This post will share the 5 giant yarn crochet projects that you can make quickly and easily with the patterns in my new ebook. Get ready for beautiful texture and fast results!

If you haven’t joined the giant yarn party, you need to. I’m a busy mom of 2 and I don’t have time to crochet much anymore. I usually have one naptime every once in a while to devote to a fun project to give as a gift or keep for myself. That means I needed a material that would work up faster than regular old Red Heart (no offense Red Heart- we all still love you!) and giant yarn is the answer to my pressed-for-time woes.

Giant yarn is super popular for good reason. It’s gorgeous, warm, and makes a statement whether it is a scarf, a baby blanket, a throw, or a basket.

It’s easy to work with, no teeny-tiny tangles that are impossible to unravel, and lots of projects can be made with NO HOOK. Hello, convenience crochet!

You also get a lot of impact for your dollar. Sure a giant ball of yarn may feel expensive at first- until you lift it up. You are getting a far better value, typically, when investing in high quality fiber in greater quantity.

Since diving hooks first into giant yarn, I have written several patterns in easy to understand plain English and I compiled them into an ebook.

In the 5 Giant Yarn Crochet Projects Ebook, you will learn how to make:

The felted yarn basket that you can crochet in under 2 hours. The yarn I recommend comes in TONS of dreamy colors and is sturdy and won’t pill. It is the definition of fashionable and functionable.

A giant yarn baby blanket. Imagine gifting the newest little one in your life a cozy blanket that didn’t take you forever to make!

A giant yarn scarf with the absolute best giant yarn for a blanket or scarf or anything that will touch your skin. This stuff is dreamy, Wildlfowers.

The extreme size end-of bed throw that you’ve seen all over Pinterest plus pro tips for working with the fiber.

A super textural, luxury blanket copycat in thick and thin yarn that is grownup and gorgeous. It looks hard to work with and that’s the best part; it’s super simple.

The 5 Giant Yarn Crochet Projects ebook is a steal at just $8 and you get all the easy to understand, printable patterns, photos, diagrams, and links to products I recommend. Get the 5 Giant Yarn Projects for Wildflowers Ebook here!

This felted yarn basket features an excellent choice for giant yarn and the techniques that can be used to create bowls, baskets, hampers, rugs, poofs, and more.

You can also download a completely free crochet basket step by step guide here!

To say I am a fan of giant yarn is an understatement to be sure. I love the scale, the texture, the speed in which you can complete a project, the heft, the visual drama; I love all of it. I made a gorgeous, super soft piece in this post here with the amazing Knit 1 Share 1 yarn by Little Dandelion from Australia.

Beautiful as it may be, it was too soft to waste on a textile that wouldn’t be next to my skin and shipping from Australia is expensive and there’s no way around it. I have been looking for something made in the USA that would be suitable to make a basket and I struck giant yarn gold with Love Fest Fibers.

Aptly named, Love Fest Fibers is exactly that. They are a company you can feel good about supporting, the are here on the west coast, and they have terrific customer service. Their Instagram account is totally inspiring and you should check it out here. They also have a felted giant yarn that is really, really tough and it is also aptly named: Tough Love. This yarn comes in many colors, both neutral and rainbow, is not quite as big around as a quarter but close, is felted so it won’t pill, disolve, fall apart, or wear out, and is super easy to work with.

After making 2 cream yarn items this year, I went with their hot pink, “Cherry Blossom”, and I am so glad I did.

One large, 50 yard ball is an affordable price considering it’s weight and quality and is enough to make a basket that could hold, but not entirely envelope, a basketball. It works up so quickly I had the base of the basket done in the pickup while driving and I had to take it out because I remembered I needed to take photos of the process so you all could see it.

You need knitting needles size 50 or a crochet hook size U, but I used my fingers and made my basket in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It really was so satisfying to start my kid’s naptime with a ball of yarn and end it with a super cute basket to hold my cloth diapers. Honestly, my forearms were tired by the end but had I slowed down a bit and taken a break I’m sure that could have been avoided.

How to Crochet in 15 Minutes

Read this blog post (complete with free video tutorial!) to learn the stitches I reference below!

