Eyelash yarn

Hi again
Back when I bought my circular knitting needles, they came in a package that also included several skeins of eyelash yarn. It was the kind of package you could have used to knit a scarf. Eyelash yarn is that type of yarn with little fringy pieces hanging off a very thin central strand.
It’s not at all suitable for crocheting—I’ve already tried it.
Unfortunately, my knitting skills aren’t good enough yet, so I can’t really do anything with it right now. Maybe I’ll figure it out eventually, because otherwise I have a ton of this—really fluffy—yarn lying around and don’t know what to do with it.

How do you guys handle it?

Eyelash yarn is actually better suited for knitting and isn’t particularly beginner-friendly.
If you’re a bit more experienced at knitting, then you could try using eyelash yarn for the sleeve cuffs, the hood, or for patch side pockets. You can then knit the rest of the jacket or sweater with regular yarn, without any novelty yarn.

Fringe yarn is too fringy for me — just a little joke aside.

Yeah, same here, at least when working
with it, but that fuzzy texture is actually pretty nice.

so in the finished piece

If you’re careful, you can crochet with it, too. I only use it for small edgings or sometimes in a pattern. I much prefer it for crafts. It’s great for wreaths.
Best regards, Hilde

I tried crocheting with the fringed yarn and even experimented with different hook sizes, but I just couldn’t get the hang of it.
I’m still in the ribbon yarn phase. Here at the one-euro store around the corner, they have ribbon yarn made of 100 percent polyester. Unlike acrylic, I get along just fine with polyester. But it wouldn’t be anything you’d want to wear—I think you’d end up sweating in it. Before Christmas, I bought up their entire stock of ribbon yarn—about 10–12 skeins. Unfortunately, each skein is only about 30 meters long, so you really need a lot of them. I started with a throw for an armchair. Thick ribbon yarn plus a thick crochet hook—a size 8—makes it go really fast, especially when you’re working treble crochet stitches. Of course, there’s already a lot of cat hair on it again, because those fussy ladies constantly want to get in on the action, and polyester apparently attracts cat hair like a magnet—but I guess that’s unavoidable. You can really see the light-colored cat hairs extremely clearly, especially on the black ribbon yarn.

But it has to be thick, right? Mine was 85–90 m, but I only knitted with size 5 or 6 needles.
I always use smaller needles because otherwise it gets too loose.
Kind regards, Hilde

I'm bumping this thread about working with eyelash yarn back up, since the topic isn't discussed very often here in the forum. Eyelash yarn is often admired, but maybe not worked with all that often. It would be great if you could add a few tips or experience reports to the thread; that would certainly be helpful not only for beginners.

I crocheted a duck, about 15 cm tall. Since I could barely see a single stitch with this yarn, I held a second smooth strand of the same color together with it. So, eyelash yarn plus cotton. That made the duck sturdier and it was still fluffy.
Otherwise, I love eyelash yarn, as perfect hair or also as fur for amigurumi.
With a wool needle with a large eye or a knotting needle, it’s no problem to work the eyelash yarn into the finished little animal or doll.
Love, Bea

P.S. A magnifying lamp can be a very good help with tricky yarn, including when crocheting with black yarn. Personally, I can’t recommend a crochet hook with a light. At least not for anything that needs firmer crocheting.

I’ve crocheted fringed yarn in gold and silver-gray for decoration. First, I made a foundation chain using regular cotton yarn. Then I worked single crochet stitches with the fringed yarn. It looks like tinsel and works great as a tree ornament or as a ribbon for wrapping gifts.

It also looks great as a trim on hats.

Fringed yarn is actually better suited for knitting—the fluffiness really comes through, and it looks better than when crocheted. I used to knit back in the day, too. The best thing to make is a long, wide scarf; even with the fringes, I could still see the stitches.
When I get the chance, I’ll dig out my little scarf and take a photo.
I still have quite a bit lying around. I need more time for everything—and 10 hands—to finish all my projects.

That was my biggest challenge when crocheting with fringed yarn—I ran a very thin cotton yarn through it, which worked well, and used a fairly large crochet hook. I think without the extra yarn I would have been at my wits’ end, and I have to agree with Andrea—it does look a little better when knitted, since the fringes stand out better; when crocheted, you have to comb it a bit to bring out the fur-like effect, like here with the monkey.

Eyelash yarn is great for knitting teddy bears

Check out what I made with fringed yarn—unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the teddy bear. The heart was for Mother’s Day.

Here’s my little scarf made from fringe yarn. It keeps me nice and warm. I think I only knitted knit stitches.