Have you had your Harn today? Have you Harnned? Can you even do that with a crochet hook?
Hosiery – Panty Hose
Hosiery Yarn = Harn
Harn is the natural successor of Plarn. With Plarn, one takes plastic bags, cuts them in an efficient manner, creates very hardy yarn. Now, a very smart person has finally found a GOOD use for panty hose (and I’m serious about that since I sincerely hate the dratted things) – yarn, or, more aptly Harn.
You can also purchase plarn ready made here via Etsy.
Plarn is quite sturdy but has fairly limited applications. Harn, on the other hand, is equally hardy and, to my thinking, has a wider range of uses which include not only very durable mats and rugs, totes and purses, plant hangers, and scrubbies. I could even see this stuff used to create more wearable garments than, oh, say, pantyhose. Why not a Harn pullover or a Harn skirt? It could work.
To make your very own Harn, begin by raiding the depths of your lingerie drawer, scour your thrift store, ask your friends for theirs, and hit up the local garage sales. Then, when you’ve got a bundle of what we used to call ‘nylons’ handy, use this great tutorial to show all you need to know about making Harn.
After you’ve made a few miles of Harn, check out the other yarn-making tutorials on Teresa’s site. She’ll even show you how to turn your jeans into hairy yarn. And, with the free patterns available on her site, you’ll be substituting Harn for Plarn for a variety of your upcoming projects. Have fun!
… or use them as stuffing
It’s a great idea but do people still wear panty hose?
I’ve been knitting bathmats for years using pantyhose–1 strand of harn + 2 strands of cotton, such as sugar&cream brand. I do 2 rows of the cotton strands and every 3rd row with all 3 strands. Keeps the rugs less bulky, requires less harn, and the rugs are still springy and durable. I have some that have been in use for years…these wear like iron. Also, I’ve made yarn out of cotton knit panties, esp. fun if you use colored panties. I love knitting/crocheting with unusual materials.
Carolyn,
Your idea for rugs sounds great! Good way to use up lots of things that might otherwise get trashed. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us.
jd
Well, we know the younger women don’t wear them. This idea would work great with tights – still commonly worn by women and children. Panty hose are readily available, some still in their original packaging, at the thrift store. If you don’t have them yourself, ask around. I bet older friends, aunts, etc will have plenty tucked in the back of a bedroom drawer!
jd
If you don’t have pantyhose, you can use the knee-high trouser hose, which I think a lot of women still wear even if they’ve given up on pantyhose. I still wear these with dressy pants and have made a rug with black hose and white cotton yarn–very dramatic color combination. My late mother was a nurse and gave me all her white nurse’s pantyhose. I knitted them with yarn cut from a bunch of colored cotton panties which made a very cute bathmat.
I’ll be demo’ing the pantyhose rugs at the Carolina Fiber Fest this May in Raleigh, NC, as part of our “green” knitting demonstration. The festival is free and celebrates a range of fiber crafts and fiber-producing animals. For more info: http://www.carolinafiberfest.org/
I am having trouble viewing the sight on how to make the harn. Can anyone give me any ideas? The site comes up but will not scroll down for me. Thanks in advance….mare
Not sure what pantyhose are, are they known as tights in the UK?
Jane,
Yes, you might call them tights. But, in the US, tights are not as sheer (see through) as pantyhose or nylons. They are typically worn in shades of beige – from white to dark brown and a sheer black. Tights would work fine. Our ‘tights’ are slightly heavier gauge fabric but equally stretchy. Both are the kind of things a ballerina would wear under her leotard – only tights would cover the skin color more.
jd
Hi jd
Thank you for the excellent write-up on my harn and the other tutorials on my plastiquerecreations blog.
You might also be interested to know that other than at thrift stores there are other ways of obtaining free hosiery to make harn: 1) join the freecycle in your local area;
2) add your blog/website with your home address as a mail-in collection indicaing the specific items you’re interested in receiving;
3) pantyhose manufacturers also make available flawed pantyhose that cannot be sold. They have a recycling program.
I love your site and the interesting articles you do.
Teresa
Teresa,
Glad you shared more ideas with us. I do belong to my local Freecycle and hadn’t thought of it as a source for hosiery. Great idea! I’ll look into the manufacturer’s recycling program. That sounds like a winner too!
jd