Darn Good Yarn Kit

May 2023 update: I am still getting lots of traffic on my post and I am still a member!!  I love each and every box.  Here are a few updates on some of the ways that I have used some of my Darn Good Yarn:

Sun Bucket Hat

Silk Lizards

January 2020 UPDATE: It is finished! Read the start and the journey of my Magical Boho Inspired Shawl/Shrug.  It truly is a one-of-a-kind piece and one of my favorite things I have ever made!  I have updates at the bottom of this post on “how” I made this.  I don’t have an exact pattern because it is a freehand piece, but it will help you make something similar for yourself or someone special.

Here is the start of my original post:

Let me first start by saying that when I first started seeing advertisements on my Facebook newsfeed for a once-a-month yarn kit my thoughts went something like this, “what? no, way! I want to touch it all before I buy it.  What if you don’t like the color/s?  What if I can’t use any of the yarn?” etc.  You get the point.  Then I realized I could get a once-a-month yarn delivery for only about $10 per month!  That was so cheap for a box of love each month.

Now, I have 8 kits (Boxes) in my possession, and I am so pleased with the yarn!

**Update: I have been a member now for a few years!!  The boxes are more sustainable bags now, but for years I have loved all my surprises!!

I have loved ALL of my boxes. I have received so many wonderful yarns!!

Each box comes with a pattern book with a knit and crochet pattern that is suitable for the yarn inside and a free goody!  You can also choose to add more yarn to your box each month or skip a month.  I have even ordered extra yarn after falling in love with some of what is in my boxes.  I also didn’t realize until recently – yes, sometimes I am slow – that everyone gets the same Box 1, Box 2, Box 3 etc. and each box is a different color -so, Box 6 was green and Box 7 was purplish I think etc. 

The monthly kit is a bit different now, but still so perfect for a monthly surprise!!

It is so fun!!! It just feels so special.  It’s a fun gift for myself and don’t we all need to treat ourselves more? I also just realized that there is a Facebook group for Active Subscribers. There are so many reasons to get started with this kit – they even have a sock kit, fabric kit and a bead kit!  You also earn points to get free things from your kit order and other orders.  There is NO reason not to sign up right now!!!  It is such a fun thing to get each month.

And, to make it even better for me: I am pairing the once-a-month selection from my kits with the Darn Good Yarn Blog Crochet Stitch challenge for every month of 2019.  #dgychallenge

Here is a sneak peek: this is January, February and April’s yarn and Jan-Mar stitch challenge. March’s Box is not pictured yet because it’s a lace weight yarn so it will be used in a later month for another stitch. This is going to be so cute!  It’s going to be just for me!

This post contains affiliate links where I get a percentage of any purchase you make through the link. Your price is the same, but it helps keep my blog going so that I can continue to offer free patterns. Thank you.

So, I wanted to post an update.  (It’s August) …

Here I am – almost up-to-date.  I still have to use Box 3 from March, but I have to wait for another chunky yarn because I am using that for the Thick Thin SC Loop stitch challenge from the blog challenge.

#dgychallenge

Box 7 and 8 are beautiful!  But, they are not chunky, so I have to use them after I do the Thick and Thin loop stitch – which is next on my project.  Jan=SC, Feb=DC, March=HDC, April=TC, May=Tunisian Crochet and June is Thick/thin single crochet loop – so I am patiently waiting on my Bulky weight yarn that I just ordered from DGY to finish that part.  It is going to be so lovely!  It is turning out so much better than I envisioned and fast becoming one of my favorite things!!!

I’m going to update this post even more with more photos – basically I started this project with no pattern just the idea of a boho mixed up shawl.

I started with my I hook and just did increases in whatever stitch I was working for that section on each end – on both sides.

Stay tuned…I’ve just finished with the Thick Thin Loop single crochet stitch and the puff stitch for the stitch challenge for June and July. Pics to follow soon….

JANUARY 2020: Updating the final, beautiful shrug!  I started with a shawl, but stitched up a small section to make arm holes so that I won’t have to fight to keep it on.

So, here is a step by step look at the stitches that I have used and the kits that I worked with.  Please note that I think at least one of the boxes has changed to a different yarn now so your kits may vary from mine.

This is the beginning.  My first box of yarn – Box 1 – was this gorgeous Silk Roving yarn in the color Watercolors.  It is a #4 yarn.  The blog stitch challenge for January was single crochet so I just did sc with increases on the sides to start my V shape until I almost ran out of yarn.

My Box 2 was this Worsted Weight Roving Silk yarn in Crimson Fire – so beautiful!  The stitch for the blog challenge was Double Crochet which was perfect for this #4 yarn.  I continued to increase on each side.

Also in the above picture is my Box 3 yarn Speckled Tweed Recycled Silk in Begonia.  So lovely! It is a #4 yarn and the stitch challenge for March was half double crochet…so, far all was matching up and going perfectly!

Then I got my Box 4 in April and it was a Lace Weight Silk – and I was at a loss – first, I have never used a lace weight anything before and second, how in the world was I going to use this in my new project?  Also the blog stitch challenge was for triple crochet and there was just no way I was going to triple crochet with a lace weight and be able to make it work on this piece…so, I skipped my Box 4 and waiting for Box 5.   Box 5 is pictured next in the photo after Box 3 and is labeled a #4, but it is quite bulky, but stunning!  This Machu Picchu Twist Worsted Weight Silk is probably my absolute favorite from all of my boxes.  As a note:  this stitch was for triple crochet and the box had 50g of yarn so I did need to order another ball to get any kind of width to these rows.

