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.

As the temperatures start getting cooler as they are doing now where I live, all I want to do is knit blankets or be under knit blankets or be under a blanket while knitting it.

If you’re new to knitting or just looking for an easy and cozy knit blanket project, check out the Knit Squares Blanket from Mama in a Stitch.

The blanket is worked in bulky yarn all in one piece on a long circular knitting needle (though it is knit flat) and using alternating blocks of stockinette, reverse stockinette and seed stitch with a garter stitch border.

Though the original pattern has you working all in one piece across the blanket, and in a single color, this design got me thinking about lots of different ways you could work it.

Of course you could still work it in one piece and either add horizontal stripes of color. Just change colors at the end of a section of pattern blocks (and work a knit row all the way across on the first row of the new color to keep the color changes crisp) and you’ll have a different look. Or use two colors and change colors in the middle.

You could also make vertical stripes of color using intarisa. In that case I’d probably knit the border in a single color and then start the stripes after.

If intarsia isn’t your thing, you could also work the project in individual panels of 16 or 32 stitches and then sew them together by hand. In that case you’d want to work the border after the project is knit and seamed. And then you can easily make it bigger, too, by working more columns and making them longer.

And while you’re changing colors with abandon, if you’re working in panels you could also change colors every block to give it a patchwork look and use up all your leftover yarn. (If you don’t have lots of chunky leftovers try holding two strands of worsted weight together.)

Whatever way you knit it, this blanket looks to be a cozy addition to your home for fall and winter. Grab the free pattern from Mama in a Stitch.

[Photo: Mama in a Stitch]

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