Darn Good YarnThe Best Recycled Silk Yarn Store - Darn Good Yarn

Darn Good Yarners Projects!

nicole — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:31:53 +0000

This part of the site is simply a collection of your awesomeness! Check out all of the amazing things people just like you are doing with Darn Good Yarn!
You see, I told you dogs love Darn Good Yarn! Didn’t Laura do a fantastic job on this headband? You can get a free pattern for it by clicking here.

Maggie the Dog Loves Headbands made from Darn Good Yarn

Wow the colors of the recycled silk sari yarn are amazing don’t you think?! Michele W is going to make a couple of these triangles and attach them to make a shawl. Yum!

Check out what Debbie made! Aren’t these colors divine?!

Made with Silk Sari Ribbon

Made With Silk Sari Ribbon

Check out what Fay did:

Click to get the yarn

and now the inside...

Have you checked out this awesome etsy shop yet? Feride is a Darn Good Yarn wiz! Check out a few of her awesome craftiness!

Click here to get the yarn

CROCHET: Need a simple yoga mat bag pattern?

nicole — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:46:04 +0000

Click Me For the Pattern!

Have you checked out the other pattern Chriss made and decided you need a slightly easier yoga bag pattern? Well here it is! (and it’s a buck cheaper!)

Designed and Crocheted by Chriss Smith (in cahoots with Nicole, of course!)

This fun and colorful project is worked all in the round. The bag is designed to fit yoga mats up to 26″ high and 5 1/2″across when rolled up. This pattern is rated at advanced beginner.

Materials Needed:

3 Balls of Darn Good Yarn Premium Sari Silk
size 5.5 crochet hook or size to obtain gauge
Darning needle
1 coconut button
6 yards of sari ribbon (you can substitute this with a solid colored recycled silk. We tried black and it looked stunning!)

Click Here For the Pattern!

New Price For Our Yoga Bag Pattern!

nicole — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:59:23 +0000

Click here for the pattern

Have you been scoping out the awesome yoga mat bag crochet pattern on our site? Well, if so, we have news for you! We’ve put it on sale for $3.99!

This is such a fun project! The entire bag is worked in the round, and includes tapestry crochet techniques for the Om symbol. The bright jewel tones and earthy feel is just such a great mix for a Yoga Mat Bag. You can also use it for those Pilates fanatics too!

Click Here For the Pattern

Get yours today!

The finished bag can be worn across the body or backpack style, and the drawstring closure keeps your mat secure. This bag is gorgeous and versatile.

All about Faith…. the designer!

nicole — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:42:40 +0000

So you might remember I asked Chriss (our great crocheter) what inspires her: you read about it by clicking here.

But I had to ask our great knitter Faith the same thing. Read what she has to say!

Click here for Faith's Slipper Pattern

I’ve been knitting since I was in my early teens. I made myself sweaters and ponchos and the like. I earned some of my money for university knitting sweaters. I hadn’t been knitting much lately except out of necessity (I go through a lot of mittens), but I found Darn Good Yarn by accident this summer. I was entranced by the yarn and intrigued by the 80 ways to save the earth tote bag. I ordered some of the yarn. When I decided to make the tote smaller than the pattern called for, I had leftover yarn, so I decided to make mittens. Silk is supposed to be the warmest thing to wear in the winter. They turned out well, so I figured I’d try socks, something I hadn’t knit since I was about 14. This meant ordering more yarn. I was working on them while on vacation, and my daughter and I wandered into a fancy yarn shop in Charlottetown. She fell in love with thrummed mittens, so I figured out how to make those. Her sister needed a pair after seeing them, naturally. By this time I was totally in love with the silk. Nicole was looking for designers, and every time I looked at the silk I came up with another idea for how to use it. We started collaborating, and there you are.

I also design cross-stitch and blackwork patterns and write for various publications, including a review zine.

Click Here Tibet Sari Silk Poncho Knit Pattern By Faith!

KNIT: Recycled Silk Pattern Wine Bottle Bag

nicole — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:56:43 +0000

Check out this video and please give it a second to load!

MMMMM it's wine time!

How to make the Darn Good Yarn Wine Bottle Bag

Get a pair of size 15 needles,
get 2- 100g balls of the yarn we call the blender

Click here to get me! The Blender

You can get a little bit of ribbon too (or you can use left over yarn) This will be used in the finished product.. I’ll explain in a little bit

So, this one is easy: Cast on 39 sts and work in moss stitch (k1, p1) until your rectangle measures 6.25 inches long. Now stitch up the side. Ok now measure 3 inches down. Remember that ribbon? Yes? Well weave it in and out of your project. When you slip the bottle of wine in, you’ll use this to tighten the bag around the neck of the bottle.

Don’t like wine? Find some olive oil and use the same mechanics to give a stunning gift!

Not only is the inside goodies great but this bag totally has a chance of being re-used and will make your present look like the best one under the tree or on the table!

close up!

Check out Rivka Designs

nicole — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:29:01 +0000

I love local artists! I have to live vicariously through everyone else who has time to knit because I don’t have time anymore…tres sad. But Rebecca, owner of Rivka Designs, had items which really struck my interest. And she is now making items out of Darn Good Yarn’s Premium Recycled Silk!

Click here to get Premium Recycled Silk!

Rebecca sells her amazing wares in some high-end shops in northern Cali. She has also been setting up shop at Farmers Markets and Renaissance Fairs for over 6 years!

Click Here to Check Out Her Facebook Page and make contact!

Oddball Gumball Yarn Packs Are HEEEEERRRRREEEEE!

nicole — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:08:51 +0000

Check out this video then read on! (Give it a second to load if you have a slow connection)

Click Here to check out the color

This worsted weight yarn is handspun in women’s co-ops in Nepal and made from recycled silk. So, not only are you getting an incredibly unique yarn, you’re creating jobs for others.

