If you have ever walked down a craft aisle or filled an online shopping cart, you have faced this ultimate dilemma. You are getting ready to start a massive afghan, a cozy sweater, or another blanket, and you need an affordable, durable worsted-weight acrylic yarn. Your go-to is likely Red Heart Super Saver. But is Red Heart Super Saver really the best option?

What if you are ready to expand your horizons beyond RHSS but you still don’t want to spend an arm and a leg? Now you are forced to choose between the undisputed titans of the economy yarn world, all manufactured under the massive Yarnspirations umbrella.

RH Super Saver vs Caron One Pound vs Caron Simply Soft

Today, we are putting three distinct options head-to-head. In the left corner, we have the legendary economy champion, Red Heart Super Saver. In the right corner, we have its direct consistency challenger, Caron One Pound. And playing the wildcard role is the silky alternative, Caron Simply Soft.

To help you choose the right fiber for your next project, I dug through hundreds of real customer reviews, machine-washing horror stories, and stitch-definition complaints to give you the unvarnished truth.

What Real Buyers Are Actually Saying

To cut through the store-shelf marketing, here is the unfiltered feedback from real crocheters who have used these yarns for decades.

🧶 1. Red Heart Super Saver (The Indestructible Classic)

🟢 The Good (What People Love)

1. Unmatched Structural Durability: “This stuff is practically indestructible. I have blankets made from Super Saver that are 20 years old, have been washed hundreds of times, and still look brand new.”
2. Excellent Stitch Definition: “Because the yarn is stiff and has great body, your textured stitches, cables, and granny squares pop beautifully. It holds its shape perfectly.”
3. Incredible Dollar-to-Yardage Value: “You cannot beat the price per yard. If you are making a massive scrap-blanket or a king-sized afghan on a budget, this is the only way to go.”
4. Absolutely Zero Splitting: “The plies are tightly twisted together. It never splits or catches on your hook mid-stitch, making it wonderful for fast, brainless crocheting.”

🔴 The Bad (The Honest Complaints)

1. Rough and Scratchy Texture: “Straight out of the skein, it feels like sandpaper or coarse cardboard. You absolutely have to wash the finished object with fabric softener before wearing it.”
2. Frustrating Dye Lot Variances: “The ‘no dye lot’ promise is a total myth. If you buy skeins from two different stores, the colors rarely match perfectly. Always buy all your yarn at once.”
3. Inconsistent Thickness Glitches: “You will occasionally hit sections in the middle of a skein where the yarn suddenly thins down to a sport weight or balloons up to a bulky chunk.”
4. Stiff and Awkward Drape: “It is too stiff for garments. If you crochet a sweater out of this, it won’t drape nicely over your body; it just stands up rigidly on its own.”

⚖️ 2. Caron One Pound (The Direct Heavyweight Competitor)

🟢 The Good (What People Love)

1. Slightly Softer Than Red Heart: “It matches the heavy, thick texture of Super Saver, but it feels noticeably softer right off the store shelf before even being washed.”
2. True No-Dye-Lot Matches: “I bought two skeins of Caron One Pound months apart to finish a large border, and the color matching was absolutely flawless. It lives up to the promise.”
3. Fewer Factory Knots: “Compared to giant economy skeins from other brands, I hit very few factory knots or breaks hidden in the middle of these center-pull balls.”
4. Unmatched Single-Skein Project Size: “One single skein gives you a massive 812 yards. You can easily complete an entire baby blanket, multiple scarves, or a tote bag without joining a single new ball of yarn.”

🔴 The Bad (The Honest Complaints)

1. Intimidating and Bulky Size: “The physical skein is enormous and heavy. It rolls all over the floor, clogs standard yarn bowls, and is incredibly awkward to travel with or hold in your lap while working.”
2. Prone to Internal Tangling: “If you try to pull from the center of this giant block, you almost always pull out a massive knot of tangled yarn—a ‘yarn barf’—that takes an hour to untangle.”
3. Limited Color Palette: “Because it is sold as a utility value-pack, the color choices are mostly basic, standard primary tones. You won’t find the unique tweed or heather variations that other lines have.”
4. Heavy Finished Garments: “The fiber is incredibly dense. If you make a full-sized adult blanket or sweater with this, it ends up weighing a ton and feels very heavy to wear or wash.”

🧵 3. Caron Simply Soft (The Silky Wildcard)

🟢 The Good (What People Love)

1. Luxurious Next-to-Skin Softness: “It is incredibly silky and soft right off the shelf. You don’t have to wash it to make it wearable; it feels wonderful against sensitive skin.”
2. Beautiful High-Shine Sheen: “The yarn has a gorgeous, subtle luster that reflects the light. It gives your finished blankets and garments a very high-end, expensive appearance.”
3. Gorgeous, Flowing Drape: “It is beautifully fluid. It lacks the rigid stiffness of traditional acrylics, making it the premier choice for cardigans, shawls, and baby clothes.”
4. Stunningly Vibrant Dye Lots: “The colors are deep and saturated. The unique sheen makes jewel tones and deep shades look incredibly rich compared to flat yarns.”

🔴 The Bad (The Honest Complaints)

1. Infuriating Plies Splitting: “This yarn is a nightmare for beginners. The plies are incredibly loose, meaning your crochet hook will constantly split the yarn mid-stitch if you aren’t careful.”
2. Annoying Halo and Pilling: “Because the fibers are so silky and loosely spun, the finished item develops a fuzzy ‘halo’ and starts pilling heavily after just a few runs through the washing machine.”
3. Slippery Tension Struggles: “The yarn is so slick that your stitches can easily lose their tension. If you have a loose grip, your edges will end up looking wonky and uneven.”
4. Thinner Than Standard Worsted: “Even though it is labeled as a number 4 worsted weight, it behaves much more like a light light-worsted or a DK weight yarn. Your standard gauges might run small.”

🏆 The Final Consensus: Which Yarn Wins?

Even though all three of these bestselling acrylics are housed under the same Yarnspirations manufacturer, they serve completely different types of projects.

• Buy Red Heart Super Saver if you are making hard-use structural items like outdoor picnic blankets, tote bags, heavy rugs, or amigurumi toys where stitch definition and stiffness matter most.
• Buy Caron One Pound if you are looking for an affordable, heavy-duty blanket option that is slightly softer than Red Heart out of the gate, and you want to complete full sections without weaving in a single yarn tail.
• Buy Caron Simply Soft if you are crocheting wearable garments, cardigans, delicate baby blankets, or anything that will sit directly against bare skin where a luxurious drape is required.

More Honest Reviews:

Is the Dreambox3 Really the Best Yarn Storage Cabinet? Read the review here.

Furls Crochet Hooks or Clover Amour? Who wins this review? Find out here.

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I believe in total honesty with my crafting community. This review contains affiliate links. If you click on some of the links in this post—such as the link to the Sauder Sewing Armoire—and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please note that I am not directly affiliated with Create Room, and links to the DreamBox 3 are provided for informational and price-comparison purposes only. I only recommend products and storage solutions that I truly believe add value to your creative space. Thank you for supporting my work and helping me keep this site runnin