If you’re short on funds but want high quality yarn, be thankful that Cascade Yarns has been in business for the last thirty years. Unlike many of their competitors, this family owned company offers quality materials at a mid-range price, meaning that it’s possible to create the sweater of one’s dreams for under one hundred dollars.

This family owned operation boasts of over eight hundred yarn lines, and while that many may not be available on any given day, there’s certainly a plethora of choices. The “workhorse” yarns, Cascade Superwash 128 and 220, are named after the yardage available in the original lines of each weight. The yarn is spun from one hundred percent wool that’s been treated to prevent felting, making it a great choice for easy-care garments and accessories. Want basic colors for a cabled masterpiece? You currently have forty-eight choices in worsted weight. Looking for a special effect colorway to dress up a simple silhouette, sport-weight sweater? Multi offers twenty-one colorways that range from wild to mild, while Wave offers eighteen different color-shift colorways.

Prefer cotton to wool? Again, you have choices. Nifty Cotton and Nifty Cotton Splash are light worsted, while Noble Cotton is somewhat heavier. Ultra Pima and Ultra Pima Fine are respectively DK and sport weight; each can be found in either simple colors or variegated colorways. And again, the choice of colorways is impressive, ranging from seven different Pima Fine Peruvian Tones to over one hundred shades (count them!) Ultra Pima.

If you’re looking for a fiber blend, perhaps the most beautiful yarn on the entire market is Cascade Roslyn, composed of silk and wool with a tweedy effect. Here is a disclaimer: this is currently my favorite sweater yarn; it’s soft, drapey, and feels wonderful under the fingers. It’s available in thirty-four colors, including a variety of warm and cool reds – something that can be difficult to find.

Take special note of the company’s Eco lines, which are spun from untreated fiber. Eco+ Hemp is a DK weight wool and hemp blend; undyed Eco Cloud comes in nine natural colors of a wool/alpaca mix. These yarns, like Roslyn, require hand washing, so you will need to decide whether or not you want to put in the extra care.

This is just a smattering of the yarn lines available. Whether you're looking for natural or man-made fiber, for sock yarn or super-bulky, Cascade probably makes it. The company also supports its yarn lines with an equally impressive array of free patterns. The company has gathered many of these into compilation books as well. You can find a listing of these as well of the yarn lines on the web site. While you can’t shop directly from there, you can use a “store finder” that’s customizable by zip code and radius. Of course, every shop does not carry every Cascade Yarn line, but you can always request a special order.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Cascade Yarns. I have purchased various lines, particularly Cascade 220 Superwash and Roslyn, with my own funds.