We knit socks. We have leftovers. We must do something with the leftovers in order to make more room for new sock yarn. What to do?
1. Sock balls. Every time I finish a pair of socks, I roll the extra yarn up into a ball and plunk it in this glass jar. Obviously I need a larger glass jar. I also think this is handy because if I ever need to mend a pair of socks (and you know, I’d ONLY ever mend hand-knit socks), then I just come to this jar and find the right yarn. I like it.
2. Toe rings. It’s summertime and we’re all walking around in sandals …. and not wearing our wonderfully handknit socks. Why not match yarn to your outfit for the day, and tie on a toe ring? It’s the next best thing to wearing a handknit sock, I’m sure.
3. Blankets. True, it would take close to forever to knit a whole blanket out of your leftover sock yarn, but if you do a bit every time you finish your socks, one day you’ll be done. Won’t the end result be beautiful?
4. Cat toys. While Zoe is wonderful about leaving skeined and balled yarn completely alone, heaven forbid that a tail of yarn might dangle out to catch her attention. She’d love her own yarn-ball cat toys. Of course she’d eat the yarn and then there would be trouble. But maybe your cats are better behaved.
5. Face cloths. If the thought of a whole sock yarn blanket is intimidating, why not make up some face cloths with it? They’d be soft, machine washable, and beautiful.
6. Tying the stash cupboard shut. Of course I’m speaking of the cupboard where your yarn stash lives. No one needs to go in there except for you, right? (No one SHOULD go in there except for you, right?) Tie it shut and tell everyone that you’re working on things for Christmas and it’s not to be opened or disturbed.
7. Baby socks. One can never have too many pairs of socks for babies. Baby socks make nice gifts (they are great to keep on hand) and they take little yarn, depending on the size of those cute tiny feet. Maybe your next baby gift ought to be a “sock wardrobe” – different colors for the multiple wardrobe changes that babies seem to go through. 🙂
8. Reminders. Maybe you’re like me. Maybe not. But oftentimes I’d rather be knitting than … doing household chores, for example. And have you ever forgotten to do something because you became so involved in what you were knitting? Leftover sock yarn is great for tying a string around your finger so you don’t forget. Or tying several strings around several fingers, if there are many things you are putting off while knitting. This might apply to me.
9. Chevron scarf. You all know that I’m having fun with my Chevron scarf. 🙂 Why not make a “scarf of many colors” and make it in all different sock yarns? The dip-and-weave pattern in the Chevron scarf mixes it all up very colorfully.
10. Save your seat. Have you ever wandered into the tv room to knit, only to find “your knitting seat” occupied? Annoying, isn’t it? Now you can use your leftover sock yarn to tie up an effective road block. Just loop a long tail of yarn across it to keep people out. Depending on your family and how likely they are to obey that, you might also need to add a sign to further dissuade them. Mine would not be dissuaded by yarn. Come to think of it, they probably wouldn’t be fooled by the note either. Maybe I need to resort to just leaving a bunch of yarn balls in the chair.
Those are a few ideas, but I’m sure you have more. What have you done with your leftover sock yarn?
Sheri no,I’mnotseriousaboutallofthese,butI’llleaveittoyoutofigureoutwhicharemeantinjest!
Inspired by a friend, I’m making crocheted granny squares with them. It’ll probably be a small, kinda ugly blanket, but I can still tell you which pattern each leftover went to, so it will mean a lot to me. I sometimes knit socks for my kids, if I have tons of yardage left over.
I plan (someday) to make little Christmas orniment socks for everyone… Until then I will make my boy and his playgroup friends socks…
My calico, aptly named Zoe Godzilla, adores her own yarn balls. I save scraps and spit felt odds and ends, wrap them in fresh catnip leaves, and then tie sock yarn scraps tightly around the core several times. Sometimes I use a bell in the center before I begin, it makes a nice rattling noise that makes the cats go wild(er).
So, about that blanket idea… Several strips knit from leftover sock yarn, sewed together, it’s at knee-blanket size already!
And it’s not just leftovers, each piece of yarn has some history attached. Leftovers from gift socks are a reminder of who got what, and to remember where they are now.
sock ornaments. i’ve donated a couple of balls to a friend who is doing a family tradition. the tradition is that grandma would make an ornament for everyone in the family. she’s taking it on.
marbles. i could see some of those making great shooters.
and i’m not going to have any left over on my sockpalooooza socks. my pal’s feet are 10 3/8″ long, and the first sock was 50 grams of a 100 gram ball. gulp
I would love to see Joni’s leftover socks…the sound awesome. I give my leftovers to my teenage daughter who likes to knit Barbie clothes with them.
