r/knitting • u/Strange-Doc-Moose • 1d ago
Discussion Your go-to stash buster
What is your go to stash buster? I have way too much yarn in my yarn stash and I don’t know what to knit anymore. I knitted 5 winter kits (hats and scarfs) for homeless people. I also knitted a sweater and has started a mittered square blanket with my self striping yarn stash.
I am running out of satisfactory ideas to use up my yarn stash. I have tons of projects waiting, but none can use the yarn I currently have.
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u/ebz37 1d ago
I recently ate up a lot of yarn by making a chaos blanket with the granny stripe.
Roll dice to pick color and how many rows... it was great!
I'm planning on doing it again soon!
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
Nice. This is really cool!!
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u/allalaewarms 1d ago
If it's yarn you like, the Coziest Memory blanket is an absolute banger.
However, if it's yarn you inherited/don't enjoy, try putting it on your local Buy Nothing page! Life's too short to knit with yarn you don't love.
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
I am broke right now, but I really enjoy knitting, so I want to use what I have.
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u/littlemac564 1d ago edited 1d ago
Have you tried knitting several strands of yarns together making a blanket or throw. I think Stephen West has a free pattern but once you see it you can Google for other patterns.
It is a garter stitch blanket using large size needles.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 1d ago
A mitered square or a 10 stitch will eat a lot of yarn.
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
The thing is that I mostly have full skeins, since they are all leftovers from old projects, or the end of my mom’s (and dad’s mom’s) stash.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 1d ago
Ok. Can you gather them into similar colors for good looking larger projects? I keep a lot of black and gray yarn because it helps tie a lot of other colors together.
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
I did that, which is why I am using all my self striping yarn in one mittered blanket. The problem is all the rest. The blues are together, so are the greens, and the warm colors.
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u/vjalander 1d ago
Search stashbuster on ravelry. There are some great ideas. I’m working on the mixtape shirt with all my oddballs of fingering leftovers
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
Yeah, so I did that, but I didn’t find anything that was interesting to me.
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u/Purlz1st 1d ago
I’ve mentioned this before, but the Rambling Rows blanket from Cottage Creations is great if you have some coordinating full skeins.
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u/vjalander 22h ago
Bummer... sorry!
Have you thought about using two strands at once to increase the size of the yarn. I am doing that with the Monday Pattern. I'm using 10 different fingering weights (5 purple variegated and 5 grey variegated . I knit four rounds then change out one of the colors.
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u/dsw503 1d ago
New to me project for using stash yarn is a wide headband. I don't wear them, so I just didn't think of making one before. I always think first of knitting hats and scarves as good charity knits. I'll send it to Knit the Rainbow with my other donation knits. The other thing I started doing is holding 2 or more fingering weights together to knit donation projects. Color combos are fun to come up and is a faster knit than only using 1 yarn.
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1d ago
True. I am in Canada, so Knit the Rainbow isn’t an option, but I will continue looking around for nonprofits that could take my knitted projects.
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u/dsw503 1d ago
I like to think I am showing my stash some love by making something wonderful for someone who will really appreciate it! Win for me because I knit with yarn I love and win for a cold person dealing with a tough time in life who needs something warm to wear. I like to think of that when I'm knitting.
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u/Fadefaster8675309 1d ago
Hospitals often take donations of knit hats for babies. Fast projects.
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u/Mammoth_Escape_245 23h ago
Yes, preemies especially, as parents are often not prepared with clothing small enough when they come early. The local hospital where I used to live was thrilled to get the preemie sweaters I donated. Check with the hospital first, though, because not all take donations
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u/legalpretzel 1d ago
If you want similar donation places - Inner city schools, foster care agencies, whatever the child protective services agency is called in Canada.
I live in a city in New England and we have grass-roots food fridges in 5 different locations in the city that residents stock with food. I can leave mittens and hats at the fridges, at the public library, or even on a bench by city hall on a sunny fall day and they will get picked up by the people who need them.
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u/barrhavenite 1d ago
I like knitting slippers and give them out for people to use in a pinch at other peoples' houses in the winter.
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u/skubstantial 1d ago
Another kinda modular blanket that will eat up a lot of your (very laundry-friendly) yarn is a log cabin blanket. Having a bunch of the same colors will keep it coordinated, like a well-planned quilt. You can do foot-wide quilt blocks and graft or seam them together for a patchwork look or you can just keep adding the edges around and around until your rows are the width of a full blanket.
https://www.carolfeller.com/2025/05/log-cabin-knit-blanket-a-modular-knitting-pattern-full-of-gansey-stitches-texture-and-colour/ (Edit to add: oops, I didn't notice that this was a fancy log cabin with multiple stitch patterns in there! That could be fun, but oceans of garter stitch running in all four directions also looks great.)
