Maybe you have seen the many scrap yarn sweaters on Facebook and Instagram lately? Perhaps you have even thought abaout making one yourself? Then this blog post is just for you! I will guide you through how to get started and finally, I will go through some suggestions for other cool and fun leftover projects that can help with reducing your yarn stash.
Get started with your very own scrap yarn sweater
It can be a good idea to decide which model you want to knit before you start making your leftover skeins just to have an idea of what needle size you are going to work with. You can easily combine different yarn weights, but if you have chosen a pattern that requires, let’s say, size 6 mm needle, then you can double the thin yarns when winding the yarn ball.
I have chosen a very simple design for my scrap yarn sweater to make the color changes can really stand out. It sure is a joy to see how the colors develop and it can be difficult to put the project down because you just have to see what the next color looks like.
Make your own yarn from scraps
Once you know which pattern you want to follow, you can start making your yarn.
The cool thing about making a scrap yarn sweater is that it is up to you in what order the colors should unfold, however, you can also let fate decide by just sticking your hand into the pile and fishing up a random color. I’ve chosen to be conscious about the color sequence in a way that made sense to me.
Another thing to consider is whether you just want to tie the remnants together, or whether you want a consistent color in between the remnants. I myself have chosen solution no. 2 and I went with white as a base color, as I had a few different single white skeins left over from previous projects. In addition, I have chosen to add a thread of white Diablo, which helps to hide the joints and bumps.
Now it's time to tie the scraps together and it is a lot more fun than you might expect. I happily spent a few evenings working on it without getting bored at all.
I chose to use the knot I described in a previous blog post called Magic - No Ends - Knot. It is efficient and it holds up in pretty much all yarn types. However, I have learned that it works best with acrylic and wool because they are not too smooth. You can find a guide for the knot here .
Are there any fibers you shouldn’t use?
That, I would say, is entirely up to you. I have used all sorts of different bits that I had lying around - or had received from my knitting friends - however, I have chosen not to use faux fur and cotton yarns. I have used my cotton leftovers for another project that I will show you later in this post ;)
If it seems daunting to wait until you have enough scraps, you can just use the single skeins you have left over from other projects. You can cut them into pieces of desired length and tie them together as you like. The possibilities are endless and you decide what the rules are.
Knitting time
Now, you are ready to get on with the knitting. And the good thing about having made the yarn yourself is that you can change it, if you want, along the way. For example, I discovered that using faux fur didn’t really work for me. So I just cut it out and tied the ends back together or inserted a new color if that was what I wanted. You can do the same if there is a color that does not work in your colour scheme or you think there might be too many color changes in a row.
Can you do the same with your cotton scraps?
You can use the same principle for cotton yarn - here, however, I used the ordinary magic knot, which is also described in the blog post that I mentioned above. Here I just chose to tie my scraps together as they accumulated.
I have seen several cool dishcloths and kitchen towels made from scraps, but it just so happened that I was in need of a new case for my crochet hooks, so I started by browsing our large pattern library to see if there was a pattern that was appropriate for the purpose. I ended up basing it on the pattern for Crochet Makeup Bag, which had the exact dimensions I needed. I chose to crochet my scrap yarn ball together with a strand of white Rainbow 8/4 so it matched the pattern gauge, creating what I think is a super cool effect. However, I quickly found out that the spike single crochet technique is not really suitable for the wild color changes, so I just chose to make it in the regular single crochet stitch instead and I have no regrets. The color changes really get to stand out like this.
Use your leftovers for exquisite details
A wise woman once said: If you buy single skeins, you are buying left over yarn, and there is a lot of truth to her words. But even if you can’t turn a single skein in to that many finished projects, you can still turn them exquisite details that add the finishing touch and make a project completely unique. Use it for a cool i-cord edge on a shawl, frame your sweater with black or white ribbing or how about a bold contrast stripe on the yoke or at the bottom of the sleeve? The possibilities are endless and the sky’s the limit.
If you need a smart detail on your basket or sofa cushion, then pom poms and leftovers are perfect for just this. I myself love making pompoms, especially after I discovered Pom Pom Makers. My favorites are from Clover and are available in both small and large sizes.
I hope this blog post has given you some inspiration for what you can use your leftovers for, and maybe even intrigued you enough to make your own leftover sweater. All you need to do is go for it - and remember! You make the rules ;)
Love
Eva from Hobbii
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