After finishing to this point, I still have my lace weight yarn from Box 4, but it was fine because the stitch challenge included the Thick Thin SC loop so I decided to use my lace weight later in the year for that.

So, onto Box 6 and the May stitch challenge.  The May blog stitch was Tunisian Crochet and Box 6 was Recycled Silk Super Bulky Catskill Fireworks.  I love love love this yarn! I believe a lot of people did not love this color and I *think* Box 6 is now different if you subscribe.  I didn’t get a new photo, but in the above photos you can see the Tunisian crochet row is the bright pink with yellow and brown.  I also want to note here that I ordered a second ball of this yarn as well to have enough and these rows of Tunisian crochet were about the max that my Tunisian hook could handle.  My hook almost gave up on me, but this may be my favorite row. It was also my first time doing Tunisian crochet.

So, after the May stitch challenge and Box 5, I was finally able to go back to Box 4 for the June stitch challenge and work the Thick Thin Loop SC stitch.  I paired the Box 4 Lace Weight yarn in Sparkle Sandy Beach (a #1 yarn) with a yarn I specifically ordered from DGY to do this section – Malabrigo Mecha Merino Super Wash in Natural – I wanted a nice light neutral color to highlight the lace weight yarn and this stitch section.

And then Box 7 came and it was a #3 Recycled Silk Herbal Dyed yarn in Rose and gorgeous! But, the stitch challenge for July was a Puff Stitch and this yarn just was not going to work for that so I set my box aside and waiting patiently for Box 8.

When Box 8 arrived and it was a 2-ply sport weight linen in Cadet Blue (actually I think I may have reversed these two boxes – not sure) but, Box 7 and Box 8 were just not okay for puff stitch – but, I was ready to do another section so I just made the best of it and held the two strands together for the July Puff Stitch challenge and called this section done and really actually very nice.  (but, since I had just used two boxes for one monthly stitch challenge I knew I was going to be one box short to complete my project and was going to have to order something to finish.

I had doubled my yarn for Box 9 and the blog stitch challenge next was the V-stitch and then I got my Box 9 and fell in love with this Twist Sport Weight Silk Yarn in Dragon’s Tail.  There was so much yarn on each little roll!  I held them together and used both at the same time to make up the V-stitches for this section.  *somewhere around here I decided to increase to my J hook.

Remember how I knew I needed to order extra yarn?  Well, I decided to go ahead and do that so I could work up the September Granny Stitch blog challenge and get caught up.  I think I ordered this and had it added to my Box 9.  (you can do that with their amazing customer service!)

This beautiful blue yarn is Kettle Dyed Malabrigo Mecha in Paris Night and went perfect for the Granny Stitch.

Also in the photo is Box 10 Sparkle Worsted Weight Silk yarn in Midnight Sparkle.  You have to see how beautiful this yarn is in person.  It is a #3 yarn, but on the thin side, so I held two strands together (by this time I knew I needed to double yarn for every box to have enough across the top of my sections) and worked the October Blog stitch which was The Shell.

And then Box 11 came and it was another Sport Weight Silk Blend Yarn 80-20 in Burgundy Blossom and super pretty!  I saw a lot of great projects made on the Facebook page with this yarn, but it was not going to work for my next stitch challenge, so I used my REWARD points (you get those every month at DGY and for extra purchases and can redeem for free stuff! heck yeah!) I used points to order DGY Twist Sport Silk Yarn in Icicle and held it together with the Box 11  yarn to do the Basketweave Stitch. Now, here I had to made adjustments.  The November blog stitch challenge was for the Picot Stitch – but, I couldn’t do Picot in the second to the last month and then not know where my Box 12 was going to go….so, I made the decision for my project to flip the November and December blog stitch challenge around.  So, the Basketweave stitch was made with Box 11 and an extra yarn…only one more box to go to finish!  I was super excited by this point…now, just to update the pattern – you can see in some of my earlier photos that I was just adding increases to the sides as needed for it to grow outward “like” a triangle.  I freehanded this and just kept putting it on and laying it down and seeing where/if it needed increases based on the yarns I was using for those sections.

So, the Blog stitch challenge was the Picot and my Box 12 was an amazing Silk Roving Worsted Weight yarn in Mermaid at Sea and it was going to be perfect for the border!  I bordered my entire piece and weaved in all my ends and every 10 stitches or so around the second border I added picot stitches.  After I had two rows of border and picot I folded down the two edge/front pieces and just lightly tacked them down with a few stitches to make arm holes to keep from having to pull my shawl back around me.  I love how the yarn around the neck folds up so pretty.

With ALL the little bits of leftover yarns I had, I made two giant tassels and attached them right under where I took a few stitches to make arm holes (the holes are low so it has more of a poncho fit) because life is really better with tassels.

And that is it. I am going to wear this piece as much as I possibly can.  I live in VA so it’s warm a lot, but this piece is so special.  I hope I’ve inspired you to try a piece like this out….just mix and match and freehand sometimes….sometimes things are better with less rigid rules <3