity: This is a pale, light blue that almost looks white in some lighting. This colour is great for creating contrast in your project, and it’s so pretty. Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

• Dove Heather: This is a light grey colour that is “heathered” to create dimension in the yarn. The heathered look has light bits of whitish grey mixed in with darker shades of grey. This is a nice light grey yarn that you can use as a neutral colour in any project. Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

Avocado: If you know me, you know that I love green. This colour is not for everyone, but it’s a darker version of the “Green Apple” colour in the “Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek” line. Another way to describe it is a 70’s green, or a puke green. Unpopular Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

• Blush: This is a cotton candy style pink that is concentrated in colour. It’s not a soft or neutral pop of colour; it’s bold. Opinion: I don’t like this colourway!

• Seashell: This is a neon peach colour that is very bright and bold. If you are a fan of neon or bright pops of colours, I think you’ll love this yarn. It has grown on me a bit, but it’s still too much for my eyes haha. Opinion: I don’t like this colourway!

• Caution: Caution is another bold, neon light yellow/orange colour. It reminds me of an intense sunset. If you love yellows and oranges that border on neon, you’ll love this colour. Opinion: I don’t like this colourway!

• Orange: This is a bold, dark and deep neon orange colour. It reminds me of the colour of the Cheetos and Cheese Ball seasoning. Opinion: I don’t like this colourway!

• Fairytale (Pictured in the “Get Creative with Colour” Section: This is a deep purple colour with pink undertones. It’s warm and bright, and will add a pop of colour to any project. It’s a pretty yarn if you love rich colour! Opinion: I am a fan of this colourway!

Strategy for Choosing a Colour

Shopping for yarn online is tricky because it is hard to accurately determine the colour from a picture. Different screens also affect how you see a colour because colour on a phone might show up differently on a computer screen. Below is a strategy for finding a colour that you love. It requires a bit of work, but I hope it helps you feel more confident with your choices.

Strategy: Search for projects that use a colour you are interested in. How does the photo capture the colour of the yarn? Does it match the image on WeCrochet or KnitPicks? If not, keep searching until you have a general idea of the true colour of the yarn.

Here are a few different places that you can conduct your search:

1. Instagram:

Search on Instagram under the hashtag, “#bravasportyarn”, to find other fiber artists who have used this yarn, and see the colours they chose. Sometimes the artist will mention the colour and yarn in the description of their post.

2. Ravelry:

Ravelry is another great place to search for projects and yarn. Simply click on “Yarns” in the main header, and type “brava sport” into the search engine. This will take you to a page about the yarn, but click on the “colorways” section to see all of the projects and notes from people who have used a particular colour. Here is a link to this page for you to explore.

3. KnitPicks or WeCrochet:

On the KnitPicks and WeCrochet website, they share patterns that have been made with each brand of yarn. If you are browsing through the Brava Sport Yarn page, scroll down until you see the “Patterns/Reviews” section. If you see a project that you like, click on it, and it will list the yarn colours used in the project.

Softness, Thickness, and Pilling

Softness: 6.5/10

I have tried 10 of the 45 colours from the WeCrochet Brava Sport collection, and they all feel the same. This means that the softness of the yarn stays consistent between the colourways, and does not change based on the dye colour. This yarn feels like a traditional acrylic yarn. It is soft to the touch, and does not rub your finger raw as you crochet. It reminds me of Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice yarn, but it’s a tad softer.

Stitch Definition and Pilling

Brava Sport yarn has great stitch definition. This yarn has a subtle twist to it, which draws the attention away from the texture of the yarn, and allows the texture of the stitches to shine through. I have used this yarn to make moss stitch square swatches, as well as wall hangings and pillows with textured stitches (front post double crochet, bobble stitch, triple crochet, etc.). No matter what stitch you use in your project, this yarn does a great job of showing it off.

Have you ever crocheted with a yarn that immediately starts to pill and get fuzzy? This yarn appears to be durable and has held up well over time. It has a slight fuzzing after long term use, but the pilling is subtle.

Thickness

The one downside that I noticed about this yarn is a difference in thickness between the colourways. I crocheted a 7-round moss stitch square in each colour, using a 4.5mm crochet hook. Here is what I found:

• Seraphim, White, Blush, Avocado, Dove Heather, Clarity, Caution, Orange: 3.25″ x 3.25″

• Seashell: 3.5″ x 3.5″

• Fairytale: 2.75″ x 2.75″

8 of the 10 colours were consistent in thickness, producing a square that measures 3.25″ x 3.25″. However, Seashell is slightly thicker than the rest of the yarn, increasing the square by 0.25″; and Fairytale is noticeably thinner than the rest, decreasing the square by 0.5″. 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. However, most of the chosen colours were consistent in weight, which is a good sign for the rest of the Brava Sport Collection.

Is this a True Weight 2 Sport Yarn?

Brava Sport Yarn is categorized as a weight 2 sport yarn, but it is on the thicker end of the weight 2 category. I think this yarn is more similar to a DK Weight 3 yarn, so if you are using this yarn for a project where sizing and drape are important, please check your gauge before crocheting.

The Right Crochet Hook for this Yarn

A 3.5mm – 4.5mm crochet hook is recommended on the yarn label, but I find that a 4.5mm hook is perfect, especially if you crochet tightly. The 4.5mm worked great with most of the yarn, however if you use a thicker Brava Sport yarn, like Seashell, you can try a 5.0mm 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. The tail that is tucked into the top is very easy to find (pictured below), but if you try to find the center tail, you can end up with yarn barf. We all know that it is easier and smoother to crochet from the center strand because the skein doesn’t move around as you crochet, and pulling the yarn is so much easier. If you prefer to crochet with the center strand, you can use a yarn winder to turn the skein into a cake (bottom left corner). This will help you crochet from the center with ease, and you don’t have to worry about untangling the yarn barf.

What Projects Would Work Well for This Yarn?

Brava Sport is an acrylic yarn, so you can basically use it to crochet anything. I think it would be great for making blankets, Amigurimi, pillows, wall hangings, hats, scarves, shawls, mittens, and even sweaters.

Here are a couple of projects that I have made with this yarn:

• Spring Forward Pillow (Single Colour Version – Seraphim; Multi-coloured Scrap Version – Clairty, Seraphim, Seashell, and Fairytale)
• Daydreamer Wall Hanging

Check out some more fun and budget-friendly crochet patterns on the blog.

Overall Opinion of Brava Sport Yarn

Overall, Brava Sport yarn is a good quality economy yarn that is on the cheaper end of the acrylic yarn spectrum (budget-friendly). It is durable, soft, and fairly consistent in thickness. However, choosing a colour that you love is tricky with this yarn because the stores are online. My two suggestions are to research your colour choices before making a purchase. Check out posts on Instagram, projects on Ravelry, and patterns on WeCrochet that use a particular colour, so you can get a good sense of the true colour. My second suggestion is to be strategic about placing your order, so you can take advantage of the free shipping and save money.

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 enjoy Brava Sport Yarn. I know I do!

Have an amazing day!

Love, Dayna