If you knit or crochet, you may find that you always have bits and scraps of yarn leftover from larger projects. It is the curse of the crafter. While there are ton of projects out there that make use of scraps, such as granny squares or hexipuffs, these projects usually mean storing small pieces of a large unfinished project for a long time.
I like to make quick, stand-alone projects by combining scraps, like this hat. I didn’t have enough of the teal and pink yarn to make a full project, so I paired a solid navy with it and managed to knock out two scrap yarns from my stash!
Also, take these three yarns. First, I made the black and rainbow yarn in the center by pairing natural black alpaca with an alpaca gradient I dyed. I got through the rainbow once and had leftover singles yarn. Next, I paired the leftover black with some leftover white singles I had from a different project and then the leftover rainbow with the same white singles. In essence, I created three separate, coordinating yarn by making a project and then mixing and matching leftover bits of yarn singles. I knitted those together into a shawl and ended up with the “Dark Side of the Moon” shawl.
This concept applies, not only to making yarn, but just coordinating the scraps that you have. Do you have a scrap bin or a mini-skein bin? Dig through it and look for color combinations. Often a fiber artist defaults to certain colors more often than others. This is your chance to break free! You might have several shades of blue and purple that might work well together. Maybe you have a variety of bright tones. Maybe you have a range of naturals. Set yarns side by side and see what you like together. You may surprise yourself with what you come up with.
Granny squares, hexipuffs and pin loom squares, are a terrific use of scraps! Sometimes combining those yarns into a complete project can be really rewarding as well, whether you are blending your colors into a neutral, spinning different fiber scraps end to end, or combining mini skeins in a new and interesting way.
What is your favorite scrap project you’ve completed?