Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Use Your Leftover Yarn and Old Projects in New Ways

by

What to do with yarn scraps and leftoversWhenever you finish a knitting project, there’s almost always a little bit (or a lot) of yarn left over. Sometimes it can be hard to know what to do with those partial balls of yarn, but there are all sorts of fun things you can try.

When you have a whole lot of odd balls in similar weights, you can do something like my Garter Stitch strip afghan that I’ve been working on for more than a year now. It’s the project I come back to when I don’t have anything else pressing, and it’s going to be huge and fabulous when it’s done. As it is, it’s already keeping me warm while I knit it, which is lovely.

 

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Last year I did a whole series on using your yarn stash, which has links to lots of great patterns for using little bits of yarn. Though it doesn’t have pictures, this collection of patterns for using leftover sock yarn from Knitting for Charity is a good one.

If you also happen to crochet or like to decorate with yarn, check out Donna’s Dozen Ways to Use Up Scrap Yarn. This collection of patterns from Red Heart has some cute stuff on it, including this really cute cell phone resting station.

And if you problem runs more toward shrunken sweaters and worn out hats, BuzzFeed has a nice collection of projects you can make with old sweaters. Some are felted, some are not, and you can certainly use thrift store or commercially purchased sweaters as well. But I know I always want to give new life to projects that are outgrown or long longer useful as what they were originally made for, and this list is a great place to start.

Do you have any tips or projects you love to make when using up bits of extra yarn? I’d love to hear about it!

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. i use my scraps, no matter how big, to make scarves for the homeless shelters. some of them look….a bit wild. i doubt those that get them mind if it helps, even in a small way, to keep them warm.

  3. We collect leftover half balls of yarn from other knitters in the health department and use them to make hats, scarves and mittens to give to the children who come to our clinics. There is a fairly large emigrant population here from west and southwest Africa, and they are not prepared for Midwest winters. A lot of our projects, naturally, are striped.

    A local knitting guild does the same — they are the Nighttime Knitters and we are the Noontime Knitters (we take over the conference room every Tuesday at lunchtime).

Have you read?

Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.