Every knitter I know has yarn bits n’ bobs. You know, little leftover balls from the numerous projects you have knit up over the years. I have gone into my B & B containers a few different times, looking for the leftovers of some yarn that I need for darning or mending purposes. I’m always glad to find it. I figured a long time ago that these colorful balls should be out on display. I like keeping them in glass containers. (I think this came from Home Goods, a couple of years ago.)
Big bowls – wooden, ceramic, metal – are another good storage idea, and it’s easy to have one or more of these sitting out on display. (Although then you have to dust them. Another reason to like glass containers with lids.)
I think many people have all of their B & B’s stuffed into bags and plastic containers as well.
And others of you don’t let them sit around at all because you’re using them up in your Sock Blankies, or you have bought this great pattern of Wendy’s and you’ve turned them into other useful things.
Here’s the contest question of the month (and we’ll randomly draw winners next week for Loopy Ewe Gift Certificates): What do you do with your leftover yarn bits? Leave your answer in the comments and we’ll let you know who won, next week!
Thinking about holiday gifts already? I’ll have some knitting ideas for you next week. But for the people in your life that don’t get the knitting (or when you want to give a “just because” gift in September, for instance), how about these amazing cookies in a cute bag? You can even download the gift tags from the post. This is my new favorite blog and it just so happens to be written by one of my very favorite friends, Monica. In some of her recent posts, I also learned that Hydrogen Peroxide is the perfect cleaner (tried it on my bathroooms over the weekend), learned that there was a much easier way to make iced tea (and the flavors – oh, my!), decided that I needed to make up a big batch of pesto, and … well, you can check it out yourself to see what you learn. 🙂 It’s really a “yummy” website with great recipes and ideas.
Sheri who’dhavemoreyarnbitsifshe’dfinishmoreprojects
insteadofcontinuallystartingnewones,FPS
I have 3 things I do with them. 1) I have a beautiful handmade ceramic bowl I keep a few in, some in tiny hanks & some in bitty balls. 2 & 3) I have the middle drawer in my desk filled with only them, I like to open that drawer when I’m stressed & that leads to #3; I make cat toys for the local animal shelter. Cats have better odds of being adopted if they have a toy to play with in their cage.
Hello there, my bits and bobs become socks, like their motherwool!
Ideally spoken, the rest?…..in plastic bags
I love your glass jar for displaying yarn bits! 🙂
I am guilty of chucking them in a bag. I may have to rethink that idea. I love the idea of storing them in a glass apothecary jar.
Most of my leftovers are tucked away nicely in plastic storage bins. Intarsia knitting is my favorite and I’m always needing little dabs of various colors. Leftover sock yarns are kept in a separate container and I use it as waste yarn when making socks on my antique sock machine.
And when the bins get just too full, I mail a box full of leftovers to a dear friend of mine who loves to knit squares and make blankies for charity.
Love how your b&bs look in the tall jar!! I don’t have that many, but the ones I have are just in a drawer right now. I do want to make that Blankie afghan–just joined the Rav group after I read this post. I’m going to need to do an exchange to even make it! That should be fun! Love how it looks~
My bits & bobs end up in plastic bags sorted by type. Washables are becoming scarves, squares and children’s hats for local charities, sock yarns are becoming 3″ granny squares for a scarf, feltables are accumulating for toys. It’s fun to get an idea and have a “kit” ready to pull for something.
Yep, stuffed in plastic bags and bins and they worry me, because they are so disorganized. I love your large glass container and now that I think of it, I have a few of those although they are shorter and stouter, but still, I like the idea of being able to see them. Hmmm, I wonder if I have enough containers to sort them by weight. Sounds like a fun project for a rainy day…that may just be today 😉
Forgot to add—-those cookies looked wonderful! Great idea!
This contest question is perfect timing for me. We are going away on a long road trip tomorrow and I decided yesterday that I should FINALLY use all my sock bits to make little tiny socks – seeing as I bought your keychain kit a while back. They’ll be quick and easy and keep me entertained on the road. They’ll be used on our first real Christmas tree in our new country home.
