Baby yarn can come in a variety of materials, but one thing the most popular lines all have in common is their level of softness. When you buy yarn, you're essentially paying for how soft it is. £1 a ball might get you a baby cardigan for under a tenner, but the cardigan you make might not feel as soft as yarn you get for £2.99 a ball.

How soft a yarn is can be determined by what that yarn is made of. Pure Merino Wool is the highest bar for baby clothing. Merino sheep hair has special properties that repel sweat and body odor—due to their unusual fibre structure—while also providing some of the softest fires you'll ever touch.

However, Babes in the Wool doesn't recommend Pure Merino for everyday day baby clothes, on account of the cost. Why is it so expensive? The individual wool hairs are shorter, which means more sheep have to be raised and sheered to meet the same volume as regular wool. If you don't want to spend a fortune on a jumper that'll fit for 4 months, we suggest acrylic, cotton, bamboo or wool mixes, depending on allergy requirements.

Learning how to read care symbols on ball bands is a tedious, but necessary, task. Baby clothes have to be washed by new parents, and new parents simply don't have the time to hand wash a hat or hang up socks to dry. Your baby yarn needs to be sturdy, durable and headache-free. That’s why Babes in the Wool lists its care Instructions in plain English on all our yarn pages—Machine Wash up to 30°C, tumble dry low.