Melissa Leapman - Stashbuster Knits Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn

Copyright 2011 by Melissa Leapman
Photographs copyright 2011 by Potter Craft
All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Potter Craft,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.pottercraft.com

POTTER CRAFT and colophon is
a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Leapman, Melissa.
Stashbuster knits: tips, tricks, and 21 beautiful projects for using your
favorite leftover yarn / Melissa Leapman. 1st ed.
p. cm.
1. KnittingPatterns. I. Title.
TT820.L3884 2011
746.432dc22 2011008178

eISBN: 978-0-307-58684-1

Cover design by La Tricia Watford
Cover and interior photography by Heather Weston
Technical illustrations by Joni Coniglio
Charts and schematic illustrations by Melissa Leapman
Technical editing by Charlotte Quiggle

Thanks to the Craft Yarn Council of America (.

v3.1

To Barbara Leapman Goldberg

May her memory always be a blessing and her life a beautiful lesson.

Theres no such thing as too much yarn.

In fact, if you just mention the word stash to any knitter or crocheter, youll likely get a slightly mischievous grin in response. Oh, you mean my yarn reserves, one might quip. I could never accumulate enough! Some even joke that whoever dies with the biggest hoard wins.

So we collect it. Lots of it. And we love it. Unabashedly. In fact, our stash (not to mention its size) is often a favorite topic of conversation.

Some of this treasured collection consists of one or two extra balls of yarn purchased just in case. Much of it is just partial ballsprecious bits and pieces left over from completed projects. Then there are those times a single ball of this or that lands in the stash because its something you are curious to try out, or perhaps it was an irresistible bargain, happily discovered in a hidden sale bin. And who can resist picking up yarn as a souvenir from vacations and business trips? (As much as we all love our local yarn shops, its fun to spread our yarn budget around. I bet Im not the only one who looks up LYSs in the phone book first thing upon arriving at an out-of-town hotel!)

But our beloved stash somehow stirs a sense of guilt. Its a love/hate relationship. As much as we secretly enjoy that occasional midnight Dive Into the Reservoir of Treasure (DIRT), we also struggle to Whittle All Stash on Hand (WASH). We gaze upon the piles and bags and bins and sometimes think its a waste, that theres just so much potential in there, if only we could figure out what to do with it.

Oh, you mean my yarn reserves, one might quip. I could never accumulate enough! Some even joke that whoever dies with the biggest hoard wins.

Some of the challenge comes from a lack of organization. How many times have you come across a yarn in your stash and thought I dont even remember buying that or I forgot I had that? Knowing what is already sitting in your stash will prevent needless duplication, and similar yarn types kept together make mixing and matching easy and satisfying. Most important, a knitter must be able to locate just the perfect ball at a moments notice (often just seconds before the ideal needle-clicking movie starts on TV). A well-organized stash will empower you. Trust me!

Part One of this book addresses practical yet fun ways to store and arrange the stash so it is tidy, protected (from moths, that is, not robbers), convenient, easy to use, and most important, inspirational. Youll find a complete discussion on how to choose and work with different yarns, with a special emphasis on how to create surefire color combinations. No one ever said that scrap happy had to mean haphazard!

But the question remains how to make the best use of your trove of beautiful yarns. Never fear! Part Two contains twenty-one projects and loads of ideas, all designed to use up that stash. There are projects both large and small, from a make-it-in-one-evening hat (). Theres a chapter for each yarn weight, from super fine to super bulky, ensuring that no yarn will be left to languishnot even that partial ball of itchy, mop-colored mohair. (Amazingly, even that can be transformed when mixed nicely with other treasures into a magic ball.) Now hows that for knitting green and being thrifty at the same time?

To help you customize projects, DIY (Design It Yourself) sections are offered throughout the book, and Scrap Happy notes in every pattern will make it easy for you to use every precious morsel of stored-up yarn, whether you own a few yards or a whole bag.

Best of all, each project is cleverly designed so that no one will ever suspect it was made from leftovers!

Lets begin putting that stash to good use! Remember, as each bit of stash is used up, there will be room to buy even more!

If youre new to knitting (or just want some refresher material), turn to . It contains all the knitting information necessary to ensure success as you turn yarn bought last week or long ago into exciting new projects.

So dive into your closets, dig into your bins, rifle through your drawers, and crawl under your bed. Lets begin putting that stash to good use! Remember, as each bit of stash is used up, there will be room to buy even more!