After accumulating a...horde, for lack of a better word, of basic supplies for any given craft or hobby, I love exploring more unique, niche, 'special effect' materials. With yarn, this usually means either a different texture, material, or the addition of an iridescent or metallic aspect. I didn't expect, though, to find glow-in-the-dark yarn!
Included in my package was a quote, which is quite relatable.
This kit cost me $32.44, and I received free shipping since I purchased an additional skein of yarn, bringing my total purchase to over $35. Included in this kit, besides the pattern, are two full skeins of blue phosphorescent yarn, plus a little mini skein, a smaller skein of orange phosphorescent yarn, a big bag of stuffing, and some plastic safety eyes. The eyes are a quality I'm not a fan of (for some reason, any type of safety eyes that have brown/dark plastic washers feel low-quality to me. I tried to use them, but they were so easy to pull apart after snapping them together that I just substituted for some from my own stash).
The phosphorescent yarn is a rayon ribbon yarn, which I had never used before. I was worried it would feel rough or be difficult to crochet with, but it honestly wasn't any different. The only issue I ran into with it was that it was much more likely to rip/tear if I pulled on it too hard (...I pull on my yarn tails really tightly to make sure things are secure). Unique Yarns Co. offers individual skeins of ribbon rayon phosphorescent yarn in a handful of different colors, and it looks like they now offer phosphorescent wool yarn! This kit is also available in a pink and green version....which is admittedly the color palette that I thought I had bought, but the two colors are two different listings, and the colors weren't in the titles. The blue and orange still looks great, though, so I don't mind!
Along with worries about the ease of crocheting and texture of the yarn, I was skeptical about how much it would glow. But! This yarn has a powerful glow, even after a short period of charge time! This yarn works the same way as other phosphorescent glow-in-the-dark items (such as those plastic stars you can stick to your ceiling and walls); the yarn needs to 'charge' by being held next to a light, and will slowly fade after a while. The glow seen here is after charging in my lightbox for a couple minutes.
A physical pattern is included in the kit, protected by a light green cover page.
I like the booklet style of the pattern, though I do wish there were a few more large pictures, specifically of where to attach things when assembling. Overall, this is a good pattern; it's simple and creates a very round, gentle-looking dragon. It does not have wings, however, which I felt made it look more like a dinosaur than a dragon (though dragons don't always need to have wings). I ended up adding my own wings to my plush, but I had more than enough yarn left over in order to do so.
And I think he turned out super cute! I sewed his muzzle on a little more squished than the pattern shows, so he does have a subtle 'pig-style' nose, but thanks to the wings, I think he still looks quite dragon-y.
I did run out of stuffing and had to supplement from my own stash, but this is pretty standard for me, so I don't really hold it against any kit that it happens to. I think it's important to always have a stash of stuffing material available if you plan on making plushies as you are almost guaranteed to run out at the worst time (I think on this little guy I ran out just before sewing on the tail, which was the final stuffed piece I needed to add).
The most impressive, and my favorite, part of this kit, though is the yarn! It really was easy to work with, it feels soft in the hand and as the finished plushie, and the glow is incredible! I would love to purchase more phosphorescent yarn from Unique Yarn Co. in different colors, and to try out the new glow-in-the-dark wool. As with the skeins before, this glow was achieved by letting the plush 'charge' in my lightbox for a couple minutes (if that).
Even after the addition of the wings, I still have almost a full skein of blue yarn left, and plenty of orange; enough to make a star or chbi'thulhu keychain perhaps?
Overall, I think this kit is a great way to experience Unique Yarns Co.'s phosphorescent rayon ribbon yarn! They also offer a ghost kit and a space-themed mobile kit if the dragon isn't your style. If you're interested in trying their other yarn, they offer non-glow-in-the-dark/special effect kits, too.
Along with the two kits, I purchased some of their other unique/special effect yarn. All the yarn I've tried of theirs so far has been of great quality and has really added an extra touch to the projects I've made using it. If you're interested in some unique yarn, definitely check out Unique Yarns Co!
<3 Thank you for reading!
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