On my last trip to Japan, when I found those crafty gashaphon, I also discovered some new, super funky yarn. It’s Placord from Daruma. The yarn is 100% polyethylene and “cord” in the name is appropriate.

I was intrigued by the plastic, because one of the lovely street artists I follow on Instagram posts knitted mandalas all over downtown. How long do they last? How can you make outdoor fiber art more resilient? How workable is plastic yarn? Can I use it for everyday items too?

I went on a little spree with the placord yarn…

…And bought 2 of each of these colors. The other available colors of placord are bright yellow, grey and white.

Working up the yarn was interesting. I have not worked with such a stiff material before and it was difficult to get accustomed to. Working with the yarn was almost like crocheting soft wire. The yarn is very small in diameter so everything worked up miniature. The yarn was slippery using a metal hook which might not have been the case using a plastic hook.

I chose an open weave “market basket” type pattern. I did not keep the link after I finished because the size was way too small. I am totally at fault for not figuring out the gauge and sizing before jumping in and making a thing. Something along the lines of a little coin purse would have been a better test of the new material.

The stiffness of the material left the stitches really open but they hold shape. The pattern worked into very small basket that was *just* big enough to hold the remaining balls of yarn. It makes a nice little “bring my lunch to work” or “hold <x> things” basket.

In my opinion, the yarn performs better when made into something more fabric-like. The band this pattern called for at the top, worked up quickly and easily. The stitches were very easy to get evenly spaced and sized. The Daruma site has some lovely patterns for bags that they show made up in this yarn.

Have you tried this yarn? What do you think about how it feels.