How to make the Felted Yarn Basket

The process is similar to crocheting a beanie in that you chain 3 or 4 (depending on if you use your fingers or a hook, and how big your loops are if you use your fingers) and slip stitch to connect them into a circle. Then, crochet 2 single crochets in each loop, all the way around, creating a flat, round base. I went around 3 times and then started to create the sides of the basket.

When your base is wide enough, start to make only 1 single crochet in each stitch. The sides will begin to form almost immediately and because you are working with such big yarn, you will be able to see right away that you are indeed doing it right.

Continue to crochet 1 single crochet in each stitch, all the way around.

I decided I wanted handles on my basket and had to guess about how much yarn would remain in order for me to run out of yarn just as my handles were completed.

I went around the circle 4 times and skipped one stitch. I chained one (just one!) and then made a single crochet in the next stitch. I tried making the handles by skipping 2 stitches and chaining 2, and I didn’t like it as well. In the photo I think you can see well that by skipping just one stitch, your hand can slide right in the space. That also means that each stitch is about 3 inches long.

I want to walk you through every single stitch in my video workshop, the Unhooked Quick Crochet Basket Workshop.

In the Unhooked Quick Crochet Basket Workshop, you’ll get to watch me finger crochet this exact basket STEP BY STEP. You’ll have forever access to the video and the Plain-English printable PDF instructions. You’ll be able to make this basket again and again! You won’t believe the holiday-perfect price of the workshop – head over to grab it now! 

Love Fest Fibers has a TON of colors to choose from like these brights

or these neutrals

and this season they have these gorgeous variegated stripes! 

but back to the cherry blossom pink felted yarn basket I made!

I single crocheted around to the other side of the felted yarn basket, made my second handle (which is just skipping a stitch and chaining once).

In this casual felted yarn basket “pattern”, I ended the second handle and slip stitched until I had about 8 inches of yarn left and I finished by weaving the tail backwards into the slip stitches. This created a gradual conclusion or decrease to the row, rather than an abrupt stop.

I think this felted yarn basket looks darling, if I say so myself 🙂
With 3 balls, I could make a rectangle base and sides to make a crocheted toy box, which would be so cute. I also made the cutest gift baskets in this post here. On the Love Fest Fibers site, they share lots of beautiful inspiration which you should check out to get your wheels turning to plan out what you  might make.

Get the step by step PDF guide to help you create this exact basket with ease! It is completely free, easy to understand, and clear…even if you’ve never crocheted before. 

Happy Hooking, Wildflowers!

This post will share a super simple Easy Sew Fall Decor Bunting Tutorial that you can make in under an hour! I also link to the jute rope I love for all my garlands and buntings, as well as some great ribbons to use in the Fall Bunting too. 

This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click through and make a purchase on Amazon, I get a teeny, tiny commission that doesn’t affect your purchase price at all. I only link to products that I think will make your project awesome, that I’d recommend to a friend. Let’s make this bunting! 

You might remember my pretty, red and tan striped burlap bunting from this post. I ended up donating it to a local auction that was raising money for my child’s playground that needed a safety update and now, this fall season, I needed a way to spruce up our dining area with some fall color.

So, I decided to make this Easy Sew Fall Decor Bunting  and write a tutorial for you all!

I love this jute rope for making buntings because it is inexpensive, great for indoor or outdoor use, and strong enough you could use it to suspend a lantern or a wreath- it’s amazing!

I gathered scraps of wide ribbon (some with wire edge, some wide satin ribbon) and sewing scraps that fit my theme. I hemmed a bridesmaid dress for my cousin that was orange (for a fall wedding- so cute) a few seasons ago, and in classic Jenny fashion, saved the scraps from the hem. These orange chiffon and satin scraps are perfect but I’ll link to some great ribbons you can use here.

Materials for the Easy Sew Fall Decor Bunting

Sheer Chiffon Ribbon |Burlap Ribbon | Leaf Print Ribbon | Velveteen Ribbon | Velvet Ribbon | Jute Rope | Flat Jute Braid

One tip from my quilting experience is to choose fabrics or ribbons that are mix of dark, medium, and light. You don’t have to worry about matching colors so much as you do striving to to get an even-ish mix of dark, medium, and light colors in order to make your bunting (or quilt) sparkle.

