I've been knitting for about 3 months now and I've already gone through my first cheap yarn skeins from the Chinese shop. I want to invest a bit more in better quality materials but I'm not sure which brands are really worth it. What do you guys use?
Depending on how much you want to spend, you have several options. If you're looking for something mid-range and affordable, brands like Drops or Scheepjes offer good value for money. Drops yarn is pretty soft, holds up well to knitting, and you'll find a huge variety of colors. For something a bit more premium but without breaking the bank, Katia is another solid option: their skeins last and knit beautifully. If you want to invest more, Merino de Araucania or Nordic yarns like Isager are pricey but the results are noticeably better - softer and with better drape.
What would really make a difference is trying yarns that are 100% or almost pure natural fiber instead of acrylics. After three months you'll already notice the difference: natural yarn breathes better, stretches less over time, and it's much more pleasant to work with needles. Plus, some of the pricier skeins go further because the fiber is finer, so you're not spending as much as it seems.
My advice is to grab one skein from a brand that caught your eye and knit something small before buying five of the same kind. Everyone has different preferences: some people love elasticity, others want something stiffer. And if you see specialized knitting shops in your area, the staff usually give good recommendations depending on what kind of projects you do.
When I started knitting a few years ago, I went through the same thing you did - those yarn balls from the discount store fall apart on their own after a couple of washes. What really changed things for me was trying merino wool from brands like Merino or even some lesser-known local ones that sell directly. The difference is that better quality yarn has more definition in the stitches, feels softer to the touch, and lasts way longer, so even though you pay a bit more per ball, you get more out of it and the final project looks noticeably better. If you want to start without spending a fortune, you can look for brands that sell online locally - they're usually cheaper than imported ones and local sellers know exactly what to recommend based on the type of garment you want to knit.
What's actually going to last longer is investing in pure wool (merino, alpaca) even though it costs more per skein, because with the cheap stuff you end up spending twice as much on replacements. The brands people mention are fine, but I'd add Wool and the Gang or even local specialty shops that usually give better advice than the internet - try out small amounts before you buy ten skeins of something you don't know. Also pay attention to the weight and yardage per skein, not just the price, because there's a big difference between dense wool and airy wool.
If you're just starting out in the first few months, it's worth trying different fibers before spending a lot of money on a single brand - the merino wool they mention is fine, but it's also good to experiment with acrylic and wool blends that are cheaper and more durable for learning new techniques. What I'd do is buy a test ball from two or three brands (Drops, Scheepjes, or something local if there is one in your area) to feel how each one works with your needles, because texture and thickness matter way more than just the brand name. Then you can spend more money once you know what you actually enjoy knitting with.
I'd say you don't necessarily have to drop a fortune right from the start. The thing is, there's a massive difference between yarn from the discount store (which literally sheds) and something decent, but that doesn't mean you have to go straight for premium brands. The biggest quality jump is getting past that cheap garbage and moving to mid-to-high range stuff, which is where most of the brands people mention already are.
My recommendation is to look for yarn with a fiber composition you like instead of getting obsessed with the brand alone. If you want something that lasts, check the percentages: pure merino or blends where merino predominates, alpaca, or good-quality wool. It'd seem like everyone's going to tell you "buy this brand," but honestly it depends on whether you want something soft (merino), durable (good-quality regular wool), or if you're after something special like alpaca. Try it in a physical store if you can, so you can feel the yarn before committing to a whole skein. How it feels in your hands matters a lot when you're knitting.
I mix it up! I buy yarns from pricier brands for special projects I want to last years, but I still use mid-range brands to practice new patterns or make stuff I'm going to give away. Scheepjes and Drops are great (as people already mentioned) but I also love Cascade because the yarn is genuinely soft and it's not as expensive compared to pure merino, so if you want something that feels premium without breaking the bank, that's a solid choice!
After hunting around a bit, I ended up going with Cascade and I don't regret it! The yarn feels amazing in your hands, the colors are incredible, and it holds up through tons of washes without losing its shape. Like the comments above mention, quality really makes a difference compared to those cheap Chinese yarns that fall apart - with Cascade you spend more per skein but it seriously lasts forever and the finished project looks way better.
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