Waste Not Want Not

Little scraps of yarn sure are great, huh? Those small bits left over from old projects, too small to really make anything else out of, but still too long to justify throwing them out? Like any other person interested in the yarn arts, I happen to own more of these than full skeins of yarn. They always make me feel guilty buying more and more yarn, when there are these perfectly good remainders just waiting for their time in the sun. They missed out on being a part of the original project; Don’t they deserve a second chance?

Every last 1/8 of a skein, couple of leftover yards… Drives me crazy. How I crave to put them to use and end the guilt. But there’s never enough for anyone one project! There is always the option of making a crazily striped hat or scarf with an assemblage of those lonely leftovers… But I’m really not a fan of how the end product looks.

Finding the pattern Perdita on Knitty was my saving grace for dealing with atleast one mostly used skein. I don’t generally wear very much jewelry, but it looked like the perfect little memento to cheer up a friend. The particularly nice thing about finishing up scraps of yarn is that the projects generally don’t take very long, so I was finished by the afternoon.

I chose to execute the Lily of the Valley variation, but I couldn’t find any adequate beads that would fit onto the strand of yarn so I decided to cut them out altogether. While it did take down the complexity and interest a bit, I think it knit up in a very pleasing pattern. Oh, and do me a favor and don’t look too closely at the buttons – Try as I might, I just couldn’t scrap together any two that matched, so I setted on the closest pair I could find.

It was made with Caron’s Simply Soft Tweed in violet, and I’m guessing that with if I had started with a full skein, I could have probably made four or five cuffs out of it. For the more accurate color, refer to the second picture which was taken in better light. I usually don’t like using Caron, but I guess this is a new type (Based on the “New!” markings next to it on the website.) Very affordable at $3.00 per skein, 100% acrylic… I’m so relieved I was able to make use of every last yard!