My Alien-Pod-Yarn Project

Alien-Pod-Yarn Project

Another fun piece to hunt for at thrift/vintage shops are craft materials.  Many hobbyists donate unwanted fabrics, buttons, beads, etc. While they're not always less expensive than purchasing from your chain craft store you may find materials that are unique or reminiscent of another era.

For this project I opted to purchase my craft material at a chain (in this case it was cheaper and you all know I’m on a budget these days!).  After the use of 40% of a full priced item coupon the project total cost was around $4.00.

I originally found the idea on the blog of one of my favorite clothing lines, Free People. I suggest visiting their site since it provides detailed instructions. Below I’ve added more materials than their directions suggest but also lessons learned for anyone who may want to try this:

Materials Needed:

·         Yarn

·         Elmer’s Glue or similar

·         Balloons (I suggest a color that matches the yarn so when pieces stick it’s not so bad)

·         Thumbtacks to hang from ceiling

·         VASELINE (I did not follow this step and regret it!)

·         Plastic cup with lid (just save your next soda cup from your favorite fast food restaurant)

·         A tarp (or other object you don’t mind getting glue all over, I covered a counter top with an old towel)

·         Fishing line or other clear string to hang when complete

Lesson 1: Despite my best efforts the yarn always got tangled following the provided instructions. What I did instead was placed my yarn in the cup, topped the cup and put glue on the lid.  Then as I pulled yarn out of the straw hole I ran it through the glue and my used to my fingers to thoroughly coat each strand.

Lesson 2: Trying to wrap the balloon while it hung was impossible. It’s a balloon; it’s not a 20lb medicine ball that stays in place as you paw all over it. I opted to just grab on to the dang thing and use the hanging technique for it to dry. This made it messy and gave the effect of peeling skin anywhere the glue touched my body (i.e. everywhere my skin my exposed).

 

Lesson 3: They do not pop into pretty shapes right away.  I had to gently pull apart the yarn so that it reshaped into the pear-like shape desired. I think this may be were Vaseline helps!

Overall I think it came out pretty. I do regret using white only because Evan said it looks like I hung alien pods from the ceiling. I do look forward to trying it with a different color in the future to create a collection of these in a bare corner of our bedroom.