Must admit that I give them away mostly to my wonderful sister in law who is a talented mixed media artist in Santa Fe or to my sister who lives and breathes afghans for Project Linus and other charity organizations where she lives. I do love the glass jar idea so now that I’m trying to make more socks perhaps I’ll keep some bits for darning when needed. I have a great covered trifle bowl that I never seem to use for trifles so will repurpose it to hold a yarn trifle!
I have three bags full – sorted into lights, darks and WM – I’m using them to make two different scrap afghans.
I’m making a sock yarn blankie with mine. Because let’s be honest, sock weight is nearly all I knit with!
I have these stashed all over the place, but definitely in bags or bins that close. I have kitties who think they make great toys, which is cute until I walk into some kind of “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, or those Family Circus’ where Jeffy runs all over and under everywhere with a dotted line to show where he’s been. Picture yarn twined about sofa and table legs in a colorful spider web, and three innocent faces looking at you as you walk in the door all blaming “Not me!”
Yes, the bits and bobs stay in plastic drawers, bags, and bins. 🙂
I use my bits and bobs to make miniature sweaters, socks, mittens and hats which I use as Christmas tree ornaments and as package decorations.
I donate my “low end” yarn to the local kids arts school. The “high end” leftovers are in a lovely bag in my yarn cabinet. I keep thinking I’ll do something with them, but…
You’re so tidy! Mine seem to send up all over the house 🙂
I too use glass jars with lids… the cats like the yarn too much otherwise.
My bits and bobs are in a container just like yours – because you gave me the idea :). I’m on my second one, and it really does make a pretty way to store the BBs. Thanks for the idea! P.S. My LYS stores her cashmere skeins in glass containers like yours to keep them pristine and pretty, with one left out to touch and love 🙂
My sock yarn B&B’s are in my Loopy Sock Club tote along with my in progress Sock Blankie. It’s easy to grab when I need a travel project.
My worsted B&B’s are in a large tote waiting to become parts of colorwork Christmas Stockings.
I really like all the ideas for lidded glass jars of various sizes, a great decorating idea and (hopefully) cat safe. Although I have one cat who would probably knock the jar on the floor and break it trying to get to the yarn.
My yarn bits are in plastic bags in my stash. As socks have needed mending, it has been good to have the leftover bits available. But I really like your idea of glass containers and showing them off. The leftover Noro bits would be particularly pretty.
I have one large glass vase that holds the prettiest ones, sitting on the dresser in my knitting room.. The rest go in one of the drawers.
I make mini-mitten tree ornaments with my yarny bits ‘n’ bobs. Sometimes I give a small set of mitten ornaments as a gift. Other times I decorate a package or a bottle of wine with them.
I store them in zippie bags, make toddler socks with them, or give whatever is left to my sister for her sock yarn blanket.
I make fingering weight monsters out of my bits and bobs and leftovers… and also have been saving up for a fingering weight blanket (since all my scraps are fingering weight) 😀
I was wondering what to do with all my B&Bs. Right now I just keep them in a drawer, I figure when I have enough of them I can do a free-form crochet scarf or something, but I love the glass jar idea.
I have them collected in a clear glass vase with the intention of giving them to the art teacher at the local elementary school. I think these bits of yarn would be great to use in an art project.
I love this contest. There are so many uses for the B&B’s that I had never thought of. Actually, I haven’t thought much about this at all before this. I look forward to reading all of the comments and hope to proudly use the B&B’s that are in ziploc bags in my closet. Thanks to all who shared the great ideas!
I don’t like keeping B&Bs. As I accumulate a few, I donate them with my charity knitting.
My little left over balls are lanquishing in a fabric bag. We live in the country , surrounded with farm fields, and heat with wood, so leaving them out and unescorted leaves them subject to all kinds of nasty dust. I have no particular plans for them other than repairing the socks from which they remain. They seem content and have not registered any complaints to date.
I put all my extra’s in a bag and once or twice a month I’ll shake the bag pull 1 or 2 out, I’m making an afghan with all the extra yarn. It’s really turning out to be very pretty. Hopeully by Christmas it will be done so I can give it as a gift!
I love what you did with your B & B’s. The glass is so pretty!
