Hi guys!
Fiber Friday
What is Fiber Friday? Every Friday I’m gonna share with you one new yarn that I’m absolutely loving, including allllll the info – the yarn specs, what I would make with it, what I’d use it for, why it’s great for certain types of projects, and what patterns I’ve found that use this yarn including my own patterns and patterns from others! It’s fun to really focus on one specific yarn and explore all the projects people have been making with it. This is one way that I find new patterns, new designers and new designs that I love and can add to my Ravelry queue to make when I have time to start a new project!
Quick back story on why I’m doing this: When I started knitting and crocheting, I basically used Lion Brand Thick and Quick yarn exclusively. I’m sure you’ve tried it before.. It’s the best. It’s a fun, high quality department store chunky yarn that is easily available and inexpensive – perfect for beginners or those who love those quick gratification projects. If you’re learning to knit or crochet, I would 1000% recommend learning with this yarn! In the last 3 years, I have knit more hats made with Thick and Quick than I can count, and I think now it’s time to venture into new territory and explore some thinner yarns.. and I thought it would be fun to do it together!
Darn Good Yarn – 3-Ply Hemp
Like I said, lately I’ve really wanted to expand my stash to new brands, new fibers and new types of yarn. I’ve been allowing myself to order new yarn every month and it’s been really fun trying out new materials and new yarn weights. A few months ago, I was sent some of this hemp yarn to design a door mat for Darn Good Yarn, and today I finally finished it so I thought today would be a great day to talk about it, since it’s Friday 🙂
I browsed the Darn Good Yarn website and eventually chose this yarn to design with because I love projects that use a material other than your typical “fuzzy” yarns that most people picture in their heads when they hear “yarn”. I think if you saw this material, you wouldn’t expect it to be considered “yarn’ or that it would be used in crochet!
i wanted to show you some other patterns that use DGY – 3 Ply Hemp so you can see the potential this yarn has! It can make some pretty cool stuff!
Patterns worth checking out:
1. Beach Day Bag – Kelsea Dauth (a really cool crochet circle bag)
2. Vegan Hemp Back Scrub – Vegan Yarn Store (Knit)
3. Rustic Reindeer Ornament – Darn Good Yarn (designed by Amber Blisson Calderón)
4. The Purist Hemp Puff Pattern – Darn Good Yarn (designed by Chriss Smith)
5. Scrubby – Darn Good Yarn
Soon, I’ll have my door mat pattern to include, too!
Before we get into this, let me preface this with saying that if I don’t love it, I won’t use it, and I definitely won’t recommend it to you in a blog post, promise 🙂
‘if you find anything you like, you can use “KNITSNKNOTSWPG15” for 15% off your purchase 🙂
Yarn Specs
- Worsted, Category 4 yarn
- 60 yds per ball
- 100% Hemp
- Recommended needle size: US 7-9
- Recommended hook size: US I, J, K
- Physical Quality: Width and color variation. No elasticity. 100% Organic, rougher texture. Great for outdoor use, and a natural moth repellent
- How to clean: Safe for machine wash and dry (Hemp will get softer with each wash)
- 4 colours available:
- Natural – straw colour (this is the colour I used!)
- Sweet Teal
- Rust (red-brown)
- Plum (pretty purple)
About DGY
I think for this review it’s necessary to at least mention how this company is making such a huge impact on women overseas! This company employs women in India to make their yarns and the other products that they sell. They also donate money each week to one of these artisans to helps them with things like paying for surgeries, physical therapy and other health-care needs, sending their children to school, and much more. Read more about their story here.
My Thoughts
The mat I created with this yarn turned out AMAZING. I absolutely loved the finished result! It looks store-bought, and I don’t think you’d expect this was crocheted! I was going for a hippie-chic, boho vibe and this hemp yarn definitely achieved my vision!
I had to work this mat over a period of a few days because it is pretty rough on your hands. I think that can be expected, though, with a material like this. It was no surprise that it would be a bit of a workout to crochet tight stitches with it – but the thickness, durability, and sturdiness of the finished fabric is SO worth the work. I promise!!
I will also note that it creates a bit of dust as you’re working with it. It’s a little bit messy as the straw-like material passes through your fingers. I hold my yarn pretty tightly in my left hand and as it flows through my fingers, it “sheds” a little bit. Not a big deal, but just thought I would mention it!
These are things that you don’t have too worry about too much with regular yarn, but the finished projects you can get from using such a unique material far outweighs these few downsides. It’s a really fun experience to use this 3-Ply Hemp, and I would 1000% recommended trying it out! It reminds me of the Ra-Ra-Raffia yarn from a Wool And the Gang in that it’s unique and unexpected within the knit and crochet realm.
I hope you found this helpful!
Stay tuned for the release of my mat on the Darn Good Yarn website!
Remember, you can use “KNITSNKNOTSWPG15” for 15% off your purchase on DarnGoodYarn.com!
Thanks for reading,
Janine xo
You May Also Like
