Surprisingly, crochet isn't always the most eco-friendly hobby. A lot of crochet tools and notions, such as yarn needles, hooks, stitch markers, and row counters, are made out of plastics, like acrylic and resins. Some of the most readily available and affordable yarns are also made out of acrylic and other synthetic materials. And then there's the polyester stuffing, plastic safety eyes, poly-pellets...
Here's my final product!
I also used some metallic gold and silver yarns scraps since, with the change to the nose, I didn't want there to be too much pink. I do prefer the gold/silver horn color, but the pink in the sample looks fine. I did not like the pattern given for the horn (you basically crochet a triangle and then sew it together), so I made up my own. I also modified the pattern for the ears, since I prefer to crochet in rounds and then sew them flat instead of making them using rows as I think it looks cleaner.
While these materials have some advantages over their natural counterparts (easier to clean, hypoallergenic, vegan, generally less expensive), it's good to be conscious of your eco-footprint and to minimize waste.
Which is exactly what the Hoooked line of DIY crochet kits seek to accomplish!
I picked up the Hooked Nora the Unicorn on a whim from Blick Art Supplies. I find crochet kits relaxing since they're self-contained projects; you don't have to worry about whether or not you have the right weight, color, or amount of yarn needed and you don't need to make up or find a pattern. I think it's similar to how many people find coloring relaxing.
I purchased my kit for $15.99; it's currently out of stock from Blick, but I've seen it available all over the web, including Etsy and directly from Hoooked. The cost varies somewhat, but $15-$17 is standard. There are also different varieties of these kits, including a giraffe, a donkey, and a dragon.
This kit is supposed to be 'no waste' and includes 100% recycled textiles, a bamboo 6mm crochet hook, and instructions in 5 different languages. It's important to note that the English instructions are written using UK crochet abbreviations, not US. There is information on how to convert UK terms to US, but it's small and could be easily missed. This project only uses one stitch though, the single crochet (double crochet in UK), so it's really easy to convert terms if needed.
The instructions are easy to follow and well-written, but this is not a project for extreme beginners. I recommend already being familiar with crochet stitches, terms, and making 3D objects before starting this project.
Unfortunately, I decided to review this kit after I had finished it, I don't have a picture of the unused materials. However! As you can see, you get a lot of yarn in this kit, and I could easily make another unicorn, though I would probably have to use the pink along with the rainbow yarn for the hair. Admittedly, this is probably due to some substitutions I made, which I'll talk about in a bit.
This yarn is the Eco Barbante by Hoooked; it consists of 85% recycled cotton (the remaining 15% is other recycled fibers) and is medium-weight (it doesn't give a number, but it recommends a 4mm-6mm crochet hook. It's somewhere between a light worsted and dk weight). The kit includes 200g of Almond, 50g of Roseberry Crunch, a handful of rainbow yarn (I'm not sure if this is the Eco Barbante as it doesn't say), and a scrap length of RibbonXL in black (it use for the eyes).
You also get a 6mm bamboo crochet hook, which I think is one of weaker parts of this kit. There's nothing inherently wrong with the hook and I'm keeping it for future projects, but I don't think it's a good fit for this yarn. New bamboo hooks are not as smooth as well-used ones, and the yarn, which is pretty textured, kept catching, making it difficult to crochet smoothly and evenly. 6mm was also too big of a hook for me to use for this project; I substituted a 4mm/G hook, which felt much more appropriate.
There is no yarn needle in this kit, and it seems odd to include a hook but no needle, especially as you are supposed to sew the eyes on, instead of using plastic eyes, which usually just snap together. Even if a needle was included, though, it would need to have a larger eye than normal in order to accommodate the RibbonXL intended to be used for the eyes. I ended up using plastic safety eyes instead, as I don't have a yarn needle capable of using with the RibbonXL.
As you can see, I made some additional substitutions and pattern changes. I thought the unicorn would be cuter if I used pink on the nose instead of making it all-white, but I kind of regret that decision, since I do think the completed sample product on the box looks cuter.
Finally, I used some glitter plastic safety eyes instead of the black RibbonXL as I thought they would be cute (...I do like the plain black eyes better) and I wasn't able to use the RibbonXL to make the eyes since I don't have a yarn needle capable of doing so. I also stuffed my unicorn with Poly-fil; the instructions don't say what to use for stuffing, and the kit doesn't come with any, so I'm assuming they want you to split up the almond yarn and use that for stuffing (to keep the project eco-friendly).
Overall, I think this kit is a good value, and you get a cute little unicorn out of it! The pattern was easy to follow, even with having to convert it from UK terms to US, and I especially like that it tells you exactly where to sew things together (such as sewing the ears between rounds 13 and 14 of the head). Again, I recommend being already familiar with crochet stitches, terms, and abbreviations, and having some experience with making amigurumi/3D objects.
You do need to already own some crochet supplies, such as a yarn needle and crochet hooks, which is also why I would recommend this kit for crocheters with some experience and not absolute beginners. I don't think the included hook works well with the yarn and a new crocheter will probably find it frustrating to work with (I know I did).
Thank you for reading! <3
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