I was thrilled to be chosen for part of this campaign to support small businesses while shopping conveniently online thanks to PayPal payments. I absolutely believe in support small businesses that are doing great work in ways that are ethical, sustainable and interesting. I would have been happy to support this idea regardless of who the merchants were that we could chose from for this project but I was truly excited when I discovered that Feel Good Yarn Company was on the list.
About Feel Good Yarn Company
Feel Good Yarn Company is a company that offers a very special type of yarn called SilverSpun. It is so named because the yarn is literally spun from silver! Silver and cotton together, that is. Founder and owner Laurie Gonyea worked in close collaboration with the North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles and Spun Yarn Lab Manager Tim Pleasants to find a way to create the exact right combination of fibers. After working on it for awhile, they found the right blend to create a yarn that has “the strength of cotton with the feel of cashmere”.
Why Silver?
Feel Good Yarn explains,
“The silver content in SilverSpun makes it therapeutic and conductive. Silver inhibits the growth of odor causing bacteria, has excellent thermal properties, is nontoxic and is perfect for those suffering from diabetes, arthritis and sensitive skin. Silver is also an excellent conductive agent allowing Smartphone or tablet touch screen use while wearing gloves knit from the yarn. SilverSpun is compatible with Apple iPhones and Android phones. The silver is permanently adhered to the yarn and will not wash out.”
They are careful to note that they aren’t doctors and can’t make any medical claims about the health benefits of silver but some people do believe that silver offers those benefits. And if it doesn’t? You still end up with a yarn that has perfect stretch and coziness with the beauty of silver threads shining through.
About SilverSpun Yarn
SilverSpun Yarn is the result of that vision and the work that came about to create it. It is made from 87% American-made combed cotton and 5% real silver, with nylon and spandex rounding out the fiber composition. It comes in both sock weight and sport weight. The sock weight is 400 yards. The sport weight comes in full skeins of 173 yards as well as mini-skeins of 50 yards. Each weight comes in multiple colors, nice rich hues that perfectly compliment the shine of the silver. What I love about the silver is that it’s not super-shiny, as we see with metallic threads in many acrylic yarns, but instead has the natural shine of that beautiful metal! Note that products crocheted from this yarn can be machine washed but will shrink quite a bit in the first wash; more information on that here.
Crocheting with SilverSpun Yarn
I have started crocheting with this yarn and am really loving it. The nylon and spandex give this fiber terrific stretch, something unique for a cotton yarn in my experience. I am working up a wine bottle gift bag cozy with it right now but also plan to make some crochet accessories; it seems great for accessories that use stretch like headbands / ear warmers. I am also planning to attempt a garment with the sock yarn; I’m curious about the drape of this yarn for crochet!
Knitting Kits and Patterns
People who both knit and crochet will be able to enjoy the knitting patterns (as well as the kits for easily competing those patterns) that are available through this company. Patterns are available for immediate PDF download upon purchase. Unfortunately Feel Good Yarn Company does not have any crochet patterns / kits available at this time. They do love crochet; some of their knitting designers (who they interview on their blog) are also crocheters and Feel Good Yarn Company shares crochet on their Pinterest.
Easy, Convenient Online Shopping
I found the ordering process for the yarn to be very straightforward and I was able to pay easily with my PayPal account. I always appreciate businesses that allow me to pay this way. My information is already set up in my account so I don’t have to enter annoying credit card information or double check the expiration dates on cards already stored in my computer, etc. I tend to keep a balance in my PayPal account but if for some reason I run out of money, it is linked to my checking account and automatically draws the amount for me to complete the transaction without any hassles. I’ve tried that feature before and it worked beautifully. At the end of each month, when I do my financials, I can easily print out my PayPal history, which clearly indicates to me what I ordered and what I paid for it.
There aren’t any fees to buy items using PayPal to checkout so I’ve got the convenience without any cost. I’d like to note that although I didn’t have to use it, there is always the option to use PayPal Credit when making large purchases. You apply for credit during your checkout and get an instant reply based on your PayPal transaction history. You can use PayPal Credit’s Easy Payments option to spread out the price of your purchase payments over time. The account is linked to your regular PayPal account so you’ll always see it as an option for payment. This is great to keep in mind when doing holiday shopping online!
It all went smoothly as usual when paying with PayPal for this Feel Good Yarn Company order. I signed up for the company’s newsletter, which offered me free shipping for my first order, and it was clear how to input that discount code into the system to take advantage of the coupon. Notably shipping is always free on yarn orders over $150. My package was shipped USPS priority (to a USA address) and was received within a few days. They guarantee product satisfaction and offer full price returns, minus shipping, if you don’t love the yarn but since I loved the yarn that isn’t something I can attest to trying! You should know that if for some reason you did want to return an order, PayPal is offering free return shipping (called Return Shipping On Us) on items up to $30 for up to 11 purchases throughout this holiday season.
Shop Small with Ease
Feel Good Yarn Company is one of many terrific small businesses that let you combine the wonderful features of supporting independent sellers with the convenience of easy online shopping thanks to integration with PayPal. Just because you are shopping online doesn’t mean that you have to shop only at big box stores and chains. If you believe in supporting small companies, owner-owned-and-operated shops and little businesses that share your social and ethical concerns, you can do that online!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.