We got some different colors in outside of the normal Gumball Recycled Silk Balls. Well you’re gonna score on this deal! This yarn pack comes with 4 slightly mismatched Gumball Recycled Silk 100 g balls. And you can choose the pack you want…but HURRY! We only have one pack of each color pack shown in the pictures.

Each ball is about 100g and contains approximately 90 yards of yarn. With rich hues and great sheen this will make your projects shine!!!

We suggest size US 8-10 (5-6mm, UK/Canada 6-4). Depending on your knitting your gauge will be about 3-4 stitches per inch (13-15 stitches per 10 cm).

Exclusive to Darn Good Yarn: Remember, when you order this yarn with DGY, you’re going to get this great yarn in balls not cumbersome skeins. So, when you get your package, you can get crafting right away and not pay extra for that little luxury!

I’ve seen similar yarn sell on the internet for $14 per 100g and it’s still in skeins…what a rip off!

Need A Sample?

nicole — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:14:53 +0000

Click Here to Get Your Samples

Oh I know..sometimes it’s tough to figure out what yarn to get, especially online.

I want to make sure you’re happy with your purchases so I offer you the option to get a sample of the yarn. You’ll get about two feet of the yarn wrapped around a 5×7 index card.

Choose the yarn you’re trying to make a decision on.

If you decide to the buy the yarn you got the sample for, let us know when you order and we will refund your sample cost!

Also, please note on the yarns which have multiple colors I will send our standard sample color. If you would like to see a sample of your specific color please email us at info@darngoodyarn.com upon purchase.

Click Here For the Samples

KNIT: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Purse

nicole — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:27:01 +0000

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Purse

You know me, I love easy patterns…but you know what I love more? Easy patterns that kick major hiney! That’s why I love this purse!

This simple pattern was made when I was experimenting. I was actually sitting by the ocean when I casted on and thought wow… what I’m working on totally looks like seaweed, very colorful seaweed.

The handles are a “Nicole” creation. I made them out of wire. Wire? I like having fun with metal and wire so I whipped these puppies up–and I couldn’t find a pair I really liked in any stores so I made my own. If you want a set get in touch with me and I’ll make them for $10 a piece.

So, here’s what you need:
Size 13 needles
2 skeins of Darn Good Yarn Sari Ribbon Yarn

Purchase the Sari Ribbon Click Here

2 skeins of Darn Good Yarn Blender Live Wire Yarn (100g each)

Click Here to check out the Blender Yarn

1 cool button
2 purse handles: You can get ones handcrafted by me here: http://www.shop.darngoodyarn.com/product/handmade-wire-purse-handles
needle to finish it up

Buy the handles here!

Here’s how you do it:
CO 11 sts, work in moss stitch for all two skeins of the DGY Sari Ribbon Yarn and BO.
Sew up the sides.
I turned it inside out (but that’s up to you). I then flipped the first half inch over and stitched it down to create a “lip” around the opening of the purse. I thought this looked nice for the overall shaping.
Next attach the handles.

Now onto some optional embellishments which I think look great. I sewed a big wood button from Darn Good Yarn and braided some left over blender yarn to make a loop/clasp at the opening.

Top of the bag

I also made a tassel out of the leftover Blender Yarn.

Dress it up however you’d like.

This project is super easy and the whole thing took me 2 hours to create! So, it’s a quick easy gift that will get tons of ohh’s and ahhh’s!

Front of the Bag

CROCHET: Free Recycled Silk Yarn Scarf Pattern

nicole — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:37:29 +0000

The Easy Crochet Scarf

Ok, ok…through lots of loving heckling I present to you a crochet pattern..gasp!

Understand, I’m a knitter and thanks to my crafty MIL I now know how to crochet but not well enough to even put a pattern up for anyone to follow. With that in mind, I turned to one of Darn Good Yarn’s sponsored Etsy Artists, Melissa. She came up with two super simple crochet patterns.

This is the first, a nifty scarf very much like the “Darn Good Accessory”

Click Here to Check Out the Yarn

So, here’s the pattern!
Easy Breezy Recycled Silk Skinny Scarf

Click here to buy now! DGY's Premium Recycled Silk Yarn

Need: 2 balls recycled silk yarn:
Hook: H (5.0 mm)
roughly 4 inches wide, 90 inches long.
Ch 15
Round 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook and every ch across, ch 1, turn
Round 2: sc across, ch 1 turn
Rounds 3 – 5: repeat round 2
Round 6: sc in first stitch, *ch 3, sk 2, sc in next* repeat 3 times, sc in last stitch, ch 1, turn
Round 7: sc in first stitch, *ch 3, sc in ch 3 loop* repeat 3 times, sc in last stitch, ch 1, turn
Repeat round 7 until you reach the desired length, being sure to leave enough yarn to finish
Finish: sc in first stitch, 3 sc in each ch3 loop, sc in last stitch, ch 1, turn.
sc in each stitch, ch 1, turn
repeat 3 times, finish off, weave ends.

Note: Yarn sometimes twists, be careful to untwist it as you are crocheting. If yarn is too tight, upgrade to J hook. Your scarf will be slightly wider, you may need an additional ball of yarn to attain the desired length.

Click Here to Buy the Yarn

Another note: This is a free pattern which is not to be used for commercial gain. Feel free to tell your friends and use it how you like but respect the artist!

A special thanks to Melissa. Visit and support her sites which are:
http://madebymelissa.etsy.com
http://madebymelissa.blogspot.com

http://etsynj.blogspot.com