The Best and Worst Yarns for your Addi or Sentro Knitting Machines: Video Tutorial + Pattern Links

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Wondering what is the best brand and size of yarn to use on your Sentro or Addi knitting machine? I’m sharing my list of favorite yarns, tips, video tutorials, and pattern links so you can start quickly making knit hats on your circular knitting machine. BONUS: new free printable Quick Tips.

When I first got my machine I looked all over the internet to find guidance on what the best and worst yarns are to use and ended up figuring out on my own via trial and error. It is really important to use the correct yarn on your machine. The machine’s components are all plastic and if you’re using the wrong yarn you can break teeth or worse a major component that’s not easy to replace. Some yarns constantly split or drop stitches which can harm the appearance of your project and just be super annoying.

Best yarns, tips, video tutorials, and patterns so you can start quickly making knit hats on your Addi or Sentro circular knitting machine.
Check out the best and worst yarns to use in your Addi Knitting Machine.

If you are just getting started with your circular knitting machine, I highly recommend that you start with these yarns that are tried and true winners. That way you can focus on learning and not let a terrible yarn defeat you in the process. Once you have a few projects under your belt then you can get more creative with trying different yarns.

Free Addi and Sentro Quick Tips Printable

When I say free, I actually mean free. No email is required to download. On an honest side note, our emails get flooded so quickly so I’d rather stand out by pushing against the tide.

Kelsey Jane Designs. Addi and Sentro Quick Tips and Tricks free printable.

Disclaimer: I know some traditionalists frown upon knitting machines but I highly disagree. It’s not just pushing a button and viola you have a hat. It’s a lot of manual hand-cranking. In past years, I have really enjoyed making hats to donate to the homeless for Christmas. My knitting machine allows me to make a larger impact and donate many more hats than I could previously.

Is there an affordable, circular knitting machine?

Absolutely! Don’t let the Addi sticker shock phase you, The Sentro line of knitting machines are here to save the day! Sentro knitting machines are much more affordable and more readily available than the Addi, which frequently goes out of stock online.

I have watched tons of YouTube videos about Sentro knitting machines and they appear to be exactly the same as the Addi. The only difference, in the larger version, is it has 2 more pins so your projects will be slightly larger. I have the smaller, 22 pin version on my yarn wish list!

Learn how to make a hat quickly using your Addi knitting machine with my video tutorial!

General Guidelines for Yarns That Work Well

  • Light (3) / Worsted (4) weight yarns
  • synthetic fibers
  • smooth texture, low pilling yarns
  • always pull from the center of the skein

I personally prefer worsted-weight yarns. In my experience, the larger yarn weight creates a much tighter stitch that gives you that classic knit look. smaller weights create more loose stitches. Larger-weight yarns can be too bulky and get caught up or even jam your machine.

Yarns consisting of animal products like wool tend to be not as tightly spun and can end up with split stitches or jamming your machine.

Best Yarns for Addi and Sentro Knitting Machines:

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Lion Brand Pound of Love is by far my absolute favorite yarn to use in my Addi. Not only can you make 10 or more hats from one skein (depending on the size), it is super economical. I’ve made over 30 hats with this yarn and have had literally no problems. The soft texture glides perfectly in my machine and makes hat making enjoyable and quick! I stocked up on nearly every color during one of Joann’s big sales and had an additional 30% coupon making each skein only $5.99. I recommend doing your research and waiting on the right sale and coupon combo for the ultimate deal!

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

I love this Cotton from Hobby Lobby is a natural fiber (100% cotton) but the way it is constructed makes it glide through your machine like a dream. The finished project is very soft and not stiff. I personally have to use more tension with this yarn because the stitches can end up a little loose but experiment on your own!

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Caron Simply Soft is another great yarn to use! With tons of colors to choose from and a classic sheen that makes any project look trendy. I do recommend a slightly tighter tension with this yarn. I also do not recommend using this yarn for waste yarn as the more times you run it through the machine it begins to split and not work as well.

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Bernat Velvet is a bulky-weight yarn (size 5) but works on my Addi like a dream. I guess it’s the chenille almost tube like consistency that helps the glide through the machine. Since it is a more bulky yarn, I like to use minimal tension.

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Bernat Baby Velvet is the more lighter-weight (size 4) sibling of the original Bernat Velvet. This yarn works just as great but since it is lighter I use a tighter tension. Another great perk of both types of Bernat Velvet is that it’s machine washable and very durable. Great for making items for kids (and adults) that tend to be more tough on their belongings.

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Yarn Bee: Soft & Sleek Low-Pill Fiber is a great economical choice for fun prints and color schemes. I love all the fun color options and seeing how great they turn out after being ran through the Addi. The Low Pill aspect helps the yarn glide through your machine and makes a more durable finished product.

Great yarns that glide through your Addi making projects a breeze.

Just like the previous yarn, Lion Brand Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling is a very durable yarn that glides through your machine. Tons of great color options gives endless options for your project. With both anti-pilling yarns your finished project will be very sleek and clean looking.

Check out my comprehensive list of best and worst yarns for your Addi or Sentro circular knitting machine.
Check out my comprehensive list of best and worst yarns for your Addi or Sentro circular knitting machine.

