A Scrappy Shawl Knitting Pattern to Use All Your Odd Balls

Since I’ve been writing a lot about using your yarn stash and leftovers from other projects a lot lately (see projects with two strands held together, patterns for leftovers, projects using minis, to name a few) the algorithms that be keep showing me more of that kind of content. And I can’t imagine I’m the only one with excess yarn on their hands (don’t call it too much), so I keep wanting to share them, too.

So it is with the Scrappy Knit Shawl from Morale Fiber. This one turned up after I was looking for stash-busting shawls for a forthcoming post, but I felt like it was worth mentioning because it’s such an easy and effective technique.

This is a triangular garter stitch shawl, easy as can be, meant to use up leftovers small and large. Start with your smallest balls while the rows are tiny, and use bigger balls as the shawl gets bigger. You can even incorporate the yarn ends into the fringe on the sides, and/or add it separately.

The fun thing about a project like this is you can make it with whatever weight of yarn you happen to have the most of, or you can hold two strands of a lighter-weight yarn together to make it closer to the weight of your other yarns. Gauge isn’t important and it won’t matter if a couple of rows look a little fatter or thinner than the others (and it’s actually a cool effect when this happens).

You can also make it whatever size you like. I love this big version, which measures 95 inches (241 cm) across and 20 inches (50.8 cm) long, but you could make a little shawl, a kerchief, or a blanket-sized shawl, whatever strikes you and depending on how much yarn you have. And the scrappier it looks the better!

Grab the free pattern from Morale Fiber.

[Photo: Morale Fiber]

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You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try.

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]

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