TL Yarn Crafts Omar Shawl / Lion Brand Mandala Baby – Pattern and Yarn Review

I have officially finished the Omar Wrap from TL Yarn Crafts using Lion Brand’s Mandala Baby in Acre Woods. Let’s talk about it!

First and foremost, project pics!

I actually finished this project over a month and a half ago (I know… it was a busy month and a half!) so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

Pattern Review

Toni (of TLYC) is a fantastic teacher! Her pattern was easy to understand and worked up like a charm. I adore that she has an accompanying video for the project, so very, very new-crochet-artist friendly! If you know SC and DC, you can do this pattern!

In my finished shawl I opted to only do one of the border rounds, as I personally liked that look with the yarn I was using. I will say, if you follow this pattern as written, it won’t come out looking exactly like mine. The yarn I used is actually a DK/light worsted weight (3) instead of standard worsted (4). (Hot tip: Make sure you read the yarn label _lol. I figured all of LB’s Mandala varieties were the same weight, but they aren’t! Rookie mistake)

I kept the hook size she suggests, so my shawl is a little more hole-y than if I used a heavier yarn.

Overall, a fantastic, free, beginner-friendly pattern with video tutorials to boot? And the resulting project is cute? 10/10 stars!

Yarn Review

This yarn comes in 3-weight acrylic cakes. It was very pleasant to crochet with! The shawl held up through an international trip and doesn’t look too worse for wear.

Pros	Cons
– Beautiful colors! – Affordable (< $6 for almost 600 yards) – Easy to work with – Accessible (I found mine at Walmart!)	– Synthetic material (more on this below) – Color transitions are not the smoothest (gives more self-striping than gradient)

I do want to add a note about my con of it being a synthetic material – synthetic materials are not the end of the world!!! At least not on the scale individual fiber artists are using them. The amount of textile waste and microplastics being generated by the fast fashion industry, compared to the entire fiber arts community, are laughably different. No one should ever feel bad for using acrylic or other synthetic materials in their crochet!

For me, personally, and not something I think other people have to buy into: I am trying to steer more toward natural fibers. Cotton, bamboo, wool. The processes to generate these materials are also not the most eco-friendly (cotton farming takes up a lot of water and wool may not always be harvested the most ethically at larger scales) – but this is a personal preference. So while you will continue to see me review acrylic yarns time-to-time, I am looking to steer more towards natural fibers. I also want to acknowledge it’s a privilege that I can choose to use natural fibers, since they typically are more expensive. When I post yarn reviews in the future, if the yarn isn’t innately affordable (not sure what that threshold is right now, but tentatively, less than ~$10 a skein) I will try to provide some options that could be decent replacements at a lower price point.

And you will likely continue to see acrylic reviews from me, just maybe not as frequently! Acrylic yarns are very accessible and I especially like using them for amigurumi. If I ever have a need to make baby blankets or other gifts I’ll probably reach for acrylic (or maybe cotton?) because it’s so easy to care for! I don’t want to come off as a you-need-to-use-natural-fibers-or-you’re-a-bad-person person right now. Just personal preference! 🙂

……..All that being said, clearly this is a fantastic yarn and I highly suggest it for any upcoming projects you’ve got. I think this would especially look cute in one of those 6-day star blankets! I’m actually going to start my very first star blanket very soon – so the pattern is a bit front-of-mind for me.

And that’s all from me today. A mini pattern review, mini yarn review, and mini natural fiber rant lol. A bit of everything today 🙂

Hope you’re having a fantastic spring, and see you soon with more yarn nonsense! ❤

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