Hehehe I love your ideas! Time for another jar. Very decorative! 🙂
Some great ideas, Sheri. I’ve started some striped knee-highs for my 6’2″ grandson – his request for snowboarding that they be loud and wild, so I’m using slip stitch designs from Treasury of Stitches, as well as some self-striping yarns. I separate the 4 oz. hanks into two balls, so I end up with two little balls (one for each of the extra long socks. So far they are turning out so well that I’m afraid all the grandchildren will prefer those over the other socks I’ve been knitting for them. I’m stockpiling them along with my stash in an antique apothecary that seems to have been almost built for the purpose – a 100 drawers!!!
Joan
I CAN’T believe you didn’t dedicate this post to me! 🙂
Welllll since I’m just a packrat, I store every little scrap of yarn in a box, and intend on one day using it all for SOMETHING…entrelac would be Very cool!
What about some cute stripey arm warmers.
I save the leftover yarn and when I have colors that coordinate, then I can make a pair of socks with them, usually doing the heel and toe of one and the rest of another, or stripeing them on the leg part.
Some folks have mentioned making a vest out of the scraps…..what about doubling the yarn for a vest, or a sweater or even that blanket you mentioned? Easily done and Trekking even has 3 sweater kits out that do just that, carrying the sock yarn double throughout.
I have another way of using the leftover sock yarn, especially when there is a lot left over, as there is on skeins that are 400 yds or so to begin with. I give it to my friend, Jeannie, who is a terrific knitter & even works in one of our local yarn shops. There is enough leftover for her to make a sock & since she only has one foot (due to a long ago motorcycle accident) it suits both of us just fine. Good thing she likes my taste in yarn.
Home decor is an awesome option for small balls!
My favorite use of leftover sock yarn is the cell phone sock. 40 stitches knit in the round for about 3.5 inches, turned inside out and bound off with 3 needle bindoff (or grafted…great way to perfect that kitchener!). Cell phone socks make great, fast gifts for all your friends’ naked flip phones. I was inspired by “The Friday Night Knitting Club”‘s main character, Georgia, who kept her phone in what I assume was a full sized sock….
My daughter knits I-cord friendship bracelets for everyone she loves, including the weiner dogs.
I will never knit toe-up because I love my small-ball stash.
Well…I’m still in stash-enhancement mode, and haven’t completed a sock yet (I’ve been knitting afghans and other things most of my life!), though I’m in the middle of three right now. =)
Now here’s the funny thing…a little over 3.5 years ago my son was born early, and spent almost 4 months in a hospital 350 miles away. While I stayed with/near him, I frequented a LYS in town and occasionally “stocked up” (we all know sock yarn doesn’t count, right? =)) on sock yarn to make hats for my son and all the other tiny babies in the NICU. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time in the NICU either holding/talking to my son, reading his chart, or talking to the nurses, and not getting as much knitting done as I’d have liked. So, I never actually finished a hat (I think it’s still on the needles!), and have a small suitcase fairly full of sock yarn I need to find and still put into ravelry. After I’ve done that, I’m still planning on making some hats and donating them to the NICU. All NICUs could use hats, clothes, and blankets for the babies. For the first weeks for the smallest babies, our NICU even put blankets over the isolette to help with the lights and brightness (even though our NICU had lights that self-regulated to simulate day and night).
So, in the end I’ll use some of the yarn I originally bought for the preemie hats, in addition to any leftover sock yarn I’m currently stashing (though most of my family have “larger-than-average” feet, I may not have as much left of these as the others).
Oh, and right now, one of the socks on the sticks I have are for my now-31+pounder/formerly-2+pounder, and he chose YELLOW! =)
I’m just starting to make stitch marker bags with the left overs. They aren’t big, maybe 2×3 finished, but it’s a great use for the leftovers – and, you can keep other things in them like row counters, tapestry needles – all kinds of neat things!
I love reading your blog. It always makes me smile. Thanks for finding ways to entertain us with your yarn.
There you go, you just found your next charity knitting challenge – all the baby socks to go with your previous baby hats.
I usually use strategically placed knitting needles to dissuade my family from my favorite chair. I found that they all have selective illiteracy when I leave a note. I did use some left over sock yarn to tie a “thinking of you” note around the stuffed animal I hid in hubbos suitcase- yes I know that’s dorky. And my son is quite good at using leftover yarn to make “inventions” that typically involve tying chair legs and door knobs together to form lovely trip hazards for his dear old mom.
