One of my perpetual New Year’s resolutions has to do with winnowing down my yarn stash, both through getting rid of things that I don’t love or can’t imagine actually using, and through actually knitting with the yarn that I have.
Stash-busting projects are great because they allow you to use a lot of yarn — often a lot of yarn you might only have one ball of, or a partial ball, or a mini skein — in a project that still ends up looking harmonious and planned.
I have two stash-busting blankets on the needles (they’re kind of perpetual projects, too), but these ultimate stash-busting projects collected by Love Knitting are pretty great, too.
That dog! The cowl! The hat and pillows that could be worked in even more/crazier stripes. This is a great list.
Have any favorite stash-busting projects? I’d love to hear about them!
[Photo: Penny Connor via Love Knitting.]
My favorite stash-buster is Martine Ellis’s Knitted Patchwork, made from mitered squares. Each square is joined to the others as you go – no seams.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-patchwork-recipe
All the cats in my extended family are now enjoying wool blankies made with this pattern.
I really like to save old pillows and use up those small amounts of yarn to make striped (or patterned pillows for throw pillows on the couch or just load up the bed with them. When I buy new bed pillows or just get tired of the ones in the living room, I just make new covers with the bits of yarn that have accumulated. Of course they look great with granny squares too, but those multi-colored stripes are hard to resist.