Magarn (Magazine Yarn)

As those of you who follow me may have noticed, I have been looking for alternatives to yarn in an effort to be more economical in my crafting. Well, a few months back, I came across a tutorial for Handspun Recycled Newspaper Yarn on Green Upgrader. I was greatly intrigued, but couldn't help but think of how incredibly dirty newspaper is, so what came to mind is the three shelves in my closet that are jam packed with out-dated interior design and architecture magazines that I have been hoping to upcycle. At first, I tried using the same method as the newspaper yarn? However, the problem here is that newspaper is thinner and more malleable than magazines. While contemplating this, I began to think about plying yarn, using multiple strands of a material and my AHA moment was revealed!

Materials:
Magazine
Craft Knife
Self Healing Mat
Straight edge
Drop Spindle (I got mine on Ebay for around $12 and it came with a niddy noddy)
Scotch Tape or another clear tape
Masking Tape (optional)

Step 1:
Cut 1/4" strips of your magazine using your craft knife, straight edge, and self healing mat.

Step 2:
Create a start to ply the #magarn. Take 3 magazine strips and stack them on top of each other, but staggered a bit as in the picture. Tape the strips to the drop spindle, then twist the strips between your fingers until you have enough to reach the hook.

Step 3:
Roll the spindle on your leg as you would do for wool or newspaper yarn, leaving about 2" - 3". While pinching the first rolled strips, pick up 3 more strips and stack them as you did the first, then use them to overlap the previous strips. Tape all 6 strips together with a piece of scotch tape, then manually roll the section of scotch tape. Repeat this step until you have as much magarn as you need.

If you are looking for some ideas of how to use this lovely stuff, I composed a post to inspire some ideas.