Last year I wrote a post all about using advent calendar minis, and this is a little bit more of the same, but it’s more of a focus on ways to use lot of different bits of stash that aren’t necessarily minis. Projects that are made to be worked with lots of different colors are a great way to use up leftovers, and these patterns are a great way to stay warm and colorful when it’s cold out.
I love Scarfy Thing from Hedgehog Fibres. It’s not really a pattern, it’s more of an approach to a scrappy garter stitch scarf. The original used two full skeins of sock yarn and a bunch of scraps, but you can make it even more scrappy as you like.
The Scrappy Bias Scarf is a similar idea but in a shawl shape instead of a scarf. It also uses sock yarn, though you can use any weight you like and make the shawl whatever size you want. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry designed by Emily Clawson.
The Catch ‘Em All Snood by Tina Tse was meant to be made with mini skeins, but you can uses as many or as few colors as you like to make your own cowl of many colors. It uses sock yarn, simple stitches and I-cords at both ends to allow you to gather it into a hood or wear looser as you like. You can easily customize both the length and the width of this design, which is available on Ravelry.
The Kruger Shawl from Bigger Than Life Knits was also made with minis but I love the idea of using a solid background color and just whatever yarn you have for the stripes. You only need about 15 grams of each color for the stripes, which have a cool ruched effect. If you have larger amounts of your leftovers you can mirror the stripes on each side of the shawl. Get the pattern on Etsy.
The Hibernal Cowl from Janelle Martin is a perfect one for using odd balls because you can change colors whenever you need to. This one was worked with sock yarn but you can use other weights if you’d like. It comes in two sizes and you can get a copy from Etsy.
If you have some special yarn, such as homespun or just a special skein that you want to highlight in a project, try Vaunt by Sarah Thornton. This shawl has a modified heart shape that you can make whatever size you like to use lots of scraps or exactly how much of a special yarn you have (you can also use any yarn weight you like). I love the rainbow stripes on this one but it would also be pretty all in shades of a single color. The pattern is free on Knitty.
Bust Your Stash and Keep Warm at the Same Time
Use Your Stash on a Sweater That’s All Stripes
Knitting Patterns to Use Your Bulky Yarn Stash
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