Fancy Yarns

Things you can do with fancy, novelty, and luxury yarns 

• Make a scarf. These kinds of yarns make beautiful scarves - especially narrow ones that look like boas.
• Use it in place of ribbon to wrap a gift.
• Make a hat. (Unless you want to blend in with the crowd, that is.)
• Make a sweater. (Now you really *will* get noticed.)
• Crochet a chain and use it to tie your hair back. (You could use a plain strand of yarn, but a chain will be stretchier.)
• Make a necklace or bracelet. Chain it, braid it, or macrame it. Add a few beads or a pendant.
• Use it in a weaving project. (Not the whole thing; maybe just the weft. That way the heddles won't tear it to shreds.)
• Add just a little of it to a project made mostly of plain yarn - and watch what happens.
• Shoelaces.
• Trim - and not just on clothes, either. What about a pillow or cushion?

Tips for working with fancy yarns 

1. Many fancy yarns don't rip out easily. So either work *very* loosely (and be prepared for your work to stretch), or work at a "normal" gauge and have extra yarn handy in case you make a mistake or change your mind about what you want to do.
2. These kinds of yarns don't do well as center-pull balls. Instead, try a regular ball, or if you don't like all that bouncing around, wind the yarn around a core - like the inside of a toilet paper roll.
3. If you're having trouble getting the gauge right, or if your stitches are just inconsistent, try adding a "carrier yarn" - something smooth and plain and preferably with a bit of stretch, carried alongside the fancy yarn and knitted (crocheted, etc.) right along with it. Depending on the color of the carrier yarn, you can also get some interesting effects with this technique.
4. When you're working with these yarns it can be hard to see the stitches. If you have a choice of knitting or crochet, and know how to do both, you might want to choose knitting; all the stitches will stay on the needle and will be easier to find. If you're crocheting, afghan might be a good choice, for the same reason. Regular crochet can be tricky, because there's only one stitch on the hook at a time, and it can be hard to know where to insert the hook for the next stitch. It will depend on the particular yarn, though; some are easier to see than others.
5. If you're going to need to count stitches at some points in the pattern, use stitch markers; they'll make the process much easier.
6. If you need to do a gauge swatch but are having trouble seeing the stitches, try making the swatch the same number of stitches and rows as the instructions say for the gauge; for example, if they say "20 stitches and 16 rows to 4 inches," make your swatch 20 stitches and do 16 rows. It's not the best way to do it, since you're really supposed to count only stitches in the middle of the swatch, but if you can't do that, this will at least give you a good idea. If your swatch is bigger or smaller than the instructions say, change your hook or needle size until it matches.
7. Sometimes the hardest part of working with these yarns is darning in the ends when you're finished! If your yarn has one strand (ply) that's lumpy and bumpy, don't try to darn both strands in together; those bumps may not go through the stitches. Instead, darn the plies in separately. Not only will it be easier, but if the yarn is slippery there's less chance the ends will work their way back out.