Purple Silk Sari Ribbon Bowl

This bowl was whipped up as an extra for LeapFeetFirst in the Asheville Adventure Swap.  It's made of sari silk ribbon yarn, that is made from worn out saris that would otherwise end up in landfills.  They are rescued, sliced, stitched, and dyed, and given new life as yarn.  Both colors came from Darn Good Yarn.  I'm not sure what the purple one is, since I bought it as part of a sample sale, and it didn't have any info with it, but the turquoise is their 'Indian Brushstrokes'.  The pattern was also from DGY, and came free in one of their yarn-of-the-month boxes.  It can be found in both knit and crochet HERE. 

Sari Silk Ribbon Bowl

After making a Mandala Tablemat for Wulf in the Use the Good Beads Swap on Craftster, I was feelign guilty about having ben the swap rules.  Technically the yarn to make the mandala didn't coem from MY hoard, so I used one of the yarns that was in my stash to crochet a bowl.  It's made from a ribbon yarn, created from recycled silk saris, keeping textiles out of landfills and at the same time giving fair wages to women & girls in India & Nepal, allowing them to work from home.  Both the yarn and the pattern are available from Darn Good Yarn.  

Rainbow Ripples Neckwarmer & Silk Sari Bowl

I signed up for a subscription box from Darn Good Yarn a few weeks ago, and got my first box on Friday.  The yarn that they sent was a worsted weight silk roving, that is created from silk waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.  The yarn is fair trade, and helps women in India & Nepal support their families.  The pattern they sent to go with it was for a ripples neckwarmer. 

I normally don't work with silk, but I really enjoyed this quick little project.  I started it after dinner on Saturday night, and finished early Sunday morning.  I would link to the pattern, but it's not up on their site yet. The whole piece is about 20" around, and 6-7" wide.  The colors are so cheerful that it was a joy to work on. 

When you sign up, or place a regular order from them, you can choose to add a 'mystery item' for an additional $5, that is normally sold for $15.  Since I always like surprises, and I like being pushed out of my comfort zone craft-wise, I added the item, and waited to see what came.  My mystery item turned out to be a beautiful roll of wide sari silk ribbon. 

I searched their site, and found a great pattern for a bowl made out of the same ribbon, so I whipped that up yesterday.  The pattern called for a 10mm hook, but I had only a 9 or an 11.5.  The 11.5 kept catching on the work, so I switched to the 9mm hook, which worked much better, but still it was harder than my poor hands liked.  While the project was small and should have been very quick, I had to take breaks to rest my hands.  It had nothing to do with the ribbon, it is just hard to crochet through while keeping your stitches very tight so the bowl will stand up on its own. 

All in all I'm very happy with how it came out, and I'd gladly make another one in future, after my fingers rest up a bit.  Here it is holding 2 large apples and 4 good sized tangerines.  It's currently on my desk, holding some healthy snacks for hangry afternoons in my new studio.