Brand new on my list is Lion Brand Feels Like Butta. I had a question in the comments about this yarn and I immediately could not resist trying. Luckily I had a ton of it in my stash left from my Cooper Baby Blanket (Tunisian Bobble Chevron). This yarn is incredible in my machine! The chainette construction prevents snags and helps glide through the machine like literal butter! I made a 112 row tube and then sewed together the ends to make this ear warmer. It is so incredibly squishy and soft! I recommend a relatively tight tension for this one. I felt like it used more yarn as well but I think its just the dense nature of the yarn and that its a much smaller skein than my go to, Pound of Love. My 112-row ear warmer used approximately 2.5 ounces of yarn.

There are many more yarns that work great besides these mentioned. If you have a suggestion or a yarn you love to use mention it below in the comments!

The Worst Yarns for your Addi or Sentro Knitting Machine

  • Red Heart Classic
  • Big Twist
  • Paintbox Simply DK
  • Lily Sugar’n Cream

Red Heart Classic is the absolute worst yarn I have ever used with my Addi. I purchased it on Amazon because it was the exact color I needed to make a hat as a gift and it would arrive quickly. This was a terrible idea. The finished hat was very stiff and just didn’t feel natural. Not to mention I had to stop almost every row to correct dropped or split stitches. It was a total nightmare and I was borderline embarrassed of the finished project.

Big Twist yarn from Joann’s is an economical choice but was a hit or miss in the Addi. Sometimes my machine tolerated it while other times it was a complete failure. Due to my experience being so unreliable I would not recommend it.

Paintbox Simply DK was another hit or miss for me. I feel like overall this yarn can not be very consistent in it’s texture which led to a lot of splitting on the machine. I plan on trying the cotton version in the future in hopes of having better results.

I have a ton of Lily Sugar’n Cream in my stash and was hoping it would work in my Addi to make washcloths. Well, instead it constantly split and just looked terrible.

Great Patterns for your Circular Knitting Machine

If you are like me then you learn by example and the more examples I have of something the easier it is for me to understand. When I first got my Addi, I was so confused and lost until I found these patterns on ETSY. I am not affiliated with the seller, but I will say she is a top-notch creator! Her patterns are extremely detailed and filled with high-quality photos. Honestly, detailed is an understatement these patterns/tutorials are outstanding. I just looked back at the one I purchased for her zig zag color-changing hat and it’s a whopping 12 pages long! Filled with excellent information and photos. So please go support a small creator, like myself and check out her patterns!

If you search on ETSY there are hundreds of fun patterns for your knitting machine. Everything from the basics of hats to adorable stuffed animals. I don’t want to mention any patterns that I haven’t personally tried but go see for yourself!

Fingerless Gloves Pattern

Addi Fair Isle Hat (Mommy & Me Sizes)

and so many more!

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest and check out my Board which is completely dedicated to yarns and patterns that work well in the Addi knitting machine.

Some of My FREE Crochet Patterns

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13 Comments

  1. I was using Caron simply soft for hats but find that they stretch out… what yarn do you find the best for making hats.. I’m looking for something with a good memory..thank u.

    1. Hello!

      I have had that same experience with Caron Simply Soft, Lion Brand Pound of Love has a much better memory and holds the stitches very well. Simply Soft has a nice shiny appearance and great colors but is much less forgiving with stretch or any accidental change of tension. I also like I Love this Cotton from Hobby Lobby, for its softness and color choices but have found I needed a very tight tension because it also stretches but overall is much more forgiving than Simply Soft.

  2. ANn Phillips says:

    Thank you this was very helpful. Please send me anything that is helpful. Are you on YouTube????
    Ann Phillips

  3. Have you ever tried Lion Brand’s Feels Like Butta on the machine? I’m getting a sentro machine delivered in 2 weeks and I’m looking to buy yarns for my stash

    1. Hi Karla! I actually had not tried it before now, I just made a twisted headband this morning and it turned out amazing (photo above)!!! The chainette construction glided through the machine like literal butter! I had no problems what so ever with this yarn. I made a 112 row tube and it used approximately 2.5 ounces of Feels like butta. Thank you for the suggestion, and I have added it to my list!

      1. The crafts art Michaels brand does not work up will in my addi machine. Tons of dropped stitches. The finished project is stiff and does not have the proper stretch.

  4. Jennifer Sheets says:

    Good afternoon after trying different yarns red heart and thick bulky yarns you are correct they drop a stitch so at my local store they did not have the pound of Love Lion Brand but they had the Lion Brand mandala ombre which is a medium4 so hopefully that’ll work and drop stitches have you had any experience with that if so appreciate any help and thanks, I wish I found your page before I bought the yard and had to exchange it.

  5. Thank you for the helpful info on yarns. I just made a beanie and scarf with Caron Latte Cake, using only one skein.
    This idea came from Koala Knits and Knacks on YouTube. I would have never believed this yarn would work, but
    it worked beautifully.

  6. Hi! I was so excited when I saw that you knit hats for the homeless. I bought a knitting machine to do blankets for the same purpose. I’m a complete beginner to knitting, and bought some random yarn not even knowing about size. It didn’t come out well on my machine, so I was looking up the best size and found your blog by chance. I’m very grateful for the info. Thank you so very very much for this!

    All the best for your work knitting hats, and keep up the good work!! <3

  7. Lion Brand 24-7 works great.

  8. I love Herrschners 8 or Herrschners Specks from Herrschners.com. They are both great quality acrylic 4 yarn. Red Heart is the worst quality and I stay away from it. I have an addi 22 and an addi 46.

  9. I used the Caron cloud cakes and they were so beautiful and soft on my Sentro. I made 2 blankets with no issues at all I also used the new loops and threads heathered and tweed and it was beautiful. One more yarn is the Caron coloredroma halo perfect phasing ❤️❤️