Use All Your Yarn Scraps on This Great Cardigan Knitting Pattern

I am perpetually trying to use up all my little leftover yarn bits. I also have a goal to knit a sweater every month this year (well, or crochet, as I’m working on my first-ever crocheted sweater this month). But I don’t feel like I have a sweater quantity of anything, so I have to figure out ways to use odd balls and leftovers to make it look like they are meant to go together.

Bohemian Scrapsody is a great example of how to use leftovers to make a cohesive looking project. Designed by Winter’s Weather Knits, this oversized cardigan fully embraces the mixed-up look by having you hold multiple strands of yarn together as you knit.

It comes out to a worsted weight kind of gauge, which you can get with a DK and a sport weight yarn held together, or mix and match as you need to use the stash you have. Of course you’re also changing colors whenever you need to, and the reverse stockinette side becomes the front, which mixes it up even more.

You can make the ribbed edges and cuffs all in one color if you want for a more cohesive look, or leave it all scrappy.

The project is designed to have 4-6 inches of positive ease and comes in nine sizes, up to a 63.5 inch chest circumference. It doesn’t include buttonholes but you could add some of you wanted to.

The pattern is suitable for advanced beginners with knowledge of working flat and in the round, short rows, Kitchener stitch, mattress stitch and picking up stitches. The pattern also uses an Italian bind off and includes a tutorial for that technique if you’ve never done it before.

This cardigan has a sweet boho look and will definitely help you to use up all those little odd balls! You can get the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Winter’s Weather Knits.]

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I know plaid or tartan patterns are really Scottish, not Irish, but there’s something about this time of year (almost St. Patrick’s Day as I write this) that gets me thinking about plaid knitting patterns.

Plaid is fun to knit any time of year, of course, and can be a fun way to combine colors you wouldn’t normally use, or wouldn’t normally put together. Let’s check out some fun plaid knitting patterns!

This plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore on Etsy is a great one for dipping your toes into plaid as a technique or a design feature in your home. It makes plaid as easy as it can get but having you knit stripes horizontally but the vertical stripes are added with duplicate stitch.

I still miss a plaid sweater I had when I was in high school, but the Lumber Sweater pattern from The Knit is On // Mette Christensen is probably the closest I’ve seen to being able to re-create it without writing my own pattern. This design uses two strands of lace weight held together to make a sport weight yarn, which makes mixing the colors that much easier. It comes in six sizes and is available on Ravelry.

I love plaid for accessories like scarves and cowls, and I found a couple of great plaid cowl knitting patterns for you. The first is the Handy Ma’am Cowl from Catherine Clark, which is worked flat and seamed. It uses five colors of light fingering weight yarn and is fully lined in a solid color to make it super cozy to wear. Get the pattern on Ravelry.

Then there’s the Thegither Cowl from Amy Palko, which uses stripes and stranded colorwork to make the plaid design in three colors of fingering weight yarn. The pattern is worked in sections; for a longer cowl work three sections instead of two. There’s also a scarf version where the colors stay consistent if you want a mellower project. Check it out on Ravelry.

The Buffalo Plaid Baby Blanket from Little Barn Owl Store is a classic two color plaid that’s easy to knit and looks adorable. This one is worked in classic red and white but you can change it up to suit the baby’s room.

Speaking of blankets, I love this vintage plaid throw pattern from Chickie by the Sea. The original pattern actually called for Red Heart knitting worsted, which looks similar to Super Saver, but you can use any worsted weight yarn you like to complete this retro look.

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