Anamika Silk Cloud Silk Yarn

Anamika Silk Cloud Silk Yarn
Gifted By: Darn Good Yarn
Reviewed By: Lorene Eppolite from Cre8tion Crochet

I recently was approached by AllFreeCrochet to review a new yarn: Anamika Silk Yarn by Darn Good Yarn. I was more than stoked to be given this opportunity. I love anything upcycled and environmentally friendly and Darn Good Yarn embodies reduce, reuse and recycle more than any yarn company I have ever heard of. The founder, Nicole Snow, has created a wonderful opportunity for the women of Nepal and India to help support their families. All of the yarn made by this company is from reclaimed materials.

The yarn came packaged beautifully, wrapped in tissue paper with a post card describing the company and its mission statement. It also included a story of one of the women who work to make Darn Good Yarn. All of the yarn from DGY is “made from recycled and Earth friendly materials and much of it is created from the colorful remnants of the production of silk saris in Nepal and Northern India. These materials are handspun and dyed by women’s groups in Nepal. Darn Good Yarn provides these women with a marketplace for the products, as well as much needed wages for their families.”

The two colors I was presented with were Mermaid at the Sea and Sunburst. Mermaid at the Sea quickly inspired me. It reminded me of a day at the beach with its vibrant blues and greens. Easy, breezy summer days filled my mind and it dawned on me that I’ve never crocheted any wearable summer items other than accessories. Why should the cold weather days have all the fun? I wanted to be able to personalize my summer wardrobe the same ways as I did my winter and fall outfits. This yarn was perfect for that and its lightweight texture lended itself perfectly to summer fashions. The first design I came up with was this Sea Breeze Summer Cowl.

Ideas for Sunburst soon followed.

I had such fun unwinding my first hank of yarn into a ball, though it was a little tricky. The silk can catch and pull other strands so you just need to take your time and work slowly. I hung my hank from the back of a chair and slowly wound it into a ball. The yarn was easy to work with and gave great results. I only found one minor imperfection in working with the yarn (a small space where the color did not penetrate all the way through) but it was invisible in the finished product. I couldn’t believe how much could be made with one hank. Since the yarn is super thin I wasn’t sure I would have enough to make the projects I had in mind, but it turns out I had plenty.

There are so many things I love about this company but one of the things I love the most is the discounts they offer to retailers and designers. You can save up to 65% off of the retail prices with their wholesale plan. I love that they are helping empower the women of Nepal and India to create a better life for themselves and their family and that they are reclaiming materials that would otherwise be thrown away; it has such an environmental impact. I can’t wait to try more from this company. They have so many fantastic upcycled yarns available to try in all different weights.

I commend Nicole Snow for creating such a fantastic and much needed company and I truly enjoyed working with this wonderful yarn.