I think all knitters have the same problem. Even if we try to not have a lot of scrap yarn lying around, we all end up having some of it and it can be hard to know what to do with it.

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting my parents and I looked through the scrap yarn my mom had. Knitting something with her scrap yarn feels more fun for some reason than knitting with the yarn I have at home. 😉

I ended up with a lot of different colors in the same type of sock yarn and decided to knit some striped socks with them.

Thing To Knit With Scrap Yarn

Stripes and small projects are the way to go I guess when it comes to scrap yarn. I don’t know how it is for you but at least for me I think the yarns I almost use up for other projects are the hardest to find use for in future projects.

When I finish up a project I most of the time have maybe only one skein of yarn left or maybe half a skein of yarn and those ones tend to stay in our storage for a long time.

But knitting with stripes is one way of finding use for yarn even if there isn’t a lot of it left.

One tricky thing when using scrap yarn can be to find yarns of similar thickness and material so that you can combine them in the same project. For these striped socks here in the photo below I used sock yarn that were suitable for needles of the size 3-3,5. But if you look closely the brighter blue is a little bit thinner.

The difference in thickness in these different shades of blue is so small so I didn’t find it problematic. But yeah, using scrap yarn comes with some challenges sometimes.

The Knitting Pattern I Used

Apart from the cuff and ankle of the sock, I used a basic knitting pattern for socks that I almost always use and I have memorized at this point. That is the exact kind of knitting that I enjoy when you don’t even have to think much.

The ankle of the sock is knitted a little differently than I usually knit just to make the stripes a little more prominent.

Basic Sock Knitting Pattern

Cast on 48 sts and divide on four double-pointed needles(size 3,5).

Start knitting rib pattern(1K, 1P). Knit that same rib pattern for 4 rows. After that, you continue to knit around until the heel of the sock. Depending on how long you want the cuff/ankle to be, you just continue knitting until you are happy with the length.

How to knit the heel

Knit back and forth on needles 1 and 2 to make the back of the heel!  When the heel flap measures 5-6 cm it’s time to start decreasing.

Knit until 6 sts remain, slip the next stitch as if to knit, knit 1 stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the stitch worked, and turn over the piece.

Purl until 6 sts remain, slip the next stitch as if to purl, purl 1 stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the stitch worked, and turn over the piece.

Knit until 5 sts remain and so on…

Continue like that until 12 sts are left in total on the 2 needles.

How To Knit The Rest Of The Sock

Pick up 6 sts on each side of the heel flap so that both needles have 12 sts and start knitting the foot on the sock using all four needles.

If you need to pick up more than 6 sts on the sides you can do so and decrease the amount of sts every second row until you have 12 sts on each needle. In that case, I decrease at the end of the first needle counted from under the foot by knitting the last two sts together and at the beginning of the fourth needle by slipping the first stitch as if to knit, knit 1 stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the stitch worked.

When you have 12 sts on each needle, continue knitting until the sock reaches over the little toe. Start decreasing the amount of sts by one on every needle when you knit.

Knit the last two sts together through the front loop on the 1st(counted from under the foot) and the 3rd needle and the first two sts together through the back loop on the 2nd and 4th needle. Continue like that until 2 sts remain on each needle. Cut the yarn and pull it through the stitches.

Done! 🙂

Other Things You Can Knit With Scrap Yarn

Knitting with stripes is super fun in my opinion. Just because you always focus on the color you are knitting with right now and you get to count down until you will change to the next color. Knitting goes by faster that way I think.

Another type of knitting project that is perfect for scrap yarn is baby accessories. Baby socks, a baby hat, and things like that don’t require a lot of yarn which makes them perfect for scrap yarn.

But if the yarn you have on hand is a little bit more to the itchy side maybe a pair of striped socks is better or something else that you can knit with stripes. Gloves?

Anyhow, summer is soon here but right now it’s rainy and 10 degrees Celsius so I am happy to stay in the knitting bubble a little longer. I also have some ideas on knitting projects in cotton I want to knit during the summer so there is no need to pause knitting even if summer is coming. 😉

Hope you have a really good week! And hope to see you again soon!

Many greetings from us