Novelty knitting yarns may be a bit more difficult to use than some of the regular knitting yarns, will but you can also do some really amazing handiwork with these yarns once you master their individual quirks and figure out which knitting needles you are going to need for them. Once you have mastered the basics of knitting, you may want to be able to try something a little bit different. If such is the case with you, many of the novelty knitting yarns will offer you the opportunity to hone your knitting skills while making some beautiful home made crafts.
Ribbon knitting yarn is a very popular yarn for making accessories and embellishments for your knitting crafts. However, it is very similar to actual ribbon so working with it presents two major problems right off the bat. First, you have to understand and accept that the ribbon knitting yarn is going to twist and turn a lot while you are working with it off a spool or even many bobbins. There are certain ways around this and while they are not complete solutions, they are often enough to make the work much less tedious and allow you to enjoy your knitting a bit more.
Many flat bobbins are available for a few cents each. These flat bobbins (often scarcely anything more than a small piece of plastic with beveled outer edges to prevent the yarn from slipping off) allow the ribbon knitting yarn to be straightened as you place it on the bobbin itself. Ideally, when you are working with the knitting, the bobbin can be strategically placed so that it flips as you remove the yarn you are stitching with. You may still suffer from a bit of twisting and folding as you work the yarn with your knitting needles but it should be substantially less than you would otherwise encounter working with the ribbon yarn directly from a ball or a skein.
The other problem you will frequently encounter is having the ribbon yarn twisting as you work it with your knitting needles. While this can be frustrating, it is at least to a certain extent, going to be inevitable but you can still minimize the hassles some by being a little creative. My grandmother actually overcame this problem by using crochet needles that had a small hook on the very tip. While the knitting process itself was a bit slower, she would work the yarn as much as she did her knitting and actually got really good at keeping the ribbon relatively straight and uniform. There was still some loss of consistency in some of the stitches but it was kept to a minimum.
The ribbon knitting yarn is very popular for making trim. The addition of beads to the edges of the yarn add a unique touch as well as allowing you to secure the end knots and preventing unraveling or allowing your stitches to work loose. Another very popular use for the ribbon knitting yarn is to create shawls, head dresses and other fashion accessories that can highlight or enhance your hand knitted garments as well.
While the novelty knitting yarns like the ribbon yarn can be a bit more difficult to work with, they can also be very rewarding and add uniqueness to your hand knitted items.
And I thought I was the only fan of ribbon yarns 🙂