Ostara Craft: Yarn Eggs

While perusing Facebook, someone (and forgive me, but I can’t remember who) posted a pictorial guide to making yarn eggs.  I thought to myself…

Self! You have an over-abundance of yarn! This could be a way to make snazzy Ostara/Primavera presents for all your friends AAANNNDDD make yourself feel better about all that yarn you’ve been hording!

I immediately got to work.  I’ll outline the basic-ness of the project, and even give you some step-by-step pictures.  I’ll also clue you in on some possible pitfalls I found with this project and ways I got around them. Click the “Continue Reading” link to see the entire project.

YOUR SUPPLIES:

• Yarn (about a 3-weight yarn, like Paton Grace)
• Glue (elmers or some similar)
• Water
• Small dish or bowl to hold the glue (I used a red solo cup cut down to size)
• Balloons (small ones, we’re talking egg-shapes here)
• Scissors
• Newspaper
• Small item for inside the egg (optional! I used some larger evil eye blue beeds)
• Drying Rack (cooling rack, cookie sheet with waxed paper, etc)

YOUR GUIDE TO AWESOME EGGS:

1. Mix equal parts glue and water in your small bowl.  Cover your work surface with newspaper.
2. Blow up your balloons until they are about egg-sized and shaped. If you’re putting beads or items in the balloon, put it in before blowing!
3. Take about a foot of yarn and drag it through the glue/water mixture. Gently squeeze off excess, and start applying it to the balloon.
4. Turn the balloon as you go to get a nice criss-cross pattern.  If you have a bead in the balloon, keep in mind how small/big it is so that you make the weave tight enough to keep it trapped.
5. Continue dragging the yarn through the glue/water and applying to the balloon.
6. Once you’re done, cut the yarn and press the yarn end into the mesh on the balloon.
7. Set the balloon to dry and go onto the next.
8. Let the balloons dry overnight.  Check them out the next morning to make sure they are dry all over. If they are – POP THEM!
9. Pull the knot out from the “top” of the egg.  If you have balloon fragments inside the egg, you can use tweezers to extract them.
10. Voila! Ostara Yarn Eggs!

SOME PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM:

• YARN SLIDES AROUND THE EGG – I found if I was not making the yarn taut enough, it would slide. Also, if I attempted to criss-cross too soon, the yarn would come right off the balloon.  Make sure the yarn is tight to the balloon, but not pressing into it. And make your turns on the outsides.
• YARN ALL GOES ONE DIRECTION – um.. turn the egg 🙂  It’s easy to get into a “wrapping” zone, but make sure you’re watching how your design unfolds.
• EGG ISN’T DRY – I had this happen using the wax paper on a cookie sheet method of drying. I found turning the eggs several times during their drying time worked best.  It was the spot where the egg was resting on the wax paper that didn’t dry. Just turn it up and give it more dry time.  DO NOT POP AN EGG THAT’S NOT 100% DRY

SOME DRYING METHODS:

• Cookie sheet covered in wax paper (what I did)
• Cooling rack
• Hang from shower rod

OSTARA PICTURE GALLERY!

This crafty project was contributed by EMLC member Alpandia, who also provided these same instructions on our Ostara Podcast.  You can head over to her website to learn more about her.  She has this to say:

Being a part of EMLC has been a great joy in my life.  I’ve been able to connect with lovely people who I might never have met otherwise.  They give me an outlet for my particular brand of creativity, and love me even when I’m a grumpy witch.  With EMLC, I’ve also been able to help people I might otherwise been unable to through the philanthropic work that EMLC does in the FL community.

I am Alpandia.  I am a Strega Ninja. I am CoG.