How to Kool-Aid Dye Silk Yarn: Tips and Cautions

Posted on by melissa

I love almost everything about dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid: The ease of finding Kool-Aid, the price, the smell, the novelty, the colors, the fun. On the other hand, I cannot accurately predict the outcome and I’m struggling to get dark red to stay in the yarn. I’m happy with the effects I achieved with dyeing the yarn this time, but I’m not entirely sure that the color will not bleed if the yarn gets wet. Today, I will share how to Kool-Aid dye silk yarn. I’ll share tips and cautions I discovered through trial and error (so many errors). Even if the results aren’t perfect, dyeing with Kool-Aid is still inexpensive and fun!

Honey Buzzzz Scarf: Free Crochet Pattern

Posted on by melissa

This is the Honey Buzzzz Scarf, a free crochet pattern I designed for the launch of Trainee Hero Crafting. I wanted to make a scarf with some open work and a bit of texture. After brainstorming and perusing stitch dictionaries, I decided to alter and combine a honeycomb stitch and a honeycomb trellis stitch, as named in one of my stitch dictionaries. Hence the name “Honey Buzzzz Scarf.”

Unraveling a Sweater for the Yarn: 6 steps

Posted on by melissa

When I was in college, an older woman in my neighborhood confided conspiratorially to me as I admired her knitting, “do you know where I get my yarn?” I thought she was going to tell me about a hidden yarn shop in a nearby town. I wasn’t prepared for her revelation to change my crafting world “I unravel it from sweaters I buy at thrift stores.” A sweater’s worth of yarn for $3.99?! Later that day, I bought several sweaters at Value Village, took them home, and began to unravel them. I remember the long snakes of kinky blue yarn all over the living room of my apartment! What a mess! But unraveling was fun and I did feel good about recycling the yarn and getting some great blue wool.

Works In Progress: 5 Reasons for Abandonment

Posted on by melissa

I have a box of secret shame in my craft room. This box is full of good intentions that met various life obstacles. It contains a tangle of gorgeous yarn and half finished projects. You guessed it: it is my works in progress box. Over the years, it has grown from a small basket, to a basket and a bag, and then to a basket, a bag, and an IKEA Lekman bin. I call them “works in progress,” but let’s be real: I have not worked on most of them for years. They are not in progress. They are abandoned. Works in abandonment.