Use Your Stash Faster by Holding Two Strands Together

One of my favorite ways to use up stash fast is working on projects where more than one strand of yarn is held together while you knit. This is an easy way to make a heavier weight yarn using what you have, and it can make fun effects in your project when you use two (or more!) different colors at the same time.

>>> While you are here check out our post on funny Valentine’s Day cross-stitches. <<<

You can use two yarns held together on whatever project you want as long as you get the correct gauge, but if you’re looking for patterns that were designed to be worked with two strands held together, here are a few patterns to get you started.

If I haven’t been giving you enough patterns to use your leftover sock yarn, the Scraptastic Stash Busting Blanket is definitely the way to go. Designed by Samantha Johnston, it’s a bias knit garter stitch blanket, and you can use two strands of sock yarn held together, or try sport weight held double, or DK or worsted held single (I think maybe DK and sock together would work too). The gauge doesn’t have to be perfectly consistent and this blanket can be as big as you want to use all your leftovers. Grab the free pattern on Ravelry.

Another project you can make with lots of different weights of yarn is this headband from Skeinny Dipping, which is also free on Ravelry. The idea is to come out with a super bulky weight so you can use that alone or combine two or more of any other weight of yarn to make a similar thickness. And because it’s worked from a short side it doesn’t matter if you get gauge, it might just be a little wider or narrower than the one shown in the pattern.

Hold two strands of worsted weight yarn together to make these cozy fingerless gloves, a free pattern on Ravelry from Alisa Hartzel. This comes out to a bulky weight, which makes them super quick to knit and warm to wear. They come in one adult size.

Or try the stash busting Happy Hat from Soly Mossy, which also uses two strands of worsted weight yarn to make it cozy and scrappy. These look really cute even when you’re using a bunch of odd balls, but you can make it more harmonious if you like.

Another great thing about holding two strands at once is that it can make projects more durable, like these dorm boots from Kriskreafter. There are options for men and women, and they’re worked with two strands of worsted weight to make them a little more padded but they also should wear better this way, too. They’re knit flat and seamed and the designer says they can make one in a couple of hours.

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You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try.

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]

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