Knitting

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Use Your Leftover Yarn and Old Projects in New Ways

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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 But I know I always want to give new life to projects that are outgrown or long longer useful as what they were originally made for, and this list is a great place to start.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!

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?

Knit a Sweet Blanket with a Pocket for Treasures

When my daughter was in early elementary school we were at Joann together (RIP) and she picked out some variegated pink and white blanket yarn for me to knit a blanket for her bed. Now probably 10 years later, it’s one of her favorite possessions. I note this because the blankets we give to little ones might seem simple on the surface, like something they need to keep warm, but they can turn into so much more. 

Take the Pocketful of Love Blanket from Purl Soho. On the surface this is a pretty but also easy to knit blanket for a little one. It’s worked in garter stitch stripes using sport weight yarn (the sample is a superwash wool, but this would also be nice in cotton or a blend) and available in a crib or small throw size. Though of course because it’s garter stitch, it’s pretty easy to make it any size you want. 

But what makes this blanket extra special is the little details. The slip stitch selvedges and I-cord bind off give it a crisp look that’s perfect with the garter stitch of the body. 

And then there’s the pocket. 

This is a big pocket. At 10 inches wide and 12.25 inches tall (that’s 25.4 by 31 cm) for the crib size and 12.75 by 14.25 inches (32.4 by 36 cm) for the throw, you can easily fit a favorite stuffed animal, toy or book into the pocket. 

I love how even though it uses the same striped garter stitch pattern as the blanket, it’s stitched down so the stripes run the opposite way (horizontal when the blanket stripes are vertical), though of course you can match stripes if you’d rather.

I think this blanket has the potential to be greatly loved by the little one its given to, and by the knitter look for an easy, pretty baby blanket with a little extra useful twist. 

Grab the free pattern from Purl Soho. 

[Photo: Purl Soho]