Yarn is an essential material for many types of craft projects. Yarn is not just for knitting or crocheting — because the projects you can do with yarn are endless. As with any craft project, having a step-by-step plan in mind makes the project much easier to understand and complete. Just pick a pattern and follow the step-by-step directions. Tools of the trade In working with yarn, you should have the proper tools on-hand. Keep scissors, craft glue, craft foam, googly eyes, double-sided tape and wooden craft sticks handy when you start your project. The right tools will help you transform a squiggly ball of yarn into a silly aliens, or a soda bottle into a shabby chic vase. Yarn can also be used to embellish shoes, hair accessories and purses. There's a fun way to embellish sandals with yarn pompoms. Kids can even join in and have a ball making pompoms to decorate a headband. Make sure you are working in a space with good lighting. If you are having a hard time seeing colors, lay the yarn on top of a white pillowcase or sheet to see the color of the yarn better. Placing them against a white background will make the colors pop. If your yarn is in a tangle, and you can't even begin your project, don't get frustrated. Just slowly pull the yarn in a line from the pile of tangles. You will find the loops that made the yarn such a mess anyway. Undo all the loops until the yarn is in a straight line and ready to use. Find the right yarn for your project Pay attention to the weight of the yarn you're using as well. Would a thicker yarn like Bernat Blanket Extra be more appropriate for your project or would a softer, yarn like Caron Simply Soft be more aesthetically accurate? A thinner, one-pound weight yarn is the most appropriate for braiding or wrapping. Other projects call for a higher weighted yarn, like these adorable and festive spiders. Using a higher weighted yarn will make the yarn stand up straighter on the pompoms. The spiders also pair well with white yarn ghosts. Wrapping pumpkins in a lighter weighted yarn is another way to work in vivid fall colors to your decorating. Multicolored yarn livens the frame around mirrors, plant pots, napkin rings and more is a great way to create texture and a unique design. If you've ever wistfully stared at shelves of yarn wishing you knew how to knit or crochet, now is it the time to buy the yarn and make your own craft project with it. The possibilities of what you can do are as limitless as your imagination. Working with yarn is comparable to learning any other artistic medium. You practice and get better over time, and as you do the possibilities are endless. When you think of all the different things you can do with yarn your head will be spinning!
