Using up the scraps

One pattern that pretty much any knitter can use is one designed to use up all those odds and ends left over from other projects. The nature of leftover yarn is that it isn't consistent in terms of yardage - you might have half a ball of one colour and only a few yards of others, and it can be tricky finding a pattern that works for that without looking like, well, like you're using up the leftovers!

Here are some I have found among this year's GAL designers that will give a purpose to that orphan yarn.

©Photo copyright Stitchnerd Designs

First up is this cowl - Yarn Optimiser by Stitchnerd Designs. The pattern is written for any yarn weight, any gauge, the only restriction being that you need sufficient total yardage to be able to work the cowl. Examples on the pattern page are shown in an assortment of colour combinations, from muted greens and greys, pretty blues, to the rainbow version shown here.

© Photo copyright Mitenae

If you prefer a scarf, how about this one, Cottesloe Days by Mitenae? Interestingly, this pattern gives you the option of a straight scarf, a cowl worked in the round, or with the addition of buttons to turn it into a convertible scarf which can be worn straight or looped. The pattern is for fingering weight, ideal for all those sock-yarn leftovers that seem to accumulate in the stash.

© Photo copyright Nicole Montgomery

Finally, for those really short oddments with only a few yards each, how about Strips of Bits by Nicole Montgomery? This is a fringed scarf with lots of customisation options. It can be easily made longer or shorter, wider or narrower, and the stitch pattern can be played with to really make the scarf your own. There are even two flat construction options. Again, project pages show examples worked in toning shades of pink and purple, and blue and grey, and others in wild combinations of all the colours of the rainbow. Looks like a scarf project you can really have fun with.