Stash? What to do with it?

[PBLKNP]

Does anyone have any wildly creative ideas about what to do with excess stash? I have the hugest conglomeration of yarn in bins under my bed. The problem is that it's all different types--Homespun, Red Heart, boucle, wool-ease quick & thick, baby yarn, etc.--so it's not like I can make an afghan out of all the leftovers. One thought was to give some of it to my sister for Christmas (she's interested in crocheting again), but somehow leftover yarn seems like a lame sort of present. Any thoughts?

[crochet smartcat]

You can make scrap scarves and hats by mixing all the different types into one object. You use the same stitch and hook throughout regardless of yarn weight and you will get some lacy looking stitches (baby yarn), some bulky stitches (homespun) but overall it'll look interesting and nice the more scraps that you are able to use in it. Then you can donate them to your local homeless shelter or foster kids warm clothes drive.

[Hounddog]

You and your sister could make hats and donate them to a homeless shelter or sell them to a thrift store. Some hats I have made I made in a couple of hours.

 

You can put pompoms on them too.

[francesca]

I recently purged my yarn stash to make way for all the yarn I needed to buy for holiday presents.

I actually sold it through Craigslist for $25. Considering it was an odd assortment of all kinds of yarn, many without labels, I'm pleased I got that much for it!

[terrybb]

You can send it to me!

 

Terrybb

[kariholtz]

You can send it to me!

 

Terrybb

 

Noooo send it to me!!!!!! hehe

[dudleyspinner]

Free form crochet is a wonderful way to use up your stash

http://dudleyspinner.blogspot.com/2005/10/somebody-stop-me.html

Deb

[donnalynn2]

Even little purses and scrunchies are great for leftover yarns... I made a purse for my niece with leftover Simply Soft Yarn and embellished it with some Fun Fur that I got for free (It was all knotted up in a ball when I got it) and it turned out great! Even cozi's and ornaments can be made with all kinds/colors of yarn!

[Jimmie Lu]

Check at the charity forum some of us are using ours to make scrap gahns for Mexico Afgans for Amegios!!

[mommagoincrazy3]

Well here is an example of what I did with my mixed scraps, some homespun, chenelle, fun fur, etc. The only limitation you can do with your stash is the ones you put on yourself.

[francesca]

I have to offer one word of caution against making major projects with a variety of yarn "leftovers."

 

And that word would be: wool.

 

If you're going to make a scrap yarn project, make sure you're not mixing wool in with your other types of yarn, or make sure your project is 100% wool. Otherwise, when you go to wash the final thing, the wool sections will shrink & felt while the remainder remains unchanged. This can especially be disastrous in a garment or hat.

[threeolivemartini]

wool will only felt if you wash it in hot and rinse it in cold.. you can wash it in cold and rinse in cold with very littel change..

 

and i would make an afghan.. i think those are the best and most unusual.. all different colours and textures

[francesca]

wool will only felt if you wash it in hot and rinse it in cold.. you can wash it in cold and rinse in cold with very littel change..

 

Generally speaking, that's how wool should react. Unfortunately, different brands of wool, different blends, and even different colors of the same brand of wool can act differently. I'd be very wary of using wool in a mixed project unless I had a lot of experience with that yarn & knew how it would handle being washed.

[Chrome Kitty]

I agree an afghan would be cool in all those different yarns. I've seen some really nice ones done in combinations I would never have thought would work. If you don't like it when it's done, you can always donate it.

 

If you decide not to use it or give it to your sister, Goodwill accepts yarn and someone will be happy to buy it.

[calico carol]

I still have all my yarn...but I organized it in a great way so I'd know what I had to a) work with

b) give away

 

Originally, I had it all stashed in color groups...but with so many different brands or types, that didn't help me when I went to pull out yarn for a new project. So...I inventoried it all, according to brand. Made up a list on the computer, my "Yarn Inventory List"...and categorized each brand...how many ounces of each color within that brand or type, etc.

For example:

 

"Simply Soft.......6 oz off white, 20 oz lite green........" etc

"Red Heart Super Saver.........21 oz Christmas Red, 8 oz white...." etc

and so on.....

This REALLY helps me now, planning a new project! I can see at a glance what I have within a specific brand, and whether I have enough for a specific project. No more digging thru heavy bins, looking for one skein. I know right where it is, and how much I have of that one yarn!

