Get a Jump on Stash Busting with the Cecilia Collection

I like stash busting all the time, but I especially seem to think about stash busting at the beginning of a new year. Using what you have is a great new year’s resolution, and a great habit to keep throughout the year.

If you’re ready to be inspired to use every little bit of leftover yarn you’ve got in your house, allow me to introduce you to Audrey Borrego and her Cecilia collection.

These five patterns — for a cowl, scarf, mitts, hat and socks — are all free on Ravelry and all use fingering weight yarn, so they’re perfect for using up the leftovers from your knit socks and shawls. (You could also do the scarf and cowl with heavier yarn if that’s where your leftovers are.)

I first saw the Cecilia Cowl (pattern on Ravelry here) and fell in love with how colorful and fun it is. Each section of the pattern is worked in different colors so you can use all your little bits (or odd balls you don’t want to make into socks) on one project. Or you can use two colors throughout. It’s also fun that it has a twist built in, though I think that could be optional.

You can also make the pattern twice the length by repeating all the patterns. Colorwork is charted and only uses two colors per round.

But then I realized there was a whole set of patterns and that got me even more excited. Because maybe you don’t need another cowl (raises hand) but you can talk yourself into another scarf (pattern here). This one is a tube scarf worked in the round, and again you can use two or many colors.

Or if you don’t have as many odd balls to go through as I do, or you just want a smaller project, you can try the hat, mitts or socks. The hat is shown using four colors, while the mitts use three and the socks just two, though of course you can add more if you like.

You can mix and match the designs among the projects so you make a set that’s more matchy if you want, or go wild with a bunch of different patterns and colors.

You can find all the patterns on Ravelry linked above.

[Photos: Audrey Borrego]

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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