Instructions

Cut your fabric scraps (use fabric that won’t fray readily, unless you want to hem about 10 inches long (don’t get hung up on this- 12 inches or 8 inches, all look really cute).

Since you are using up scraps, potentially, take a minute to lay them out first, on the floor or on a table top, in the order you’d like them to be on the bunting. I had only a few dark ribbons, so I spaced those out over the 10 feet of hemp rope FIRST, and then filled in with my many light and medium hued pieces.

Then, stack them up in the order than you liked so they are beside your machine, ready to go.

Once you have assembled your scraps or purchased fabric and ribbon strips then determine about how long your rope should be and cut to length. I cut mine 3 feet at least longer on each end so I have plenty with which to tie to curtain rods, fence posts, etc. Knot the end of each rope in an overhand knot and if it particularly prone to fraying/untwisting, you can secure it with strapping tape (the clear plastic tape on cardboard boxes from Amazon 🙂 like a large scale version of your shoe lace tip.

Fold the ribbon or fabric over the hemp rope with the rope to the LEFT of the foot, and the little banners pointing to the RIGHT.

I like to fold them a little askew, so they create an upside down V shape.

Backstitch, and sew to the end, remembering to backstitch again.

Sew as close to the rope as you can so they don’t slide all over your rope when on display.

Grab your next little banner and repeat, about as far apart as each banner is long.

That is, if your little banners are 5 inches (10 inches long when you cut them) then space them out 5 inches apart on the rope.

Repeat until all banners are sewn on to rope.

Super cute, right? Check out my other bunting project here- I used an upholstery strapping that’s striped and adorable.

This post, featuring a guest post from my friend Amika will teach you how to make felted wool dryer balls at home and have you fighting static, wrinkles, and toxic dryer sheets like a superhero. Read on for the full tutorial!

Hey y’all! I’m Amika from DIY Sheep Crafts (shepherdlikeagirl.com), guest posting, How to Make Felted Wool Dryer Balls, for Jenny here at The Domestic Wildflower(thedomesticwildflower.com)!

When I first started making felted wool dryer balls for my peeps, a lot of my friends and family would say, “Weird! What are dryer balls, anyway?” My response was typically, “They are what folks like me use instead of dryer sheets to green-up their laundry game.” If you would like to have a more edified answer to THAT question (optional, but highly recommended) when your peeps ask you, then keep reading!

Queue heroes of eco-friendly laundry, static-fighting champions!

The chemicals, including synthetic fragrances, found in conventional dryer sheets are downright dangerous to your health and the environment! I could list all the toxic chemicals, but why scare the kids (and you can read more about it on my blog post, 4 Tips for Safer Laundry (shepherdlikeagirl.com/4-tips-for-safer-laundry/).

What Are Felted Wool Dreyer Balls?

Felted wool dryer ball are made, typically, from clean sheep fleece. The fleece is carded into roving. Then, all good shepherds and crafters hand wind the roving into 4 oz sized balls. These balls are then matted into a solid structure with a hot soap and water process, called felting. Dryer balls are completely chemical-free and reusable. They will even last up to 5 years!

What Are They For?

Feted wool dryer balls help keep the clothes soft, wrinkle-free and reduce static. Whaaat? Where have you been all my life?

How Do They Work?

The highly-absorbent wool soaks up moisture in your laundry as it dries and then evenly distributes that moisture back into the air as your clothes are drying. This helps the air in your dryer stay humid longer, which reduces static. In addition, this “soaking and releasing” action makes your clothes dry faster. And, all of these things, plus the balls rolling around in your dryer, caressing your sweet, sweet clothes, means fewer wrinkles. Can I get a “heck-ya”?

Ready to Make Your Own Dryer Balls?

Keep on reading and I will teach you how to make your very own felted wool dryer balls from sheep roving in 5 easy steps.

Now, let’s get started.

