dancnbrd

I'm getting ready to make my son a new outfit and was wondering what kind of yarn ya'll use? In the past, a went and bought mine at Wal-Mart. I can't remember what brand. Mine never seems to lay as smooth as some other fringe I have seen. I have seen different weights at a craft store...does it matter?

sookout sh'nob

I've been using Red Heart yarn from Wallmart - it will fray at the ends and show some wear, but it seems to hold up pretty good.

The weight of the yarn definitely matters as far as heat goes. My grass regalia is nearly twice as hot as my traditional regalia. all that yarn really seems to hold in the heat well, so a heavier yarn = a hotter time dancing, which could potentially lead to some health risks when dancing on a hot enough day.

Getting the yarn to lay right just takes some experimentation and patience. I tie my yarn onto a longer base cord. I tie the fringe yarn onto the base cord at the half way point of the fringe strand. You don't really need to tie it, you can just make a loop and pass the loose ends of the fringe strand through it and pull it tight. This will be solid after you ew it down. Aniishaa, if i place all the fringe strands too close together it is tough to sew and bunches, which really shows in the end. If I place them to far away, they look thin and don't tend to lay together as much as they do when they are closer.

Anyhow, that's how I get my yarn to lay right. I hear some folks use somthing called stay-lock (or smthing like that) to seal off the ends of the yarn. I hear clear glue works good too, but I haven't tried either.

Good luck.

dancnbrd

Thanks!! This is probably the 8 outfit i've done ,,,you would think I'd be a pro!! LOL I just never seem to like the way the yarn looks...so maybe it's not the yarn, but the way I am attaching it.

spottedeagle

I used Red Heart yarn for my son's outfit and used the same method as shookout sh'nob. A trick I learned was to take an ironing board, flip it over, stretch the base cord between the two legs and tie away while I'm watching tv. Another trick I use is to take a box or a piece of cardboard and wrap my yarn around it. Then I cut the yarn at one end and I have my pieces all the same length.

__________________
The things you are doing today are the traditions of twenty-five years from now.
-Daryl Baldwin: Miami

cherokee_grassdance9

I use ribon from wal-mart for mine

sookout sh'nob

Aye, that's a good trick. I used to use the ironing board trick before i built a loom. Originally I built it just to make roaches, then noticed it was a good length for tying grass yarn.

I recently installed a couple of removable springs and use the same loom for beadwork now - it's one of the best tools i have :D

spottedeagle

I'll have to try the loom trick this winter when I make my son a new set.

__________________
The things you are doing today are the traditions of twenty-five years from now.
-Daryl Baldwin: Miami

cherokee_grassdance9

a good trick i do with ribbon is burn the tip of it right after puting it on to your regalia instead of waiting tell its all done