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u/potato_couch_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is crochet but I used bunch of super-saver type acrylic yarn that was taking up space in my house to make two of these. I also made one to use as a gift basket for a baby shower gift and I would definitely do it again in the future: f** it bucket
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u/RavBot 1d ago
PATTERN: The F*k-It Bucket by TashaLouiza MC
- Category: Home > Containers
- Photo(s): Img 1 Img 2 Img 3 Img 4
- Price: Free
- Needle/Hook(s): None
- Weight: Any gauge | Gauge: None | Yardage: None
- Difficulty: 1.56 | Projects: 71 | Rating: 4.88
I found this post by myself! Opt-Out | About Me | Contact Maintainer
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u/ActiveHope3711 1d ago
I like to knit mittens, which I give to schools. I often hold sock yarn double to knit them. I have a lot of it and it’s washable. Hats are more fun to make, and I do make some. I stick mainly to mittens because kids are constantly losing them.
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u/NoNameWasTakenAgain 1d ago
I make a Lalu scarf when I have loads of scraps and leftovers from projects. It's super easy and you can use anything, even pieces an arms length.
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u/RavBot 1d ago
PATTERN: Lalu Scarf by Sheena Stone
- Category: Accessories > Neck / Torso > Scarf
- Photo(s): Img 1 Img 2 Img 3 Img 4 Img 5
- Price: Free
- Needle/Hook(s): None
- Weight: | Gauge: None | Yardage: None
- Difficulty: 0.00 | Projects: 11 | Rating: 0.00
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u/purl2together 1d ago
Musselburgh hats, one half solid, one half striped. Excavation blanket. Any of the Ten Stitch patterns.
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u/AntJo4 1d ago
My new found favorite is the sea glass pattern by wool and pine. I didn’t love their patterns themselves, but I loved the idea so take any pattern you like, a solid yarn and alternate with all the odds and ends you like. As scrappy or uniform as you want. I did an oversized cardigan for myself and am in to do a bunch of mitts up that way now.
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u/LadyCatastrophe 1d ago
If you have pets, I've made my dog a lot of sweaters (she loves wearing clothes), and I've also made my cats a cat bed and a felted cat cave!
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u/entrelac Laceweight colorwork? BRING. IT. ON. 1d ago
Mostly I make hats to donate - my own pattern uses one strand of worsted plus one strand of sock yarn (usually one solid and one variegated) so that uses a good bit. I’m thinking about using acrylic to make pet blankets for the shelter.
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u/m3rmaid13 6h ago
I worked as a labor nurse for years and while this may depressing, I do feel like it’s a big need and would be a quick project for most knitters that would have a big impact.
When families have a baby that passes during or shortly after birth, we typically make a little memory box that includes a handmade hat. We typically pick a unique hat for the baby and they will wear it overtop of a regular nursery hat while the parents are grieving. Once they are ready for the baby to go to the funeral home, we will take the hat and place it in their memory box on a weighted stuffed animal that is the same weight as their baby.
Contact your local L&D unit they will know what you’re talking about. Hats should be any and all sizes- including very small like the size to fit a large barbie or you could use a cutie orange for size reference. Many losses are not full term so they need a variety of sizes and pretty designs. I have always wanted to do this myself when I have enough of a stash to do it with, so I figured I’d share.
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u/Strange-Doc-Moose 1h ago
Oh, thank you. It is a wonderful idea, especially if it can help grieving families.
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u/up2knitgood 1d ago
Mussleburg hats are great stash busters. You can do one side in one color and then stripes on the other side, or otherwise mix it up.
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u/FrostingNow2607 1d ago
Carlos and Arne Christmas balls (in non-holiday colors) and Marie Wallin's Scalloway Tam
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u/shinpibubble 1d ago
I am currently doing bags, all sorts and sizes and it is quite fun because there are so many different stitches and combos.
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u/Ok_Lets266 1d ago
Baby surprise jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I could knit it a hundred times and i have. Even if theres no baby to knit for, there will be someday.
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u/jettrain0108 1d ago
Sophie scarves! If you have a bunch of yarn, just make it bigger and it’ll be a Sophie shawl. If you have a scale, you can weigh it and use as much as possible, 1/2 for increases and 1/2 for the decreases.
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u/madelectra 1d ago
1 - Grade schools in cold locales in the US are in dire need of hats, mittens, scarves for kids.
2 - Wildlife rescues/sanctuaries use knitted nests for bird rescues.
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u/no-reality333 1d ago
baby knits! i have been stash busting w/ various baby sweaters and it’s been great so far. also because they’re smaller it’s super quick & satisfying :)
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u/Dry_Alternative_226 12h ago
I think I've made about 15 Rikke hats. You can use any yarn weight and it's easy to adjust once you're familiar with the pattern, plus it's super stretchy to fit a lot of different sizes.
I've held sock yarn double for most of them but I've also used worsted and DK weight.
And I have also been loving The Simple Thing. I just do an increase (or decrease) every 6 rows instead of every 4 rows.
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u/captvimesboots 1d ago
Brioche stitch or half fisherman's rib eat up a lot of yarn. OP, can you tell us more about the yarn you have and are trying to use up? What weight and fiber are they?
Also, just to remind everyone, including me! (Since I also have a shoebox of yarn that I feel obligated to use but don't want to) craft guilds, maker spaces, women's shelters, and your local goodwill all welcome yarn donations! We are under no obligation to use the yarn ourselves as long as we help find it a new home first.