I love the “reminder” idea – though I don’t have enough fingers and toes to accomidate all the reminders I need!
My kids know to vacate my corner of the couch when I come into the family room. I’ve thought about a blanket in my leftovers but nothing is started yet (I’m too busy knitting socks).
I used leftovers to tie the bottle opener to our cooler. My husband laughed at me, but no one has to guess where it is!
What great ideas everyone has! I’m afraid I just make baby socks out of my scraps but I also like the bookmark idea. For marking the pages of all the patterns I want to try next!
LOL! nice list! some of those really crack me up! I do like your jar full of leftover goodies though.
I support the baby socks and cat toys! I’m saving my STR leftovers for some patchwork socks, and I’ve also done baby booties.
An online friend of mine is working on a patchwork baby blanket for her little boy, so I’ve sent a good bit her way for that project as well.
I made a pair of Frankensocks, from a Six Sox Knitalong pattern called Color Blox:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/color-blox
I used four or five different self-striping yarns, with each section (toes, heels, cuffs) in different “colors”. I called mine Frankensocks because they were built of parts from dead skeins, and when one foot was too long I snipped it, took out several rounds and grafted it back together.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10436844@N07/962390996
Love the sock ball jar-now I need to go shopping to find one(or two) big enough for all the sock yarn I am going through lately 🙂
Like an earlier commenter, I am making a mitered square afghan. At least I think it is an afghan. It might become a vest or sweater. I don’t mess with it much but it will be interesting when done. And it has memories of socks long since given away in it, so it will be a treasure.
I can’t wait to add some of the pretty stuff I bought this week to it. I just love looking at all these artistic sock yarns from here!
My cat and 3 year old love the left overs. They’ll play for hours with the yarn. It wears both the preschooler and the cat out!! Gives mommy some peace. It’s a win-win-win situation for all!
LOVE the blanket idea… like you said, if you knit a bit each time you finish socks, its not a huge task either… you could do squares to sew together later, or just keep going with one really funky blankie!
How about some Stashbuster Spiral Socks? You could make them for yourself or anyone else….http://hipknitism.com/classes/stashbuster_spirals/ The picture there is less than inspiring to me, but there are gorgeous ones knit from hand painted yarn on Ravelry!
Cute blog entry! As always! I’ve been putting my left over sock yarn balls in a jar – like you – great minds think alike! My ntention is to make squares (mitred, patterned,plain) for a blanket. You post made me realize it would be better to make these squares as I finish the sock projects, which I haven’t been doing.
I’m not sure if someone already mentioned this — socks for the sock blocker key chain are good to make out of leftover sock yarn. I only have one sock formine right now and I’m thinking I should have enough to change it once a month, maybe… Or, just use that same pattern and make cute sock Christmas tree ornaments.
Coasters! This is a great pattern for leftover sock yarn: http://www.girlontherocks.com/knit/blog/2006/10/10/drip/
But I also want to make lots of mini socks for my new sock blocker key chain and for gifts!
Absolutely love the jar idea…I think that I might adopt that and bring it to work so when I get stressed and can’t knit I can just look at the jar for stress reduction. But I also tie gifts with leftover yarn and make baby booties. But some great ideas from some of the other posters!
Another idea might be to use your leftover yarn to knit or crochet a belt. If you have a lot left, you could use all one yarn. If not, you could make a crazy belt, using different yarns and different shapes, like a crazy quilt, or you could just use different yarns in a regular pattern.
I’m collecting mine in a jar, dreaming of making an amazing mitre blanket like Shelly’s- http://www.shellykang.com/2007/05/blankie-friday-and-picture-catchup.html
But I like the idea of knitting as you go, so the massed amount of yarn doesn’t overwhelm. But I have a small sidedish bowl filled with my yarn balls right now and it is quite pretty.
I’m planning on knitting friends & family their own IPod covers for christmas!!!! whether I can tear myself away from my socks for long enough is a another matter….
I make tons of baby socks (or at least I have been lately). They’re beginning to eat my brain I think. but I use my basic baby sock pattern that just alters the needle size for different size from newborn to toddler.
http://mimknits.com/shop/index.php?main_page=document_product_info&cPath=65&products_id=189
The pattern is free if anyone else wants to use it.
I like to donate all of my left over sock yarn to a worthy cause. Check out:
http://www.warmwoolies.org/stash.html
Baby socks! What a great idea!
