Red Heart Comfort vs Red Heart Super Saver

Technical verdict: Red Heart Comfort vs Red Heart Super Saver

Weight category, yardage and value per ball

Red Heart Comfort and Red Heart Super Saver are both Medium (CYC 4) yarns, so on paper they are interchangeable in the same patterns. The weight class only tells half the story, though: the ball band data below shows how much they really differ in thickness, yardage and behaviour once they are on the hook.

Red Heart Comfort is the longer yarn per gram, with 174 m per 100 g against 168 m per 100 g for Red Heart Super Saver, a difference of 4 %. For the same 1,000 m of yarn, the project weighs about 573 g in Red Heart Comfort and 595 g in Red Heart Super Saver. A lower m/100 g figure means a thicker or denser strand, so the heavier yarn will also make a slightly thicker, warmer fabric.

Per ball, Red Heart Comfort holds 792 m in 454 g and Red Heart Super Saver holds 333 m in 198 g. Five balls of Red Heart Comfort (3,960 m) are replaced by 12 balls of Red Heart Super Saver, and five balls of Red Heart Super Saver (1,665 m) by 3 balls of Red Heart Comfort. Always convert by length, never by weight or by number of balls.

Drape, fibre and texture

Both yarns share the same fibre family: Red Heart Comfort is 100 % acrylic and Red Heart Super Saver is 100 % acrylic, so they wash, block and wear in a similar way. Acrylic is light, affordable and machine-washable; it hides small tension changes and suits blankets and everyday pieces, but heat relaxes it permanently, so it should not be ironed.

With such similar density, Red Heart Comfort and Red Heart Super Saver will give fabrics of comparable weight and drape at the same gauge; any difference in hand will come mainly from the fibre.

They also share the same construction (Plied), so stitch definition and the way the yarn behaves on the hook should feel familiar when you switch.

Hook size and gauge

The ball bands recommend 4.5–5.5 mm for Red Heart Comfort and 5 mm for Red Heart Super Saver. The ranges overlap at 5 mm, which is the safest hook to start a test swatch for either yarn.

At least one manufacturer does not publish a reference gauge, so work a 12 × 12 cm swatch with your usual hook before comparing sizes.

Verdict: can you swap them?

Red Heart Super Saver is a strong substitute for Red Heart Comfort, with a Match Score of 88 %. Convert by length with the calculator above, work a quick swatch, and most patterns will need no other changes.

Red Heart Comfort gives more meters per ball, so you will usually buy fewer balls.

Whichever you choose, buy all the balls for a project from the same dye lot and keep the ball band for its care instructions.

Full Red Heart Comfort data sheet → Full Red Heart Super Saver data sheet → Calculate yarn for a whole project →