I first heard about Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn and hooks through the JoAnn website. I visit their website about once or twice a week. In late March, I noticed that JoAnn's website had a special advertisement featuring London Kaye's work. I had heard of London Kaye before, because of her yarn bombing pursuits. I clicked on the advertisement and it brought me to a page with Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn, yarn packs, and hooks.
I needed some more large hooks, so I decided to buy the set of her three crochet hooks. The pack is currently 9.99 US dollars on JoAnn's website. However, when I bought them back in March, they were on sale for 7.99 dollars. The set contains all three of London Kaye's crochet hooks: a 9 mm, an 11.5 mm, and a 20 mm. They are lime green, hot pink, and electric blue, respectively.
These hooks are great! I love the way the lightweight plastic feels in my hand. The plastic is light, but does not feel cheap. The ergonomic handles do not tire out my hand,wrist, and arm as much as some other kinds of hooks. However, I have to admit that London Kaye's crochet hooks do not allow yarn to glide as smoothly as Clover's Amour hooks. Also, a small complaint I have is that there was a rough plastic nub on the tip of the 9 mm hook. I was able to file the nub down with a nail file, though. All that being said, I'll stick to using Clover's Amour hooks most of the time. I will, however, keep the London Kaye hooks for when I teach crochet, or for when I want a little variety.
Now let's talk about the yarn. The yarn is super bulky and 100% acrylic. It comes in twenty three colors. At first, I bought three of London Kaye's yarn packs: London Eye Blue, Roy G Biv, and Spread the Love. I used these packs to crochet the London Eye, two rainbows, and a heart. I got the idea for these projects from Lion Brand's video tutorials, which feature London Kaye herself. The yarn packs come with five skeins each. Plus, each yarn pack comes with an inspiration booklet. The inspiration booklet is interesting eye candy. However, it would be better if there were few patterns, or even just some yarn bombing and/or general crocheting tips, included.
After quickly using up all the yarn from the packs, I went on to buy twenty one skeins of Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn in the middle of April. I feel conflicted about the yarn. I appreciate that the price is low, the yarn soft, and the colors vivid. I also love that I am supporting London Kaye, whom I admire. I do not, however, enjoy that the skeins are so small (only twenty yards!). I've also found that almost every skein I've used has one or two knots in it, which is such a pain.
All in all, I'd recommend Lion Brand's London Kaye hooks. I'd say that the yarn collection is worth buying, with some reservation. I'd especially recommend Lion Brand's London Kaye yarn if you're looking for an affordable yarn in small amounts, say, for yarn bombing or another project that could benefit from the yarn's attributes.
