Patons Kroy Socks FX: Is It The Best/Worst?

Patons Kroy Socks FX

Overall ratings: 4/5 from 67 votes (Jo-Ann) - 4.7/5 from 329 votes (Michael's) - 4.1 from 3574 votes (Ravelry)

Average Cost: $7.24

  I knew I had to try this yarn from how mixed the reviews are.  It seems that either people really like it or absolutely hate it.  I didn't notice a lot of reviews that are in the middle of the road.

Not recommended

This yarn has so many negatives, I hardly know where to begin. First of all, it has a harsh hand-feel. Second, it's advertised as a fingering weight when in fact it's closer to sport (heavier even than baby). Third, it is inconsistently spun, resulting in thin areas. Fourth, it is impossible...let me repeat that, IMPOSSIBLE...to knit a pair of matching socks with it unless you are the luckiest person in the world. Even if you think you have the colour sequence matched up after stretching 25 feet of two parallel strands, you will find that the sequence is not maintained throughout the skein. I've knit six socks with it (barely enough in one skein for a single women's medium sock), and no two match. I do know what I'm talking about - I was an art-needlework consultant for many years, and have never had this issue with any other space-dyed yarn. And therein is actually the problem: this yarn is not space-dyed. It is blended in spinning. If you decide to buy this yarn anyway, don't make socks with it unless you don't care if they match.

~ Birder (2 years ago) 1/5 stars

Pattern: Lucky Bamboo Hat - Color: Cadet Colors - Needles: US 4

  I could definitely feel that it has some wool in it when I was working with it.  It wasn't the softest to work with, but it was far from the scratchiest.  Some people may also have a higher sensitivity to wool than I do.

Colorful, affordable, durable

Patons Kroy Socks is a great sock yarn. Very plump and hard-wearing. I love the colors in the FX line and they are also super cool if you want a color-changing yarn for colorwork.

~ Aileen (1 year ago) 5/5 stars

Pattern: Side To Side Ribbed Hat by Sally L.M.  - Color: Clover Colors - Hook: 3.75 mm

  When I was looking previously, I thought most skeins looked a lot alike withing their colorways, but when I went to buy the color Clover Colors, I ran into the problem that Birder was having.  There was one skein that was really brown leaning, one that didn't have green but had a teal instead, and the others were only vaguely similar.  I picked two that were the closest.  It turns out they were more similar than I thought, they just started at different points in the color changes.  I could see this being very inconvenient if you want to have socks that match almost exactly and need most of the skein to make them with.  You can see how on my hats, the one on the left has the big brown section on the front while the one on the right ended up with it on the back.

  If someone wants to make socks, they have to be willing to have the socks look like cousins, not sisters.  I liked working with the yarn, even though the bit of wool sometimes made it feel a bit rough.  The yarn has the problem of having thicker and thinner spots, but that didn't affect my finished hats.  I like it and would use it again.