Most knitters I know (myself included!) have a huge yarn stash, usually B.L.E (Beyond Life Expectancy), and yet we buy more yarn all the time. Gorgeous hand dyed varieties, special fibers for whatever season, and sweater’s-worth quantities of yarn for knits that we are SO SURE we are going to knit and then somehow never cast on (I’m guilty, I’ve done this so many times). We treat knitting like it’s a luxury hobby by stockpiling yarn that cost a small fortune and then never using it. But I think that if it wasn’t so expensive, we would use it- because we wouldn’t be so precious about it. We would try new techniques or patterns that we aren’t sure are ‘us’ and not worry that the knit might have cost us $200+ in materials.
There are a lot of ways of keeping yarn costs down that don’t compromise on the quality of the materials you are using. It’s worth keeping an eye out for yarn sales at Joann and Michaels and seeing what they might have on offer- even if you only use wool and not any blends, there are lots of great woolly finds that are very affordable, and downright crazy cheap if you get your skeins in a big box store when they are having a sale. I signed up for Michaels newsletter and I’m pretty sure they send out a 40%-50% off coupon every single weekend ….. but I should warn you that they do email every single day.
So I’m experimenting with some new-to-me finds. This is a trio of Patons yarns I’m playing round with, and absolutely loving.
This is Patons Classic Wool Worsted in a light gray marl (100% wool):
I’m currently knitting a pair of simple fingerless mitts, and I’ve barely made a dent in the skein. The one in progress above is the second one, so I could probably get 3 pairs of fingerless mitts out of this single skein- which is pretty impressive. I’d probably only manage two pairs if I was doing cables and full mittens. I’ve never used a marled yarn before but have admired the effect, so I thought it would be fun to try it out and see how it looked. So far I think marled yarns shine in simple stitches like stockinette and garter, something classic like this effortless colour combo.
This is Patons Classic Wool Roving Yarn (also 100% wool) in the Frosted Plum colourway:
I’m working through a couple of new ideas with some super simple twisted stitches for faux cables, and I love this stitch I’m playing with (it’s on page 45 of this book if you are looking for it). This yarn holds up beautifully for cabled work, and just look at that crisp stitch definition!
But I think my favourite from this trip might be the Patons Alpaca Blend in Birch (60% Acrylic 22% Wool 10% Nylon 8% Alpaca):
It has the gorgeous drape of fabric you’d expect from an alpaca yarn, as well as great stitch definition. This is definitely a yarn I want to knit a whole sweater in- it feels so soft to the touch. Normally I’m a little hesitant when it comes to single ply yarns (which notoriously pill), but the fiber content of this makes me think that it won’t pill quite so readily. And I’ve been petting it a bunch (did I mention how soft it is?!) and it is holding up well so far. The stitch that I’m experimenting with is from the same stitch dictionary as before, page 38.
Of course, maybe you don’t want to buy more yarn, even if it is more affordable. Maybe you need some stashbusting suggestions! I’ve got you, friends….
Yarn Stashbusting Tips & Tricks
- If you haven’t already, go through your stash -everything!- and group yarn together by yarn weight. You might be surprised at what you find.
- Once you have a good idea of what you’ve got, you can look for patterns that will help you knit it up. Don’t be afraid to go and get a skein or two of a neutral solid colour that might help tie together several different colours- fair isle and crazy stripes are easily calmed down when there is a lot of soothing grey or white in the mix. At least, I find grey and white soothing colours, you go with whatever floats your boat. If you are dying for more colour, go with something completely different!
- Check out Pinterest or Ravelry and create a board or a queue with pattern ideas that will help you use up your stash. I might as well point out right now that I have a Pinterest Board full of stashbusting knits right here, to get you started.
- Have a yarn swap with some friends. partial skeins, extra skeins – try out yarns you haven’t used before!
And if you finish a project and you don’t love it, don’t despair of the yarn being ‘wasted’. I have a tutorial here for how to recycle yarn and get it into great shape so you can use it again. So knit on fearlessly! If it doesn’t work out, you can always try again.
** This post was graciously sponsored by Spinrite yarns. All opinions are my own, and I chose all the yarn myself.**
