Hello friends! I am embarking on an endeavour that will help to clear my yarn stash. Read on!

I have realised that a large proportion of my documented yarn stash on Ravelry is partial skeins. The leftovers may be big or small but they are all now orphans as the original project they were for has been completed. As one of my goals this year (most of which I’ve failed miserably at fulfilling!) was to have a simplified, decluttered home I thought it was about time to get these yarns out of my stash.

Now this makes things tricky. Especially the smaller quantities. I don’t like to waste yarn. Often the amounts I have are not quite a newborn baby hat, but they are far more than throwaway quantities. I have a Memory Blanket going for both fingering and worsted weight, and I’ve started knitting hexipuffs for a Bee Keepers quilt, but what to do with the rest? Thank goodness for the Ravelry pattern search function!

I’ve decided the way I will go about using up scraps and getting them out of my stash is to have a ‘scrap down’. I will systematically go through my stash alphabetically, and find something to make from my scraps. 🙂 And I’ve already ridded myself of two entries from my Ravelry yarn stash! I am using the tag ‘anneofjuliescrapdown’ on my projects on Ravelry and also on Instagram if you want to keep up with my progress!

The first project in my scrap down is this Be Loving beanie (free pattern), using some 8 ply/DK wool.

As I didn’t have enough yarn to make a whole hat, I striped two coordinating colours and I love the result! My project page here.

As I didn’t quite use up all that was left, I crocheted up some little cuties called Dream Drops (free pattern)! How cute are these?!! Squee!!!

After that, my yarn was all gone! And I got to move two stash entries to “All used up”! 😀 My project page here.

My next project is some mis-matched socks using up some acrylic fingering weight leftovers. I don’t have enough of either yarn to make an entire pair of socks, but should have enough to knit two socks total so I thought I’d swap out the ribbing, heel and toe to be the other colour and have some same but different socks. I’ve had this idea cooking for ages and now that I’m focused on scrap-downing (totally a word) I’ve cast them on! I only started today so here’s my progress:

I love how the flecks of grey in the variegated yarn match the grey of the cuff. I’m gonna love these! I’m going to be doing my first afterthought heels on these socks. I found a pattern on Ravelry by Laura Linneman of the KnitGirlls podcast. I don’t actually watch the podcast but this was a free pattern and I’m only really using it to guide me on the afterthought heel, the rest of the sock will by my usual vanilla style. I shall keep you posted with how I go! My project page here.

I’m thinking that a lot of these scrap projects can go in a box and I can use them as gifts throughout the year. My tastes and colour preferences have changed since I purchased a lot of this yarn so I thought it would be a good option to have a gift box of hand knitted/crocheted items to give away. 🙂

So, what do we think? Do you need to have a scrap down?