FashBlog.com

By Christina VanGinkel

Small accessories such as belts and scarves can be just the thing to take an outfit from ok to a standout performance. The thing is with accessories though, is that finding the perfect ones to match each outfit can be a daunting task. They sometimes cost as much as a complete outfit, so you wish that you could mix and match them with more than just a single look. If you learn to make your own though, the cost factor can be lowered to the point that you realistically can have a set of accessories to match every outfit in need of them, and not go broke in the process. Even somebody on a rigid budget can make a dazzling or fun belt for just a few dollars worth of yarn, or even leftovers in their yarn bag from a bigger project.

If you are new to the yarn crafts of knitting or crochet, you may be looking at the cost of many of the specialty yarns, those that have the look you would want for your accessories, and think that you would not be saving anything, that the cost of a couple skeins of yarn, even a single skein, is expensive. Times that cost of the single skein by the several you figure a project would require, and there goes any cost savings that you might have imagined. Not so though, as most of these yarns are mixed with a more generic and much less expensive type of yarn to create the many looks that the fashion aficionados have come to love.

Most Fun Fur styles, for example, those that look all wispy and are so soft, are usually made with a double strand, one of a typical four-ply yarn, and one of the Fun Fur. This simple mixing of threads will take the expense of that single skein of Fun Fur and stretch it out for a complete project, bringing the cost back down to a place that fits into even the most stringent budget.

Another new on the scene craft that is hitting the homes of crafters nationwide, that is ideal for making accessories that are fun to both make and use, is felting. Actually a very old crafting technique, not new at all, it is once again making its debut in the world of arts and crafts enthusiasts who were looking for techniques to expand their creativity in the course of working with their yarns and fibers. An item is made in a relatively large size with untreated wool yarns or roving. It is then washed in hot water, which causes the fibers to shrink dramatically. The fabric can then be used as is, or even cut and sewn back together. I have seen several fun bags and scarves made in this way and the colors are rich, and the completed projects look as if the owners spent a small fortune on each of them, when in reality the costs were minimal and the time making the items not to lengthy. There is a learning curve for learning felting, but I have been told that if you are already comfortable working with yarns, and are at least an adequate handler of needle and thread, you can soon be whipping out fashion accessories that will be the talk of all your friends and family. One girl I talked to did tell me that every time she worked with felting, it brought back memories of when she shrunk her older sister's sweater in high school after borrowing it without asking. She learned the hard way that once you shrunk wool, it would never go back to its original size. Felting can be a fun way to both work with yarns and fibers though, and the accessories you make will be well worth the effort. One note to keep in mind when choosing yarns and fibers to turn into felt is to avoid any that have been labeled as treated in any manner. Some companies treat their wool so that it will not shrink. This is a good thing if you crochet or knit a sweater and you want it to keep its shape, allowing you to wash it safely, but a bad thing if shrinkage is exactly what you need to obtain the effect you are after.