When it comes to crocheting jewelry, sport mercerized cotton yarn is my absolute and almost exclusive preference, and I highly recommend it. The difference between ordinary and mercerized cotton is that mercerized cotton is more luminous, stronger and silkier. It absorbs dyes more readily than conventional cotton, it produces less lint, and it is more resistant to mildew.
Sport yarn is ideal for making jewelry. It is more durable than lace or super fine weight yarn, and gains an incredibly beautiful texture, especially if intricate patterns are involved. Crochet jewelry made with sport yarn is delicate and luxurious in appearance.
However, when designing jewelry, I sometimes like to venture out and work with other weights, such as DK or worsted. When designing wintry pieces, I turn to acrylics.
Heavier weights are used to make statement pieces, but in appearance, these do not posses the elegance achieved with sport yarn. They are bigger, bulkier and much sturdier.
Jewelry made with crochet thread gains a lace-like quality. Much thinner than yarn, it is of a smaller gauge thus yielding smaller and finer details. The only negative thing is that it is not as nearly strong as sport yarn, and more susceptible to damages. Although, mainly used to make home decor like doilies, coasters and ornaments, I like to use it to make unique and eye-catching oya earrings and necklaces. The perfect sizes to work with: #5 – #10.