Oh Scrap!

I love to crochet and knit and, as a result, I have a lot of yarn scraps just loafin' about. Oh, you know their type - poor sad little ragamuffin balls of yarn, too small to do anything with by themselves but, gosh darn it, you just can't bring yourself to cast them out into the big cold world all on their lonesome... So, what do you do with them?!?  Well, here are a few ideas to knock around your noodle the next time you find yourself with a few half-skeins left over.

1. "Gods-eyes" or "Evil Eyes":

Take two sticks/popsicle sticks/straws and cross them in an "X", then begin wrapping yarn around them from the middle and work out to the ends. These can be made in any size, depending on how much scrap yarn you have, and are a very quick and easy project for kids.

2. "Warm Fuzzies":

I've always made these by simply wrapping yarn around my fingers until I have a pretty good sized ball of yarn, then slide the ball off of my fingers, tie a string tightly around the middle of the ball and clip all of the loops until it is a big, fluffy ball. The best part is, you can make them in any color you happen to have lyin' around, or you can buy specific yarn to make themed fuzzies! Paper Turtle Blog has a great set of snow-themed fuzzies, and it literally just occurred to me that these could make fantabulous stunt doubles for Tribbles at a Star Trek themed party, if done in all browns/blacks/greys! Surprise, surprise... This is another quick kiddo boredom buster.

You're welcome.

3. Friendship bracelets:

Braid them, knot them, just tie the stings around someone's wrist - Badabing! Insta-friendship bracelet! Especially good for - You got it - KIDS to make! (Are we sensing a theme here, yet?? Sorry, I have kids!)

4. Make something else!

Like I said, I tend to end up with a lot of scraps, so what better to do with them than to give them friends and make something big with the whole lot of 'em? What do I mean, hmm? Well, I decided to make each of my kids a blanket from all of my scrap yarns I had at the time of their 1st Birthdays.

Both blankets

Haley's blanket

Jamie's blanket

The best part is that, with the blankets being made entirely of scrap yarns, I can add to their length and width as much as I want to, so that the blankets can grow with the kids - ie. going from toddler-bed-sized to twin-bed-sized to bigger-if-wanted-sized.

Scrap on, my good fellows!