Fun with Fun Fur!

All about Fun Fur! Now, I know, it's considered by some to be "fake" yarn. It's not made from anything naturally occuring in nature - it's a processed product to the Nth degree. I say that hey, it knits and crochets like yarn, it's pretty, and it has its uses - and comes in a rainbow of colors, most of which are also not naturally occuring in nature. (Yes, I like saying ''naturally occuring in nature", like there's somewhere other than nature where things naturally occur. By definition, there isn't.) ANYWAY, "Fun Fur" is actually the brand name of Lion Brand's novelty eyelash yarn, but "fun fur" has come to mean any of the various furry-ish novelty yarns. Most are made out of petroleum product (acrylic, nylon, polyester), but some aren't. None are made from actual fur - although Geisha (see below) says it feels just like it. Just in case you haven't been exposed to this type of novelty yarn before, here's a few pics to get you familiar:


Fun Fur, as seen on store shelves everywhere.
Lion Brand Fun Fur Stripes at the Yarndex. "The" Fun Fur. (If, for some reason, you're not familiar with The Yarndex, click through! It's an amazing resource for what's out there, what's been discontinued, and who-carries-what, just to get started!)


There is also Fun Fur Tape Yarn, 100% Nylon, from Jiangyin Nanguo Fancy Yarns Co. in China.


Geisha, which I mentioned above. According to its press, it "feels like Angora". Hm. Might have to track some of this down!


Cherry Tree Hill Fun Fur, again at the Yarndex. This looks more yarn-ish than the others, but it's made from Rayon.


Okay, so, you've got some novelty yarn of the Fun Fur variety. Whatever will you do with it? The usual culprits are:

Hats.

A lovely Chemo Hat.
Folks need them - check with your local hospital,
if you have Fun Fur in your stash,
and don't think you'll make something from it you'll use personally.
Scarves.

The basic pattern is here at Lion Brand, but you have to be Registered to get it. It's worth clicking on the link, though, because at the bottom of the page are ALL THE COLORS. ALLLLLLLLLLLL the pretty colors.....

Model photo from the Royal Yarns website - check them out, there's a lot of yarn for sale there!)

Trim (on mittens/gloves/sweaters):

Sweater, from Knit Today (issue #4) I actually have a sweater like this, the fur is just lavender. As is the sweater. Why do I have this? I don't know. It had furry stuff.

I like this little coat - it's actually available for sale. Hm.

Footwear embellishment. Fun Fur Flip Flops:


(the Michael's project sheet is available here)
But that's not all! You can use it to decorate Christmas trees. (We use gold fun-fur as tinsel at my mom's. Cleans up and comes off the tree much more quickly than actual intended-to-be-tinsel.)

Make your own garland, courtesy of CrochetMe.com

Or... you can knit the entire tree, thanks to Knitty Gritty episode #813. Here are some made by ilikelemons (also her Ravelry ID):

... and look for "fur" on this page from BoingBoing.net. Actually, look at the whole page, there's some cool stuff there, craft-wise. Or, knit your own not-so-scary monster (pattern here)!!


Fun Fur. It's not just for breakfast any more!