That Yarn · Journal

What Is Novelty Yarn? Bouclé, Chenille, Eyelash & More

Some yarns are built to be smooth. Others are built to be interesting. Novelty yarns are the second kind — their loops, curls, and fuzz are engineered on purpose, and knowing how each is made tells you exactly what it will do.

Most of the yarns we've written about are prized for being even and consistent. Novelty yarns are the opposite by design: their whole point is texture, irregularity, and visual interest. A bouclé's bumps, a chenille's velvet, an eyelash's fur — none of these is an accident or a flaw. Each is a deliberate construction, engineered to give a fabric a particular character that a smooth yarn never could.

Understanding how the main novelty yarns are built makes them far easier to choose and use. Here is what novelty yarn is, and a guide to the types you'll actually meet.

What "novelty yarn" means

Novelty yarn — also called fancy, complex, or effect yarn — is any yarn built with a deliberate irregularity that sets it apart from a smooth, even single or plied yarn. Where an ordinary yarn aims for consistency, a novelty yarn introduces loops, curls, knots, tufts, thick-and-thin sections, or other effects on purpose, distributed either randomly or in a set pattern.

Most novelty yarns share a three-part structure worth knowing, because it explains how they work: a core (the foundation strand), an effect yarn (which creates the visible texture — the loops, tufts, or slubs), and a fine binder that ties the effect to the core and holds it in place. Change how the effect yarn is delivered and fixed, and you get a different novelty yarn.

A novelty yarn is texture engineered on purpose. Underneath almost every one is the same idea: a core, an effect yarn that makes the texture, and a binder that locks it in place.

The main types of novelty yarn

Dozens of novelty constructions exist, but a handful account for most of what you'll encounter. Here's how each is made and what it gives you.

Bouclé

Bouclé (French for "curled") has a bumpy surface of little loops and curls along its length. It's made by loosely looping an effect yarn around a core while a binder holds the loops in place — typically three plies, with one spun far looser than the others to throw up the loops. It gives a soft, richly textured, slightly nubbly fabric. Because that effect ply is loose, take a little care when knitting so a needle doesn't split or snag it.

Chenille

Chenille (French for "caterpillar") has a soft, velvety pile like a pipe cleaner. It's made by trapping short lengths of "pile" yarn between two twisted core threads; the cut ends stand out at right angles, giving chenille its plush surface and gentle sheen. Because the pile catches light differently in each direction, chenille looks subtly different depending on which way it runs. It's often cotton, and prized for softness in throws, cushions, and cosy garments.

Eyelash

Eyelash yarn has a furry, feathery look, made from a thin core with short "hairs" spaced along it that stand out like lashes. It's usually a synthetic like polyester, chosen for a soft, whimsical, decorative fringe. It's most at home as an accent or trim rather than a whole garment, adding a playful furred edge.

Ribbon (tape)

Ribbon yarn — also called tape yarn — is a flat, ribbon-like strand, either woven flat or made as a fine tube. Made from anything from silk to cotton to synthetics, it crinkles and folds as you work it, creating its own lively surface texture, and often carries a subtle sheen. It gives light, drapey fabric with an unmistakable ribbony character.

Slub

A slub yarn has deliberate thick-and-thin sections along its length, made by varying the tightness of the twist at intervals so the yarn plumps and narrows. It gives a gently irregular, organic, hand-spun look — think of the soft unevenness of a linen or a rustic cotton. Slubs can be subtle or dramatic depending on how pronounced the thick spots are.

Nub, knot, and neps

Nub or knot yarns carry little bumps or knots at intervals, made by wrapping the effect yarn tightly around the core in one spot to build up a knot, then leaving a gap. Closely related are neps — tiny flecks of contrasting fiber deliberately caught into the yarn during spinning, most familiar as the coloured specks in a classic tweed. Both add points of texture and colour scattered across the surface.

The thread that runs through them all

Notice what every one of these has in common: the interest comes from construction, not fiber. The same wool or cotton can be spun smooth and plain, or built into a bouclé, a slub, or a chenille — and the result behaves and looks completely different. This is the same truth we keep returning to, seen from another angle: how a yarn is built matters as much as what it's made of. The knitted-tube chainette construction is another version of the same idea, and it's central to judging any yarn well.

In a novelty yarn, the fiber is only half the story. The texture — the loops, the pile, the slubs — is engineered by construction. Read the structure, and you can read what the yarn will do.

How to work with novelty yarns

Textured yarns are wonderful, but their irregular surface asks for a few adjustments — most of which come down to the fact that you can't always see your stitches clearly.

• Count your stitches often. Loops, fuzz, and bumps make it easy to miss a stitch or work two as one. Count regularly rather than trusting the look of the fabric.
• Rip back slowly. Highly textured yarns catch on themselves, so unravelling too fast can snag or break the yarn. Undo stitches gently.
• Keep the stitch pattern simple. A busy yarn and a busy stitch pattern fight each other. Let a textured yarn shine in plain stitches; save intricate patterns for smooth yarns.
• Seam with a smooth helper. If joining seams in a fuzzy or loopy yarn is difficult, sew the seam with a smooth yarn in a matching colour — it grips and shows less.
• Mind splitting. With bouclé and loopy yarns especially, a blunter needle tip helps you avoid splitting the loose effect ply.
• Swatch and wash. As always, and doubly so with an unfamiliar texture — the washed swatch shows the true surface and drape.

Novelty yarns on the cone

Novelty and textured yarns turn up often in industrial and mill-end cone yarn, where they were spun for a garment or furnishing line and then left over. A shelf of surplus cones is a fine place to find a bouclé, a slub, or a chenille you'd never have sought out — and to add a note of texture to a project for very little. As with any mill-end, the cone tells you less than a washed swatch, so sample first. Our guide to buying surplus and mill-end yarn makes the wider case, and for the soft, haloed textures specifically, our note on brushed yarns is a close cousin to this one.

The short version

Novelty yarn — also called fancy or effect yarn — is any yarn built with deliberate irregularity for the sake of texture, usually from a core, an effect yarn that makes the texture, and a binder that locks it in. The main types are bouclé (loops and curls), chenille (velvety pile), eyelash (furry lashes), ribbon or tape (flat and crinkling), slub (thick-and-thin), and nub or neps (knots and flecks). What unites them is that their character comes from construction, not fiber. Work them with simple stitch patterns, count often, rip back slowly, and swatch before you judge — and a single textured cone can give a whole project its personality.

Frequently asked questions