Supplies

• Roving (www.copiacove.com/product-category/fiber/roving/) I recommend 16 oz of roving to make 4 dryer balls

• Stockings aka nylons, pantyhose, tights, hosiery, hose

• Scissors

• Washer & Dryer

• Scale (optional)

5 Steps to Making Felted Wool Dryer Balls  

1. Weight Out Your Roving

This step is optional. You can totally just wing it! Your roving ball should be about the size of a softball (maximum). I weight my roving in a plastic baggie, using a hanging scale (the same one that I use to weight lambs), into 4 oz “handfuls”. If you don’t have your own roving, you can get some from my sheep at Copia Cove Icelandic Sheep in Montana, HERE (www.copiacove.com/product-category/fiber/roving/)!

Expert Tip:  Weighing out the roving you use for a set of dryer balls will help you to determine an appropriate price to set if you wish to sell them, because a good shepherd/crafter knows the cost of her materials, in this case, per ounce.

2. Make Your Roving Ball

Roll your roving into a tight ball, like a ball of yarn. Start by doing a few revolutions around your first two fingers to get the ball rolling faster (haha, get it?). Keep winding until you reach a desired size, or use up all 4 ounces or roving.

Expert Tip:  I start with three strands of roving and working my way down to two, and then just one strand, before I reach the end of my roving ball shaping. This makes the winding, rocking, and rolling phase go a whole lot faster! Be careful, because this can make your ball lopsided… unless you’re into that, of course. I like my balls nice and round, which is the reason for the three, two, one breakdown.

3. Load Up Your Roving Balls

Grab your stockings, ladies! Carefully squeeze a ball of roving all the way down into a stocking until it’s packed tight. Tie a knot in the stocking after each ball in order to separate the balls from one another and prevent them from felting to each other or loosing their shape. Keep loading balls until the stocking is full.

Expert Tip: Turn the stocking inside-out. Wool will felt to the toe seam, so it’s best to have it facing out.

4. To The Washing Machine

Load Your caterpillar-looking-roving-ball-stockings into the washing machine. Wash with detergent and hot water.

Expert Tip: You will probably need to run them through the wash at least two more times to get them to felt well. Felted well is indicative of a firmness when squeezed. My washing machine is a front loader, and I always do two washes. My machine is also… temperamental. Sometime it won’t go through a spin cycle, I assume, because of the unbalanced weight. To fix that issue, just throw big towel in with the caterpillars.

5. Extract And Dry

You should have sightly damp felted wool dryer balls. Extract those little pretties by using scissors to cut an escape hole for each ball. Sometimes the wool will felt to the stocking- just keep peeling back that hosiery. Once they have all escaped, you can throw them in the dryer. One hot cycle in the dryer should be enough.

Expert Tip:  Prevent audio-induced headaches! Throw that big towel in there (the one from step 4), along with your dryer balls, to keep them from banging around in the dryer.

 

Easy, right? I like to package mine in groups of four with a cute little tag and a snippet about what they are and how to use them, or I just throw them in my own dryer! Happy felting and remember, Shepherd Like A Girl!

Amika has a sheep farm, Copia Cove Icelandic Sheep (CopiaCove.com) in Montana, and teaches online courses and workshops for sheep enthusiasts and crafters who want to utilize all of the raw materials that sheep so thoughtfully provide; milk, fiber, pelts. You can check out the fun craft community on DIY Sheep Crafts(shepherdlikeagirl.com), which is where wonderful sheep craft lovers come together to grow ideas and learn to make awesome crafts. She believes sheep are the ultimate homestead animal and that each moment is a chance to make happiness possible!

amika@shepherdlikeagirl.com

SaveSave

SaveSave

This tutorial will explain how thick and thin yarn is different from other yarns and why the resulting look can result in a beautifully textured throw blanket that far exceeds those of lower quality sold for far more in stores.

While scrolling through Instagram, about 8 weeks ago, I found a more urban, more chic, but definitely equally money-savvy blogger, Reichel Broussard of Copy Cat Chic. We connected over a common love of textured textiles, swapped a few emails, and hatched a plan for me to figure out a way to mimic the look of a throw she loved but was sold for an obscene $1,000. Her focus is on finding less expensive but fabulous ways to furnish one’s home and my focus is on making less expensive but beautiful things resulted in a positively dreamy throw. Check out her Wildflower-approved site www.copycatchic.com here, and her swoon worthy Instagram here.

The first problem with her desired throw was that it appears to be woven (I never saw said blanket in person) from a very thin, to very thick yarn.

[Read more…]