Micro Skeins! Why Do We Love Them?

As many of you know, Tangled Poets makes a variety of multi packs and the famous "Pickle Jar Kit". All comprised of a bunch of 20-25 yard skeins or, "Micro Skeins" as we like to call them. As these kits have gained popularity, we've had some people ask "but why?". Why are the skeins so small? Why would you want only a tiny amount? What do you do with them?

Well, keep reading and find out!

We love the micros for so many reasons honestly. Not only do they make kits a little more interesting by providing you with 40+ different surprise colours in one project, but they can have so many other uses! Some of the more common ones that we tend to tell people about are things like:

- "The Beekeeper's Quilt" by Tiny Owl Knits

- Mitered Squares

- Toes/Heels/Cuffs on socks

And really any form of "scrappy" project! The micros are great for this because they allow you to have a bunch of "scraps" for the little things, but without the guessing on things like weight, fiber contents, etc. that usually happens when you pull from your scraps. In addition to that peace of mind, they're also all beautiful hand dyed little skeins! Which is a really beautiful way to elevate those "odds and ends" projects. 

They're also great for those projects because you can get a huge variety of colours without having to kill your wallet on full size skeins or waste a bunch of yarn! Need 25 different colours for a "scrappy" project? No problem! There's no need to buy 25 full size skeins. Instead, you're able to buy a multi-pack that meets that requirement for the same price as one full size skein!

Now for the fun part...

When we went to Montreal for Knit City, we had the idea to do a "candy bar". Just a big counter stocked with bowls and bowls of micros, each one only $1. The idea was that you would fill candy bags with as many micros as you wanted, like penny candy as a kid! Not only was it an overwhelming hit with everyone, but I got to have so many amazing conversations with people and hear about all the fun ways they were using the micros! This was probably my favorite part because even as a long time Tangled Poets employee, you guys blew me away with your creativity! You inspired me to think of other fun things the micros could be used for too! I have spent quite a bit of time since then really putting the micros to the test and it was honestly a blast. As someone who is constantly surrounded by these tiny skeins, I had no idea I was missing out on so many fun things! 

I have personally used the micros for numerous rainbow fades and pride flag knits before. I really enjoy colorwork projects and they're just the right size to make a good strip of each color or multiple tiny strips!

At the recommendation of quite a few of you at the "candy bar", I also tried embroidery with them! And oh my goodness, I was missing out. I have done embroidery since I was a child and this was a game changer for sure. Seeing how one color could look like 3 colors or more as you stitched it was so cool!  As long as you have a heavy weight cloth and a needle with a bigger eye, it's a breeze too! There was no splitting, no color run off on the cloth, no breaking or fuzz from the yarn going through the cloth either! It also went so much faster because of the weight of the yarn in comparison to thread. 

After that adventure, I tried to see what other "odd" but fun uses I could find for the micros. And as it turns out, the limit is really non existent! I found patterns for scrunchies (I have yet to finish that but I'm intrigued), tiny bees (yes bees, they're adorable too), different quilts, interesting shawls, seat covers, colorwork things, home décor, jewelry (a few people at the festival said they crocheted earrings with them actually!), you name it!

I wanted to try some in order to write this post but I literally found so many projects it's insane. So instead, I've added pictures of some of my own projects and pictures of some of the super cute ideas I found! 

Bee by "ScrubShopStudio" on Etsy                                                         Scrunchies by "StudioKnitabel" on Etsy

A tank top with rainbow stripes, some scenic embroidery and a rainbow colorwork cowl (all done by myself). Each color strip on the cowl is only about an inch! The stripes on the top are two rows each.