Scheepjes - Panda

Scheepjes Panda is a novelty yarn with a plush effect, made from 100% polyester, featuring Aran weight and a fluffy, furry texture. It resembles faux fur thanks to its long fibres and soft sheen, making it ideal for cuddly amigurumi, stuffed toys, home decor and fun, cosy garments.

The main difference lies in the length and density of the pile: Panda has a longer, looser pile that creates a more voluminous and decorative effect, while Softy and Sweetheart Soft provide a more compact, velvety texture. Panda is particularly suited for eye-catching, festive or plush-style projects.

Being highly textured and visually striking, it’s perfect for:

• ▷ Furry amigurumi and cuddly toys
• ▷ Ears, tails or accents on crocheted animals
• ▷ Fluffy scarves, cowls, hats and mittens
• ▷ Blankets, cushions and textured rugs
• ▷ Children’s costumes or festive decorative details

You can even use it to add plush accents to smooth knitted pieces by combining it with other plain yarns like Cahlista or Colour Crafter.

Each ball of Scheepjes Panda contains 50 grams and approximately 90 metres of yarn. Due to its thickness and texture, it offers more visual volume than flat coverage, so a single ball can be enough to crochet a small toy, a short scarf or a small decorative cushion.

The main challenge with Panda is that its long fibres obscure the stitches, which may make counting difficult if you're inexperienced. Therefore, it’s not recommended as a first yarn for learning.

However, if used for simple shapes or combined with a base yarn, it can be manageable even for beginners.

• ▷ Use stitch markers.
• ▷ Choose patterns without complex increases or decreases.
• ▷ Work in good lighting and, if possible, use a light-coloured crochet hook.

Scheepjes recommends 4.5 to 5.5 mm needles or hooks for both knitting and crochet. You can adjust the size depending on whether you want a denser or looser fabric. For amigurumi, using a smaller hook (4.0 mm) can provide better structure.

✅ Absolutely! It's very common to combine Scheepjes Panda with:

• ▷ Catona or Cahlista as a base, with Panda adding texture in specific areas (e.g. plush ears).
• ▷ Softfun or Colour Crafter when making structured garments with fluffy decorative touches.

These combinations work especially well in children’s clothing or decorative pieces, offering playful texture contrast.

Scheepjes Panda is machine washable at up to 30 °C on a delicate cycle. Avoid bleach and harsh spin cycles. It is not suitable for tumble drying or ironing. To maintain the yarn’s fluff and volume, lay flat to dry on a towel and shape the item while it dries.

Scheepjes Panda is made from hypoallergenic polyester, so it shouldn’t cause irritation. However, due to its furry texture, it’s not recommended for babies under 12 months, especially if they tend to mouth objects. If using it in toys or amigurumi for children, make sure:

• ▷ All pieces are securely sewn.
• ▷ There are no loose parts.
• ▷ The item meets CE child safety requirements.

The range includes classic basic shades like white, black, grey, brown and beige—perfect for animal plush toys—as well as bright, bold colours like fuchsia, red, lime green and electric blue for more festive or creative projects. This variety allows for great customisation of your crocheted or knitted designs.