Too often, I have leftover small balls of yarn that I want to use without buying more of the same yarn if it doesn’t have a dye lot. Instead, I have been making an effort to create unique looks with stripes or gradient colors that coordinate and aren’t too garish. Taking marled or color striping yarn and combining it with a solid – oatmeal/aran, gray, or other neutral is one way of doing things, but taking similar yarns with subtle shade variations can create an appealing set and also use up yarn.
The lack of stores that carry washable, budget-friendly yarns you can try in person has made me more creative about trying new ones. Several months ago, I got a few different yarns at a yarn swap during World Wide Knit in Public Day. I was happy to score a ball of yarn that I wanted to try, but didn’t want to pay $10 shipping for yarn that I might or might not like. Now that I’ve tried it, I found that an online shop that I purchase from frequently, which has free shipping with a threshold that I would meet from other purchases carries the yarn.
There are still containers of larger remainders – half skeins and balls as well as a basket with assorted colors of tiny balls – in my stash that I can’t bring myself to toss. Though I haven’t been on a yarn buying hiatus, I have become more intentional about what I want to buy, try and give away. There is a lot of yarn that I don’t want to go to waste which I am making into eye-catching one of a kind sets!
Drumroll, please… I have completed 72 sets this year. That’s right six dozen and my goal is 85 for 2026! I might need to change the goal or start on some other projects. Stay tuned…
Happy crocheting!
It’s Halloween and that means that there are 55 days until Christmas! Time to get moving on those holiday gifts!
If you haven’t planned what you are making for a winter holiday, then do it, because it may take a while to get the yarn you need. ALSO – pro-tip – don’t buy just enough of what you need, if you can, purchase an extra skein of yarn. Depending on your gauge and tension, you might use more than the pattern calls for or the yardage may vary from the amount in the skein or hank. Yarn chicken around the holidays is not fun!
Using yarn that I was familiar with was a good plan. Different colors don’t really change the functionality of the yarn but different weights do, so all of the yarn I took with me was yarn I was familiar with, so I could just dig in my bag and work on a project. As I was leaving home, at the last moment, I threw a couple extra skeins of yarn in my bag and they came in handy so I had enough for the entire trip.
The plan was very good using untried yarns can be frustrating Since my return, I haven’t completed as many projects. I have made a hat, but I’ve also restarted a scarf with a new or yarn, and gave up on a project with another new yarn (that yarn is now in the donation bag). Also, I’ve been combining some odds and ends to make more hats, and started a couple of red scarves.
During 10-day trip I was able to finish nine and a half hat and scarf sets. The last half of the scarf was completed once I returned home but I still consider it part of the vacation crocheting projects and the cross country train trip put me at my goal of 100 sets! Whoo hoo!
A year of hats and scarves – won’t that get boring? Not to me. Many people might find making the same thing over and over again repetitive. To keep the projects interesting, I have been using different yarns and patterns or trying the same pattern with different yarn. Lately I have been making coordinates instead of matching the hats and scarves with the same stitch pattern in both, I have been using the same yarn and changing the stitch pattern. The sets are made for warmth and may be the only warm item a person has, so I try to make the hats that don’t have a lot of eyelets or lacy features. There are many different patterns to use for scarves but to have the pattern also match a skull cap/beanie can be limiting unless the design or pattern focuses on color. A few yarns don’t need a lot to make something unique, especially if they are color changing or novelty.
Instead of matching the hat and scarf in a set, I figured why not try to use a different stitch, with the same yarn: A coordinate, instead of an exact match. The yarn is the same and gives a bit more creative freedom to the process. If there are stripes in the hat, there can be stripes in the scarf, but why not mix the stitches and match the yarn. The results have been pleasing. Especially when there are patterns that don’t necessarily lend themselves to a hat or a scarf. Long rows of ribbing can make a scarf curl on the edges and it won’t necessarily work to make a border when using a color changing yarn. A scarf can have a design with a little openwork and still be warm, a hat, not so much.
I’m at the halfway point of the 60 set goal for 2021! Just completed 30 hat and scarf sets and it’s not even April, and I’m still excited about the project. It’s really not so much about being excited about the project as much as making the sets look unique, especially if I’m using similar yarn.