Personally, I lived for arts and crafts as a kid (and I still do). My grandparents, who diligently babysat my sister and I every day until I was old enough to drive to their houses on my own, encouraged this creativity by constantly coming up with new ideas to turn tissues into ghosts and paper plates into Spirograph-like masterpieces. Once, my best friend and I spent weeks making a miniature city out of plastic bottles and candy wrappers just because, tirelessly rummaging through garbage cans until we found a perfect soup can courthouse. And with the toy industry catching on to the DIY trend, there’s no shortage of crafty kits for inspired kids, including the Darn Yarn line of looms, from Fashion Angels.
Each kit includes a loom, hook, needle, and yarn with detailed instructions to help kids master their project at every step in the process. As opposed to working on circular needles, which is too complicated for most kids (and me), the Darn Yarn Infinity Scarf kit is both easy and quick to use. The included circular loom creates a tube-like scarf, doubling the warmth and functionality of each scarf a kid creates. The Darn Yarn looms are different from most looms on the market, which tend to produce thinner products. This loom creates clean and professional-looking scarves that kids can give as gifts, or even sell at craft fairs or online to test out their entrepreneurial skills.
Fashion Angels is also known for its It’s My Biz line of products, but Darn Yarn could go right along with any of their home business kits in terms of marketability (just check out the knitted goods section on Etsy). With so many kits to choose from, the possibility of tweens earning a little extra cash for going out with friends or saving up for college (dream big, Mom and Dad) is real.
Tweens can leave the scarf as-is, knotting off the ends to create a traditional scarf, or they can sew the ends together to form an infinity scarf, which we all know is the ultimate winter-weather defense weapon.
Because the looms are re-usable, any Darn Yarn kit is a sound investment that will create hours of fun play for any crafty kid. The kits come packaged in a plastic tote, which is perfect for bringing projects on the go and keeping the pieces together when kids aren’t using them. Darn Yarn kits include looms to create an infinity scarf, a monster hat, a pom pom scarf, and a bow headband.
It seems that DIY crafting may never go out of style—and I hope it never does. The trend fuels creative expression in kids, which is never a bad idea, and usually results in an affordably fun afternoon. Tutorials for “upcycling” used clothing, repurposing discarded household goods, and creating adorable finger foods pop up online every day, so it’s great to reinforce the DIY trendy through kids’ toys, too.
