We have been running twisting and braiding machines in Jaipur since 2004, and crochet cord is the version of that cord built for a shop shelf rather than a pallet. Braided cotton in 3mm and 5mm, dyed in our own dye house, wound into continuous 100 g to 250 g cakes. Braiding, dyeing, winding and packing all happen under one roof, so nothing goes out to jobwork and no trader sits in the middle.
Most crochet cord on UK yarn-shop shelves has passed through two or three hands before it arrives. Buying at the factory removes those. Trial orders start at 100 metres per shade — deliberately small, because you should be able to test a colour card properly before ordering a season's worth.
How the cord is built, and why braided rather than twisted
Crochet cord comes off our braiding machines as a tubular braid — the yarns interlace around the outside of the cord instead of being spun together into plies. That one difference is what separates it from macrame cord. A twisted 3-ply cord wants to open up when a hook is pushed through it; a braided cord does not, because there is no stored twist waiting to release.
In practice that means cleaner stitch definition, no split plies snagging the hook, no fluff building up as you work, and cut ends that stay closed. It also means a finished bag or basket keeps its shape after being carried, which is the whole point for a maker selling them.
- 3mm — the everyday gauge. Market bags, totes, plant pot covers, smaller baskets. Works with a 4-6mm hook and suits most published patterns.
- 5mm — chunky work. Floor baskets, storage bins, rugs, oversized totes. Works up fast, which is why beginner kits favour it.
The cotton is the same fibre we braid for our bulk cordage. What changes is the put-up: bulk buyers take spools, yarn shops take cakes. A cake stands on a shelf without a stand, shows its colour face-on, and lets a customer buy one unit for one project instead of guessing at loose metreage.
How wholesale buying works for UK shops and distributors
Buying from a factory is not the same as buying from a wholesaler, and the difference is mostly in what you can ask for. We run the machines, so a specification change — an off-card shade, a heavier cake, a different label — is a production instruction rather than a request passed up a chain.
The sequence is short. You send gauges, shades and cake weights with rough quantities. We quote, normally within one working day. If shade matching is involved, a lab dip goes to you for approval before the bulk lot is dyed. Once approved, the order goes into production and ships air or sea depending on volume and how soon you need it.
Trial orders start at 100 metres per shade, and mixed orders across gauges, shades and cake weights are completely normal. A shop taking six colours in 3mm and three in 5mm is a routine order here — there is no requirement to take a full container or a complete shade range.
Two things worth raising in your first email, because they change the quote: whether you want your own printed bands on the cakes, and whether cakes should be pre-banded for retail or supplied loose in polybags. Both are done in-house, and both are cheaper decided upfront than retrofitted later.
What UK makers actually use it for
Commercial demand sits in a fairly narrow band of finished goods, and knowing which ones tells you what to stock:
- Bags and totes — the single biggest use. 3mm holds its shape without a lining, which is the entire appeal.
- Storage baskets and bins — 5mm builds a wall that stands up unsupported. A perennial seller that spikes whenever home-organising content does.
- Rugs and mats — 5mm worked flat, mostly in naturals and single-tone neutrals.
- Plant hangers and pot covers — crosses over with macrame buyers, so shops often shelve the two ranges together.
- Kits and workshops — craft schools and kit assemblers buy predictable repeat volume, usually in fixed colour sets.
Kit assemblers are the segment most UK distributors under-serve. They need consistent shade matching across repeat orders far more than they need a wide range — and because dyeing happens on our own floor rather than at an outside dye house, batch-to-batch consistency is something we control directly instead of chasing a supplier about.
Colours, cake weights and retail labelling
We hold a broad standard shade range dyed in-house — undyed naturals, muted earth tones, dusty pastels, and the saturated brights that move through spring and summer. Custom shades are matched against a physical cutting or reference you send, and a lab dip goes back to you before the batch runs. That approved dip then becomes the reference for every repeat order.
Cake weights run from 100 g up to 250 g. Smaller cakes suit impulse purchase and workshop kits; 250 g suits basket and rug projects where a maker does not want to join mid-piece. Most shops end up carrying two weights of their best-selling shades and a single weight of the rest.
Cakes ship plain, banded with your own printed label, or barcoded to your specification. We also supply the same cord on cones and in hanks if part of your range sells by the metre from a rack.
