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Great Books for Stash-Busting

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stash bustingI have offered you a lot of great ideas this month on how to use bits of stash, big and small. But if you need even more ideas, you might want to check out a book or two on stash busting or one skein projects to get you even more inspired.

It happens that Knit Picks was thinking small, too, because it just released the Under 100 Knit Collection (there’s a crochet version, too, but we get a lot more patterns), full of 30 patterns for knit accessories like hats, socks, scarves, boot cuffs, bags and shawls, all of which use 100 grams or fewer of yarn and many of which have stash busting in mind because they’re worked with stripes of colorwork patterns.

Stashbuster Knits by Melissa Leapman is another great one. I’ve even kind of forgiven her for beating me to it (I’ve had notes for a similar book in my pile of stuff that never gets done since before her book was published). It includes 21 patterns organized by yarn weight so you can find ideas based on what you have a lot of in your stash.

One skein pattern books are also great to look at if you have a lot of single skeins or want to combine some of your little balls in a project. I particularly like One-Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant (as well as Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders for those super-special balls) and One Skein by Leigh Radford. All are nice collections with a lot of variety that are sure to inspire you to work through some yarn.

Do you have a favorite one-skein or stash-busting book? I’d love to hear about it!

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Felted Bag Knitting Patterns

I feel like felting is a knitting genre that deserves a resurgence. My first knitting book (which came out in 2008, eek!) was all about felting, but I don’t feel like there are a lot of felting knitting projects out there these days. I really like the technique as an easy way to make a thicker, more durable knit fabric, and it’s actually perfect for knitting bags.

The ZZ Bag from yamagara recently caught my eye and got me thinking about felted bags, and maybe remaking one of the bags that was in that book. This one has a fun zigzag pattern and is worked in worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

A lot of the other knit and felted bag patterns I could find were older, but that doesn’t make them bad patterns. I’ve always loved the booga bag from Black Sheep Bags (the pattern is on their website but the photo is broken so you can also check it out on Ravelry). This is a fun one because you can use all your leftovers or a self-striping yarn (the original was made with Noro) to give it a colorful look that’s super easy to knit. 

An envelope purse is another easy shape to knit, and this version from Lavender Hill Knits on Etsy comes in different sizes for younger girls and teens or adults. The small version is worked with one strand of worsted weight yarn, while the larger uses two held together.

The Japanese knot bag is a classic, and a felted version is a lot of fun. You can find this pattern from Cindy Pilon on Ravelry and knit one for yourself using bulky yarn. I also love her bag The Curve, which is also on Ravelry and has a fun rounded shape and contrasting handles.

And there’s also the amazing stained glass bag from Knitting Dream, which also uses a Noro yarn, but you could use wool scraps on the different fans to give it a unique look. There are two size options to choose from and it’s not as tricky as it looks.