I love your idea of displaying in the glass decanter – I need to visit Home Goods – right now – my leftovers are probably stashed in plastic bags thrown in the bottom of a bigger knitting bag – my real problem is that I never finish anything so I have very little “leftovers” LOL – I’ve been coveting that MT Pashmina so thanks for showing that Wendy Shawl – can’t wait to get that pattern and my ONE special ball.
Please enter me in the drawing – thanks Melody
I make baby socks/booties and coasters. Multi-color yarns, either self-patterning or hand-painted make great coasters! And they’re good mindless carry knitting.
When I finish a pair of socks, I save the leftovers (if there are any–big feet + toe-up socks = using up yarn whenever possible). A few years ago, the Knitting Page-A-Day pattern calendar had a pattern for a little fish ornament. It’s quick, easy, and cute (and I don’t even like fish!). Instead of knitting the fishie in two pieces, I knit it in the round. Takes maybe an hour, maybe less. I then stuff the fishie with the bits of yarn snipped off after weaving in ends on various projects.
Some day, I’m going to put all of the fishies together and make a mobile/wall art piece.
If I have a LOT of yarn left over, I also make baby socks from it.
I use my sock yarn scraps in my different sock yarn blankets, and i make SUPER STRIPEY SOCKS!!
i did have an idea once upon a time to fill up an aquarium with all my scraps, but there was just too much!!
I recently scooped all my leftovers of sock yarn out of the drawer in my nightstand and mailed them to a Ravelry friend who is knitting a sock yarn blanket. I know that I won’t use them (some had been in that drawer since 2007), and it makes me happy that they are going to someone who will knit them up into something useful and pretty.
I, too, have some pretty containers full of colorful balls. Sometimes I make them into “Deck the Balls” Christmas tree ornaments. Sometimes I use them for other small things, like as waste yarn for an afterthought heel, or leaders for my spinning bobbins. And sometimes I use them for darning.
They are breeding. I need to find a faster way to consume them, for sure!
I am so boring and mundane! I keep mine in plastic zipper bags, along with sock yarns and some mohair. I must get fancy and find a glass jar or old vase!
I like the colors in the jar!
I love baskets of all sizes and I use them for everything including my bits & bobs. They are easy to take along with you wherever you go and very easy to see the colors together. I put contrasting colors in each of the baskets so they are easy to match up for small projects or something bigger if you wish.
My leftovers are stuffed into plastic bags, but I like the glass jar idea much better.
I have my bits of yarn in bag~but not for long. I love your idea with the big glass jar! I’m going to shop for one this weekend ; )
Mine are just stuffed into a plastic tub but they look so pretty in the tall jar, I think I am going to have to find something similar and actually display rather than hide mine ( ‘cuz it isn’t stash anymore, right?). There is no way my cats would leave a tray or bowl of little bits and bobs alone.
Mine are in a ziplock bag shoved out of sight. As jumpers wear out and socks get shabby, their leftovers go off to the local preschool to be turned into craft projects.
Putting them in a bottle is a great idea. I’ll keep my eye out for one. Yarn is sooo decorative, after all.
I used to use them for my DD’s doll house, blankets , rugs, but now that she is older they sometimes go for cat toys. So they will leave my big skeins and balls alone, it works sometimes.
I am ashamed to say that mine are in this drawer or that drawer. Glass containers would be a whole lot nicer!!
I haven’t done anything yet with my leftovers, but I plan on crocheting a granny square blanket… one of these days. For the time being, most of them are hanging out in a cute little flowery box from Ikea.
I keep all my left overs in a hand made basket. Looks pretty cute sitting on the end table were I knit, but my Grandson loves to toss them around the room, so a glass container is what I have been searching for and I love the large one you have posted! Will have to take a trip to the Home Goods store soon. (He is coming up for the weekend, so maybe I need to head over tonight!)
Currently mine all live in big ziploc bags, separated by washable sock, non-washable sock and other. Some is becoming an afghan too. Must not waste any of it!!!!
I keep my leftover yarn balls in a glass container like the one you have! It’s pretty and decorative and everyone who sees it likes it! 🙂
Some I give to my husband, for tying up plants in the garden, or whatever other nefarious purposes he uses leftover yarn for…
A lot get stuffed in various bags – but I really like the glass container solution; must investigate!
And some get stolen by the cats…we have 6 of them…