Not too long ago, I was checking out Dollarama's craft section when I found what seemed like a treasure: a soft, seemingly decent quality, chunky ball of yarn in a colour I loved. The only problem was that there was just one, and it didn't have a label. Sigh.
I know, I know-- dollar store yarn. The thing is, I'm allergic to animal fibres. I'm also not super familiar with all the alternatives. I do know that cotton doesn't work for every project, and bamboo can be hard to find in stores (and never seems to come in colours I like). So, acrylic is my go-to. Problems with acrylic aside, it's soft and I love working with it. And as someone with fairly amateur knitting/crocheting skills, I appreciate not spending too much on my experiments.
Anyway, I couldn't put that yarn down, so I decided to risk it and figure out something I could make with it. The colour matches a hat and mittens I already have, but I didn't think the yarn would be enough for a scarf, so I decided to see if I could find a pattern for an easy cowl to make.
I also tried finding more of the yarn at a different Dollarama, and ended up finding what looks like the same kind of yarn--but only in two other colours. Since the pattern I found is for a striped cowl, I went ahead and got the other colours (a black and a blue so light it almost looks white). And then I decided to use the new yarn to make a practice cowl first.
Oh, and it turns out the yarn is "Knit It!" Cable Knitting Yarn in 100% polyester (I'm honestly not sure if that's the same as acrylic or not).
So I...
- Used the new yarn meant to supplement the original yarn without it
- Used knitting yarn in a crochet project
- Used the wrong size hook (a 6mm instead of an 8mm) because that was the biggest hook I had, and I didn't feel like getting another one
See why it's better that I don't use really nice yarn? Here's how it went...
The sad beginning (I thought I did something wrong, so I re-did it. It looked the same):
Looking a little better as I added in the second yarn:
Coming along. Look at all those ends that need weaving in (the one thing I hate about crocheting/knitting):
Looking much neater now. It also ended up narrower at the end than when I started out. I have no idea how that happened.
It's cowl shaped!
So, what's the final verdict?
Working with the yarn was fine, mostly. I noticed it kept losing strands as I went. Not a lot, but it does make me wonder how much the cowl will shed over time. The yarn also split (separated from itself) as I was crocheting. It didn't bother me, and doesn't seem to have affected the cowl, but I know that's not generally a good thing.
I really like the feel of the finished cowl-- it's soft and cozy. But it's also stiff. I hope the yarn will "relax" a little after I wash the cowl a couple of times. I also expect it'll pill like crazy.
I think this yarn would make a nice blanket with some good weight to it. But again, the pilling would be a problem (not to mention finding enough yarn to make a blanket in the first place).
Based on my very limited experience with it, I think dollar store yarn (at least this one) is perfectly good for a quick and easy project, like this cowl, or for anyone who wants to hone their skills before investing in better, pricier yarn. Have you tried dollar store yarn? What was your experience with it?
By the way, don't forget to get my books! I promise I write better than I crochet (links below)...
For anyone interested in making their own cowl, here's the (free) pattern I used: Sweet Bee Crochet
Cheers,
Aspasia
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All photos by Whimsy Bower/Aspasia S. Bissas
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