This post shares the best yarn for a textile that you can use every day without fear of pilling, shedding, or dissolving. I’ll share how I crocheted with my fingers (hello extreme arm crochet!) and made a throw for my living area that I can just as easily wear as a chunky scarf when the snow returns. Read on for the tutorial!
I have been utterly in love with giant yarn and have made an effort to share what I know on the topic here on the blog. I made a gorgeous throw for a cousin’s wedding gift here and learned that the results of using that kind of unfelted yarn is a dramatic, hefty, but very delicate textile. It can’t be washed, and is prone to pilling and is best displayed on an accent chair or guest bed where it won’t get handled all that often. It isn’t like it will fall apart in your hands, but I think the pilling will age the item much faster and will look old before its time. It is a lot like cotton candy, in a sense. It is voluminous, delicate, and beautiful to look at, but lacking in the substance required for the every day. I got it from the Knitting Revolution Etsy shop and the product is stunning and service perfect.
Get the pattern to make this giant throw here!
I made a thick and thin throw with great success and modeled it after a super expensive woven lust object shared on the savvy Copy Cat Chic site. This was a far more practical choice as the yarn is spun (and the fibers are hence connected much better together) and it made a wonderful gift for a friend. The big poofs, however cloudlike and dreamy they are, are prone to pilling a bit and if you have a cat, toddlers, or other critters like a messy mate, then it might not be as wise of a choice. If I didn’t have a cat that would knead it, or kids that would use it as a superhero cape the moment my back was turned, I might have kept it. I got the yarn from Hookaholics Handspun on Etsy, and their service and product was amazing.
Get the step by step PDF guide for this thick and thin throw blanket for free right here, Wildflowers!
Enter Knit 1 Share 1 by Little Dandelion. This is the pinnacle of giant yarn; it is beautiful, very soft, and felted so it will NOT pill, not dissolve, and is actually quite durable. Jacqueline Fink is the mastermind behind these “bumps” (as the skeins are called) of woolen beauty, and if you want to see her in action, look on her YouTube. Not only is she sweet, clear, and devoted to her craft, she shared with me a little bump and shipped it all the way from Australia for me to try out.
I really struggled with what to make once I received the creamy yarn. It is SO soft, so much softer than you imagine it being, that I could NOT make a round basket with it. I worked up the base of a basket twice and took it out. It would have looked rad I’m sure but I hate the thought of wasting the softness on an item I’d rarely touch.
I also wrestled with what stitch to use. I only know how to crochet, not knit, and I have noticed that in the giant yarn world, there’s very little crochet represented. I don’t know why that is but I wanted to make something that LOOKED crocheted. The other items I have made this season didn’t necessarily look as if they were crocheted and I wanted this one to be different.
I decided against using a hook mostly because I gave the one giant hook I own to a student in the local FFA woodshop to copy for me. Out of necessity and for experiment’s sake, I crocheted by hand. This actually was fast and simple, and being able to use my pointer and middle fingers to pull the loops through made it a piece of cake.
I chained the width of my bed and mocked up a couple options. I decided (finally) that as the width of my bed would result in a bed runner or a scarf sized item, I’d proceed with that size. I chose a double crochet stitch created in every other stitch to get the most height I could with the limited amount of yarn.
Here’s my Periscope broadcast saved to YouTube where I show my struggle to decide and the beautiful yarn in motion.
Each row is about 5 inches tall and I was able to make it 3 rows plus one row of single crochet in every other stitch that ended about ¾ of the way from the end of the row. I just shorted each stitch manually a bit in this final row and you hardly notice that the row just sort of disappears rather than ends where it ought to at the end.
The end result is a soft, dramatic, very sturdy item that is gracing a vintage rocker in my living room. When the snow flies again, I’ll wear it as a show stopping scarf. Swoon-worthy, winter wonderland photographs forthcoming 😉
The cost of this yarn is significant, there’s no denying it. However, for the weight of the yarn, the shipping distance, and the unparalleled quality, it is well worth it. I know it would be a significant investment for any crafter but giving a unique heirloom that will last forever is an awesome thing.
A whole bump is enough to make a full size blanket for a bed, so you wouldn’t have to join (connect the ends of one skein to another) and you’d be sure to have enough for the project. For dreamy inspiration, check out Little Dandelion’s instagram here and see what I mean by “dramatic”.
Little Dandelion also sells giant knitting needles (if I owned them, I’d display them on a wall the way some people do fishing poles or oars) and her K1S1 yarn comes in a variety of dreamy colors.
This whole love affair that I have with giant yarn that can be whipped into something gorgeous in no time flat culminated in a basket that I created using Love Fest Fiber’s Tough Love felted wool yarn. This yarn is a bit scratchy, so you wouldn’t make a baby blanket out of it, but you definitely would make a basket, or a dog bed, or a rug, or a floor cushion.
The BEST part of this particular basket and yarn is you don’t need a hook. That’s right; NO HOOK. You can finger crochet the whole basket in about 2 hours.
Does this pink dreaminess have you ready to make one yourself? Download my completely free step-by-step PDF guide to make one yourself!
Download the pattern to make this exact basket (in almost any color you want!) that’s written in super clear, plain English. For free. Right here 🙂
What giant yarn projects have you tried, Wildflowers?