As for what to do with it all, once its organized? I'd donate it to a senior center, Goodwill, or make scrap afghans, etc for charities.........

[Jimmie Lu]

Is that freeform?? I like it. I think its crazy but cool!!

[PBLKNP]

Thanks for all the suggestions...I especially like the idea of donating items to homeless shelters. I've never tried freeform crochet, but I suppose I could...

 

PAM

[quirkyvirgo]

I still have all my yarn...but I organized it in a great way so I'd know what I had to a) work with

b) give away

 

Originally, I had it all stashed in color groups...but with so many different brands or types, that didn't help me when I went to pull out yarn for a new project. So...I inventoried it all, according to brand. Made up a list on the computer, my "Yarn Inventory List"...and categorized each brand...how many ounces of each color within that brand or type, etc.

For example:

 

"Simply Soft.......6 oz off white, 20 oz lite green........" etc

"Red Heart Super Saver.........21 oz Christmas Red, 8 oz white...." etc

and so on.....

This REALLY helps me now, planning a new project! I can see at a glance what I have within a specific brand, and whether I have enough for a specific project. No more digging thru heavy bins, looking for one skein. I know right where it is, and how much I have of that one yarn!

As for what to do with it all, once its organized? I'd donate it to a senior center, Goodwill, or make scrap afghans, etc for charities.........

 

That's a great idea. I have a big messy stash (which right now is slowing forming into Mount Yarn on the spare bed.) Thanks for the tip!

I second the suggestions of a big scrap ghan.

[nuts4fiber]

Dudleyspinner,

 

I've seen your blog before and I love your afghan! You have such a unique style.

 

If anyone's interested in Freeform, we have a great group on Yahoo:

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/FFCrochet/

You would be amazed at the wealth of information they share!

 

Their moderator, Myra, has a wonderful site: http://www.myrawood.com

 

And of course, there's Prudence Mapstone's site. She wrote a wonderful book on FF. http://www.knotjustknitting.com

 

And here's a great source of FF links:

http://www.freeformcrochet.com/fflinks.html

 

So, save your stash! Start freeforming! You may even want to add to your stash by winding off small balls from your skeins to trade with FF friends!

 

Kim (from So. CA)

[Suebee42]

I've been hoarding my oddball yarn for The Red Scarf Project. I made and donated a bunch of scarves last year (or rather, earlier this year), and have started up a new batch for the next one.

 

http://www.orphan.org/redscarf.htm

 

I found out about this project via this forum.

 

I recently got TWO big donations of yarn... one from a co-worker, and one from a friend-of-a-friend... so I am swimming in yarn right now! I've got so many things planned... scarves for the project above, snuggles for animal shelters, preemie hats... I just hope my hands can survive! LOL!

[craftconnie1]

I sort my stash into wool, wool content, acrylic, baby yarn and fancies, which includes novelty yarns and fuzzies. granny squares come to mind but there are so many projects and patterns that for me its hard to choose which "small" projects to use the bits in. I am simply not able to throw anything out. I make bath mats or duster mitts from the ends left over from sewing squares together. the yarn ends can be no longer than six inches and I tie these together leaving about a half inch after the knot. when I have enough tied together I make solid granny squares(there are only holes at the corners) The ends are not woven in but you do need to take care to put all of the ends to the same side so that your work is basically furry. Anything smaller than six inches is saved for "junk" stuffing which is usually pin cushions made from cloth though I have used it for pillows. nothing gets wasted in my life!!!!!!!

[Empress Busy Bee]

That's kind of a cool idea about not weaving ends in.

 

Another reason not to mix wool in with the other is some people are allergic to wool.

 

For afghans, you can make it several different ways besides grannys.

You can make a base color of white or black and and stripes every so often. I did that once on a baby blanket. I kept the stripes only about two rows thick.

You could make a shell afghan and make each row a color thereby having them stand out more. Again I did that with a baby afghan.

I made one giant granny for my grandmother, using every other row black and the odd rows were colors. Makes it stand out nicely.

Another trick would be to hold two or more strands together, using non matching types of yarn and switch off when you run out. You should get a nice painterly effect.

 

There are lots of little things out there to make as suggested, hats/scarfs/mittens. Annies has a book of scraps that has some cute things in it. Plus there are lots of things at CPC if you really look around.