5 knitting projects to do with leftover yarn
This blog post will suggest five knitting projects that you can do with leftover and scrap yarn. This is my final blog post in the “Leftover yarn” series, make sure to check out my other two: 5 crochet projects to do with leftover yarn and 5 things to do with leftover yarn - that aren’t knitting or crochet projects!
As I have been travelling on the road this past year, my knitting and crocheting hasn’t stopped. But as I finish projects, those little balls of yarn build up. I don’t want to just throw them away, it’s important to me to try and be as zero waste as possible in my crafting and so I’ve been thinking about all the uses for leftover yarn. As I came up with ideas and found inspiration on Pinterest, I wanted to compile my findings and create a blog post series to share with others who also want to use up their stash as much as possible!
Here are just five of the knitting projects I found when looking for ways to use up leftover yarn:
Scrappy socks
Left to right: Free-style stripy sock, shorty socks with contrast cuff and toes, Advent Socks 2020 from Remembrance Pottery. All knit by me.
I believe socks are the perfect way to use up the tiny little balls of yarn you can end up with after finishing other projects. You can really have fun with it and create really colourful pieces for yours, or a loved one’s, feet!
For scrappy socks, I tend to stick with a basic sock pattern, like the I’m So Basic sock pattern from Summer Lee Knits, or other ‘vanilla’ sock patterns.
Colourwork socks can also be useful stash-buster projects for leftover yarn. In 2020 I participated in Remembrance Pottery’s annual Advent sock (the photo on the right in the image above), which was a really fun way to incorporate leftover sock wool into some fun socks!
You could do blocks of colour, narrow stripes, varying thickness stripes, literally whatever you feel like, just go with it!
2. Sweaters
There are some very cool jumpers (aka sweaters) out there that make use of scraps, As with the socks, this is a great way to make a stripy sweater by varying the colours of each stripe, utilizing as much leftover yarn as possible. Of course, colourwork sweaters may also be a good stashbusting option but may require a little more yarn compared to colourwork socks.
One sweater pattern that I find particularly striking is Laerke Bagger’s Alone Together sweater. Her technique is very free, basically knotting together all your scraps into one big ball, regardless of weight, which is then used to knit your sweater! You can find a step-by-step process via Laerke Bagger’s Instagram story highlights (note, you may need an Instagram account to view the stories). She is a very cool knitwear designer, well worth checking out!
3. Faded projects
Faded projects are something I have only just gotten into. I have seen them around on Ravelry and heard people talk about the fun of a faded project, but it was only in the last couple of months that I actually started one myself and realized that what people say is true - they are fun! Faded projects can allow you to really play around with colour, plus having to change your yarn fairly frequently keeps the pattern interesting.
I saw that Hedgehog Fibres are about to release a knitted blanket that has been created to use their mini skein sets, but also works as a perfect way to use leftover yarn. I’vebeen working on their Minis in a Blanket crochet pattern. It’s a free crochet pattern, available to download from their website, and if that’s anything to go by, the knitted one will be great! I’ve made it for my new nephew, and the pattern is written to make a baby blanket, but you could easily modify the pattern to make each panel longer, and create more panels to make a bigger blanket. It has been a great way to get through leftover sock yarn I have, and has also given a use for those special one-off skeins I’ve been buying on my travels, but haven’t been sure what to do with!
Another popular faded pattern, with over 11,000 projects on Raavelry, is Andrea Mowry’s Find Your Fade shawl. She has a few faded patterns including cardigans and sweaters which you can find on her Ravelry page..
Stock image from Canva
4. Scrunchies and other small accessories
It seems like scrunchies have made quite the comeback in the last few years. It took me a while to come round, I was still engrained in thinking they were bad (thank you Sex and the Cirty), but now I want them! There are absolutely loads of patterns out there for knitted scrunchies and other small hair accessories (think headbands, bows etc) but in my search, I came across a collection of patterns from Wool and Pine, titled “Cottage Accessories”, which would be a great starting place for using up you leftover yarn with small projects. They would all make great handmade gifts for people too!
Speaking of handmade gifts, here is my final suggestion:
5. Handmade gift projects
As you may tell, especially if you’ve read my other two blog posts, the amount of things you could do is endless. You can really let your creativity flow. This blog covers a few of the ideas that I like, or have tried, but here are some other small projects that would be great when you only have really small scraps left! Make them for yourself or others. They would be really great for marketplaces too if you sell finished products. All the suggestions below link to results from searches I performed on Pinterest.
Let me know if you found this post useful and what it has inspired you to make! Find me on social media, or leave a comment below
Before you go, don’t forget to check out my other blog posts on this topic: “5 Projects to do with leftover yarn, that aren’t knitting or crochet”. and “5 crochet projects to do with leftover yarn”