Nature's Cotton Raffia Fibre Summer Sun Hat & Accessory Kit - Dark Gray, 280m/306yds

I bought this to make the hair for a scarecrow mask for Halloween. It is of a good quality. Holds up well to the cutting and such you do in crafting. It was thick enough and stiff enough to work well and I imagine it will last. The yellowish color was perfect for mimicking hay. But other colors were offered.

I've been crocheting baskets, but was disappointed in the floppy results. Even when using a lot of strands, I couldn't get them to hold their shape. Enter this raffia. It is working perfectly. I just replaced one of the strands with this raffia, and the results are beautiful. It's easy to work with, soft and flexible enough not to hurt my hands, but stiff enough to hold its shape. It is strong and not splitting at all, which is a nice change from most traditional yarns. It's a pleasure to crochet with, and I can't wait to find other uses for it.

This is a good product (and hard to find). Grma is helping daughter crochet a summer floppy hat. So not a fun 'yarn' for the novice. This is not a hemp or a natural soft fiber. Happy with the quality and price point. Durability is good.

I’ve been on the hunt for a good raffia for summer hats. I’m an advanced crocheter, but I’ve had a hard time with the flat raffia. I tried a TON. This one is twisted to more resemble regular yarn, and instead of worrying what the flat part is doing, i can just count my stitches and get moving. The stitches are nice and regular, if you prefer that kind of thing (and I do). I LOVE IT! Raffia is a little harder on the fingers than regular yarn, so I’m using a bandaid on one of my fingers for now, but have a silicon thimble on the way. The cord is about 2mm thick. It is really soft and flexible. So far I can tell this is going to be a hat i just throw in my suitcase and not worry about crushing. I’m still on the crown, but my guess is if i do my increases properly, the brim will not flop around. It’s soft but has some body. I’m a traditionalist, so chose the natural color, but there is a wide variety of colors for any taste. I rated five stars for durability because I had a few stops and starts where I had to rip out a bunch of stitches, but when worked again they had no weakness and you can’t tell where they were (hard to do with the flat/tape like raffia). I’m doing this one as a wild brim, but am already thinking ahead of the visor I’m going to make for when my hair is in a bun on top of my head. I stopped in the middle of my project to write this review because I had almost given up on raffia altogether. Then I found this. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Happy hatting! (The picture above shows my crown in progress. I’m using a 3.5mm hook, which seems to be a good size. Not too big for the material, but big enough to work up quickly.)

I’m beyond happy to have found this yarn. I love the look of raffia. This is not easy to work with but well Worth the effort. If you are an experienced crochet crafter, you will love it!!!

It's hard to work with when crocheting. And it makes your finger raw.

Great for pine needle basket weaving

I can’t believe there is anything natural, cotton, or raffia about this yarn. Feels like plastic baling twine. Very difficult to work with. The color was great though.