What I LOVE about self-striping yarn
I love self striping yarn. I mean L.O.V.E it! There are such fun color combos out there, and I know I could manually create some of the effect of a self-striping yarn, but I’m reminded of the number of ends it would produce. Ugh. I’m not a fan of ends. Which is one of the reasons I AM a fan of self-striping yarn!
Most of the self-striping yarn I’ve used is a 3-weight — think Lion Brand Mandala, LB Cupcake. I’ve also used Caron Big Cakes yarn in a 4-weight. I haven’t been terribly interested in the 5- and 6-weight self-stripin yarns. Yes, it’s fun to occasionally use these and work up a quicker project. But I really feel a pull for the smaller weight yarn. Maybe not always a 3-weight.
Self-striping yarn….no more ends!
Self-striping yarns really cut down on the amount of ends to tuck and the self-striping makes it fun to continue a project just to see where it goes. It’s a bit like the Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80’s where you’re just not sure where you’ll end up. Self-striping yarn has that bit of mystery to it and can many times pull more crocheted rows out of me during a single sitting just by piquing my curiosity this way.
Self-striping yarn is the Rice Krispie treat in the yarn world
This yarn makes it look like you’ve spent a ton of work on coordinating colors and transitions when it was really all done for you. It’s like the Rice Krispie snacks commercial from back in the day. The mother whipped up a batch of Rick Krispie snacks, but because they were so easy to make, she tossed some flour on her hands and face just to make it look like she had labored in the kitchen over them. Self-striping yarn is the Rice Krispie snacks in the yarn world.
Yummy Color Combinations
The color combinations that are neatly handed to us from these yarn companies are pretty amazing. I’m always impressed too by the DIY’ers who spin their own yarn and then dye it. Something I would love to try but just haven’t yet. I think I would be consumed with the overwhelming number of color combinations to choose from that I’d probably look at my existing self-striping skeins and use those as inspiration. Is that cheating? LOL
Is it just a trend?
I wonder sometimes whether self-striping is just the recent yarn trend. Will they go away? It seems one of the brands I buy is going away (Lion Brand Cupcake?), so is that just foreshadowing of what is yet to come? I sure hope not. I mean how much better could yarn get? I guess we shall see. I’ll probably look back on this writing and think, wow, remember when self-striping yarn was the big thing? And then chuckle about my outdated self.
Self-striping yarn as an artistic display
Self-striping yarn makes a wonderful display. If you have to display yarn in a non-private area, this is the yarn to do it with. To see the artistic array of colors and transitions all neatly lined up in a hutch or on a shelf.
I think it could even look neat on a craft booth display table of crocheted items. It’s like candy…colorful and happy. Mesmerizing to look at.
Final Thoughts on why I love self-striping yarn
Thank you to Lion Brand, Yarnspirations, and the many other brands out there for their creative color prowess. What do you love about self-striping yarn? What have I left out? Leave me a note in the comments below.
Related Articles
Did you like today’s post about self-striping yarn? If so, check out these projects using self-striping yarn:
Did you know I have a series that features several self-striping yarn projects? If you are interested in learning more about my New Project Spotlight series read my New Project Spotlight series welcome article.
I’m always looking for new projects to feature. What is a new project you’ve tried and liked? Would it be a good one to shine the light on in my New Project Spotlight series? Are you an awesome crochet artist with a design you’d like to see featured here? If so, leave me a note in the comments.
In addition to several of my crochet boards on Pinterest, you might also check out my Made It, Did It, Tried It board, chuck full of a random assortment of projects, places, recipes and more that I’ve tried and liked.