I’ve been planning to start crocheting a granny square with mine… and just keep adding the colors as I go. It’ll take forever to finish, but it will be colorful!
Mini socks for sock blocker key chains, sock ornaments, mini sweater ornaments, shawls for DD’s Barbie’s, crazy multi-striped socks, use for contrasting heels and toes on other socks… And sometimes I donate scraps (less likely with sock yarns, though) to DD’s Brownie troop. They always need yarn for their craft projects.
Mini socks for Christmas ornaments/package decorations/earrings…….
I’m knitting up a MEMORY VEST made from all of the sock yarns that I have used to knit socks for my family and friends. I can look down and say “Hey – there’s the pair I knit for Kelley out of Opal Tiger yarn” – it brings back fond memories of all the socks.
It is just modular/domino squares that are all worked from the first square – about 2 1/4″ each. Really fun. I’m always sending out my pattern, in Excel to whoever wants it.
Terry
I have a clear plastic bag with a zipper, from a set of sheets, I think, that I stuff my leftovers from socks into. It’s not nearly as pretty as your jar, and I shove it into a cabinet so it’s out of sight anyway. I’ll be on the lookout for a suitably large jar to show off those pretty leftovers now. And I think I’ll start making some baby socks and mini sockblocker socks too. Heaven knows I’ve got enough leftovers! And lots and lots more potential leftovers!
Socks for my two-year old, definitely. Amulet bags or treasure pouches – little bags on a cord you can wear around your neck. My son keeps his tiny treasures with him at all times that way. Little lacy headbands/hairbands, very useful, especially from sock yarn with a little elastic in it – then your hair and fet will match! Or – maybe we should all start swapping them around, a little sample of some yarn you’ve always wanted to try?
Love the bookmark idea, will have to try that. I love your jar too, so pretty! I have a glass pitcher around here that never gets used, wouldn’t they look nice in there? Better than in the coffee can they are hiding in right now. I wish I had more though!
I love the sock balls! 🙂
I have put all my left over yarn socks and am going to make a funky pair of socks for those out of balance days! I have beast that steals my yarns after I wind into a ball. Yesterday he was trying to stick his nose in the swift to catch the tail of yarn.
Oh by the way!! You are AMAZING!! I place my order Monday night and had my new yarn TODAY WEDNESDAY!!!!………………..Maybe the post office was being amazing too!!
Of course I LOVE it all. !! Thank you!!
I have a question. Have you ever been knitting along, happy as a lark, and all of a sudden you notice your yarn is a little wet and then suddenly you panic because there no longer is a ball of yarn attached to this wet tail??? Then you see the yarn moving across the room like it has grown legs……………yikes! it has, and a tail and ears and whiskers. Then you realize it is only one of your darling little kitties………..and being such a loving mom you literally swallow your tongue trying not to yell……………then you smile and beg her to bring your yarn back all the while muttering under your breath unspeakable threats against her!! I have two of these little beasties and when they are around I get paranoid, place my yarn in a bag and hold on my lap between my legs with the bag only open far enough for a tiny strand to pull through!!! Got to love kitties though!!!
Sheri, you absolutely crack me up!! I love all your ideas, and all those from all the other contributors too. I wish I could say I was just as creative…but you know what I do with all my leftover yarn (and I DO mean leftovers…from years and years and years and years of knitting, crocheting, needlepointing, etc.etc.)???? I throw it in a box in my basement. With some mothballs. I suppose if I ever needed it, there it would be. If not, well…there it would be!
Maybe someday I’ll create a project for it. In the meantime I’m much too busy starting lots of projects with NEW balls of yarn!!
I knit mini socks for my sock blocker keychains. Then I save the rest in case I need to repair my handknit socks. I usually don’t have very much left though, because I have size 11.5 feet 🙂 And I never have any left when I knit for my dad- his feet are size 16!
Here’s a great stash buster from KNITTY — it’s a cool watchband!
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTboogietime.html
What have I done with leftovers?
Let me see…….I made little socks for my sock blocker so I can change it for the season.
I made mini socks and sweaters and decorated a small tree in my spare room with them. ( I keep the tree up all year)
I also started an afghan with mitered blocks.
I do like your jar idea and I just may do that so the yarn balls are handy.
Thanks for the ideas, now to get the big socks finished so I have more leftovers. I’m off to skip the household chores and knit instead.
I may have another idea for single socks: I heard that a veterans hospitals may have people needing ONE sock. That would be an awesome place for them to go!
My mom collects dolls, so I tend to use some of the leftovers for doll clothes.