Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Little Knitting Projects to Slim Your Yarn Stash

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After talking about ways to organize your yarn the other day, it got me thinking about how to use some of that yarn. Nothing motivates me to start new projects like cleaning up my stash, LOL. 

In that spirit here are some small projects that use those odd balls or single skeins, a little color or a lot, to get you motivated to start using what you have in your yarn stash (hopefully not to make space for more yarn!). 

The Tidbits Mitts by Amy Gunderson use fingering weight yarn, so you can use all the leftovers from the socks you made last yearn to stitch them. The pattern is inspired by the flying geese quilt pattern, and you can use a couple or a lot of colors to knit it. Once that bit is knit, you work an edging along the side, knit the hand side back and forth in rows that are joined to the geese section as you go, with ribbing added last. The pattern is available on Ravelry.

Speaking of leftover sock yarn, you can of course use your sock leftovers to make more socks, like the A Beautiful Mess socks from Strangecat Design (Ravelry). These socks offer lots of options for stripes, color blocking and two cuffs to make them extra long. You can adjust the size, length, heel type (it calls for an afterthought heel), rate of color changes and more to suit your stash. 

Or go for shortie socks that use the smallest bits of yarn leftovers with the Celebrating Leftovers socks by Catherine Djimramadji on Ravelry. The triple-rolled cuff goes straight into the heel flap, and the foot is stitched with helical stripes to use the leftover bits. 

If you want to use little bitty bits of yarn and add some whimsy to your day, check out Midori House’s Scrap Yarn Hedgehog. This pattern is on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and any gauge to make a big or small hedgie. The one shown uses worsted weight yarn. 

Looking for a bigger project that still brings lots of color? The Empire Shawl by Megan Granger calls for 5 colors and uses 200-250 yards of each, so it’s a better choice for full skeins you aren’t sure what to do with, though you could certainly change colors more often if you wanted/needed to. It calls for DK weight yarn but you could use sport or worsted as well to make a shawl of a different size. Check this one out on Ravelry. 

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Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.