Friday, February 14, 2014

Fancy Yarns -- Do You Like Them?

I have to admit, just the word "fancy" piques my curiosity. The little girl in me conjures up visions of tutus, castles and lace. As an adult who's crochet crazy, the idea of fancy yarns delights me. Yet, I don't often know what to do with them.

Various fancys

By definition, fancy yarns are any type of yarn with a deliberate interruption or discontinuity in color or form. I have a bag full of fancy yarns -- eyelash yarns, yarns with tiny bobbles or rickrack-like things. Initially at a loss as to what to do with them, I turned to my go-to project: the hat.

A slightly metallic variegated fancy.
Eyelash yarn, which looks like yarn with fine eyelashes.
 Although the yarn was hard to work with at first, I eventually got the hang of it. A few fellow crocheters suggested using a second strand as a guide, then pulling it out after each row. I preferred to feel my way through each stitch, instead. They can be difficult to see.

My grandmother left behind a bag full of fancys when she passed away. She almost always crocheted with pastel colors of regular, four-ply yarn, so I can't imagine what on earth she was planning to do with an entire bag of eyelash yarn! Perhaps, like me, the little girl inside her was lured in by the word "fancy" and her mind envisioned tea parties with princes, moonlit dances and fun yarns that delight, even if they're only sitting in the bag.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, I've always dreamed of making something with a fancy yarn! I want to be a little more skilled with the stitches before diving in "blind." (Eyelash yarn, you listening?) Either that or just a straight HDC stitch all the way through!

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    1. You can absolutely do it, Barbara! Start off with a simple HDC for your first project. I think you'll really love it. I just found yet another bag of fancys hiding in my closet! o_0

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  2. I've used fancy yarns and have a project currently on the go on my knitting needles. It's hard to see what you're doing and I don't enjoy it as much as working with a plain yarn. I just enjoy being able to see the pattern but I do love the effect some of the fancy yarns can have.

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