Because knitting is my go-to relaxation hobby, I love having an easy project on my needles, something that I can pick up and work on while watching a movie or listening to a podcast. The knitting needs to be nearly automatic in nature, so I can split my attention between it and something else. But even my favorite patterns can get boring.
Normally, I knit socks I’ve made so many pairs over the years, I could probably knit them in my sleep. So making yet another pair of socks seems like the obvious, easy thing to do. But at the moment, the only sock yarn in the house is leftover from other pairs of socks, meaning I don’t have enough of any one type of yarn to make a whole pair.
Of course, you don’t have to use just one yarn. I’ve made socks by mixing together leftover sock yarns before. But I couldn’t seem to get started. I was intrigued by the idea of making some with all the sock yarn odds and ends I have lying around, but I couldn’t bring myself to make socks.
My solution? I pulled out my most heavily used knitting book: Not just Socks by Sandi Rosner. It includes 21 patterns designed for self-patterning sock yarns, only four of which are actually sock patterns. I figured there had to be something in there that would allow me to use a mix of sock-weight yarns, and I was right.
Her Modular Scarf, which is made up of knitted squares, is the perfect project for using lots of different yarns, one for each square. It was almost like knitting a quilt. The only downside was all the tails that would need to be woven in, but since it’s more relatively mindless handwork, I didn’t mind.
This proved to be the perfect brainless knitting project for me. It only took a few rows to memorize the pattern, and figuring out which yarn to use next kept it interesting. Best of all, I’m pleased with the way the final scarf turned out.
In fact, there’s only one problem. Now that I’ve finished the scarf, I need a new easy project! Maybe I’ll make some gloves…
*pulls out Not just Socks and starts flipping pages*
What do you do with your leftover sock yarn?
So. Many. Sock. Yarn. Remnants!!!!!
My young adults love the random socks I make with scraps. They are all varied and wierd with stripes and marls, and color blocks and they just wear them without even bothering to try to match them–since you can’t.
Also, I found if you have any tiny people in your life, you can easily make a cute little Flax Light (Flax Lite?) sweater (Tin Can Knits) with scraps. Same as with socks, you can do interesting color blocks or stripes or marls.
I haven’t had the courage to be truly random using up my yarn making socks. I should try it. I’m imagining I would like the results.
Thanks for the ideas and info!
Congratulations on winning Luise Heinzl’s bird. Jan 2023.
Thanks! I’m really crazy excited… and will be blogging about it soon.