How to Use Scraps of Yarn

We all have them - little bits of yarn cut after tying knots when knitting or crocheting, the remnants of skeins from our last five or six projects, the scraps we couldn't save when untangling that ball of yarn our cat (or kid) got a hold of. I know I have them...lots of them. I will even save bits of yarn that are only a few inches long. I just can't stand to be wasteful or to see good yarn end up in the trash.

This is also a great way to increase your profit margin if you knit or crochet as a business. Since I have already purchased the yarn for a designated project, I consider any left over small bits of yarn as "free" materials, since I already figured the price of the yarn into the cost of the materials for the original project. Therefore, any knit or crochet piece that I make from these "free" remnants of yarn really only costs me the labor that I put into creating the project. Rather than waste materials that you have paid for, use your left over scraps of yarn to create an additional knit or crochet piece that can be sold.

Depending on how much you knit or crochet, you may have yards of unused yarn each week, or only a few scraps here and there. But, either way, there are plenty of ways to use left over bits of yarn in fun, functional and creative ways.

How to Use Scraps of Yarn: Skein Remnants and Longer Pieces

Skein remnants and longer pieces of leftover yarn can be tied together and made into a center pull ball to knit or crochet into complete projects. Simply tie pieces together using a square knot in the same method you would use to add an additional skein of yarn to knitting or crochet project. Leave tails that are long enough to weave into your new project and make a center pull ball using a commercial ball maker or by wrapping the yarn around an empty paper towel tube.

You can either use complementary colors to create an aesthetically pleasing harmony of color, or make a funky, eclectic knit or crochet piece using scraps of yarn in a wide array of colors and textures. At first, I didn't think that people would be interested in knit hats or other items that were made from scraps of various, non-matching yarns, but I was pleasantly surprised that these funky, multicolored pieces sold well.

If you don't want to wait until you have saved enough scrap yarn to create larger projects, such as a throw or a sweater, smaller project ideas include cat toys, wrist cuffs, hats for babies or toddlers, washcloths and dishcloths.

How to Use Scraps of Yarn: Short Scraps of Yarn

Short scraps of yarn can also be saved and tied together to create a ball of yarn large enough for a full project, but there are also many other ways to use smaller bits of leftover yarn. To keep your scraps organized and your work area clean, designate a container for your small scraps of yarn to be used at a later time when you have collected enough pieces to create your desired project.

Short pieces of yarn can be tied onto craft scissors and other tools to create hanging loops to help keep your work area organized or used for attaching small embellishments, such as buttons, to your knit, crochet or sewing projects. They can also be used to add color and variety to buttons by simply threading them through the button holes and tying them in a bow or knot, then attaching the button to your project or fashioning the button into a pendant, lapel pin or other fun jewelry.

Smaller pieces of scrap yarn also lend themselves well to creating latch hook rugs, and can be used as filling for pillows, cat toys and other projects in need of stuffing. Keep in mind that yarn works best as a filling for items sewn out of solid material. If you wish to use scraps of yarn as a stuffing for a knit or crochet item, you should consider sewing a lining pouch to keep them from coming out of your project. Scrap material cut into strips can also be combined with the scraps of yarn to create more stuffing for craft projects.

Scraps of yarn are also handy to have around for children's craft projects and can be glued to picture frames, used as hair on homemade dolls or tied together to create practice yarn for learning how to knit or crochet.