Darn Good Yarn

An excerpt from Patterns…

Hi friends, Here is a little pattern I came up with that would be great for your second project of working in the round. You will need to know how to work in the round and then transition onto DPN…

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An excerpt from Patterns…

Good morning friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I thought I would start this week out with some craft candy. Anne owns Tavita's Heart in Auburn AL Tavita's Heart: yarns, accessories, classes 418 S Gay St Auburn AL…

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By Imogen Reed

Yarn is one of the truly great items in the world, particularly for the household. Perhaps even doubly so for Darn Good Yarn, as not only do things go into making it, but it can go into making things. In fact, just the household yarn-based applications alone can lead to one “yarning it up” as often as possible. Maybe an art project? Maybe a quilt? Maybe a scarf? Maybe a complete body suit? The choices might seem endless to some; applying yarn to things and finding uses for it can be dangerously addictive, but before you go looking up a suitable drug abuse treatment program to help cope with your yarn addiction, please take some time out to peruse this short article and sometime guide to finding a few more uses for your yarn, to gain some direction with which to hone your yarn-based instincts.

Word To The Wise

A word of warning first, however, as you might come across pieces of information or other yarn sites that indicate that it might be a good idea to lend yarn to animals. For example, either yarn is given to birds from which it is used in order to build their nests, or maybe to a house-pet – such as a cat – as a play/chew toy. These are not the best of ideas, primarily because the yarn itself can be harmful to animals that are too vigorous.

In this respect, birds have very sensitive respiratory systems and any loose fibres from the yarn can cause them respiratory problems, particularly in the case of their young, who seems to consume almost anything and if their nest is made from yarn, then that yarn is also a target for their endless hunger, which can to nasty things to their insides. Cats as a whole are probably better off, but – as with small children and infants – they are prone to choking from small objects and as their claws or vigorous play might tend to shred the yarn, it does pose somewhat of a choking hazard.

Home Is Where The Yarn Is

Maybe you can’t knit and maybe you can’t crochet? Perhaps you don’t have the time to learn and want an instant fix or a quick idea with what to do with your yarn? Then search no further, as there are numerous applications for yarn in a person’s day to day life that require little to no extra work on your part. The household and its occupants are a fantastic place to start searching for ways to use yarn, both conventionally and perhaps slightly unconventionally.

That aside, yarn makes a fabulous decoration device for almost near anything a person might think of:

Covers

In this regard, yarn really comes into its own, as with enough yarn the world becomes your oyster, so to speak. Yarn can be used to cover or make covers for pretty much anything you can think of. Book/diary covers are always a popular stopgap when looking for things to cover, as there’s nothing quite like a yarn-covered book to read when you feel like it. Another fine example for the crafty-at-home would be to take an empty can such as a Pringles can (essentially a hollow tube/container) and cover the outside of it with yarn. There you have a ready/easily-made container for pencils, rulers, more Pringles, craft items, the list goes on. Enough yarn can even cover sofas, either decoratively and with style, or as a preventative measure against scratchy pets or household spillages and the like.

Art

The artful uses for yarn are only limited by the extent of your own imagination, but starting tips might include applying yarn to quilts, to create a 3D/bump/ribbed effect, or to create some sort of “scene” on the quilt from the yarn. Make use of the manifold colours inherent in the yarn and extend on that idea and create scenes or dioramas from various pieces of yarn, with added glue being used to apply the yarn to whatever surface you feel is in need of a bit of “yarning up”.

The joys of yarn should not just be kept to yourself, share your yarn (or acquire more) with other members of your family. Children in particular are very receptive to yarn, either just as a passing plaything (depending on age) or as a craft tool, maybe for artwork/collages as a hobby, or even as part of a class/school project. This barely scratches the many uses yarn might have about the house.