What to do with Scrap Yarn - Thread Two

[Dsynr]

Make a "Surprise Afghan"
Put all the scrap yarn into balls in a bag you cannot see through. Hold the bag closed with enough room for the balls to mix themselves up as you shake the bag. Reach into the bag and pull out a ball. Do not peek.
NO CHEATING! Make a chain as long as you like. Work sc or whatever pattern you like until the ball is gone. Repeat. Use a join like the Braided Join or the Russian Join [U can find a how-to on uTube] instead of knots so you won't have to weave in all those ends afterwards.

[mamarose22]

That's also called a "magic ball" afghan. That's pretty much How I do it. All those pieces that are about 2 feet long or longer, that would normally have gone into the trash, I set aside for this project. If I have 2-3 pieces of white I would tie those together; if I have a few pieces of blue (various shades) I would tie them together and so forth. I would wind them all up in no special order. I know the Russian join avoids the dangling ends, it also takes time to do it. I usually make my ends a good 1" long and twist it back and forth around my working yarn in such a way that I don't have to weave them in afterwards. In doing single crochet it's easy to work over the ends. A square knot is much less bumpy/detectable than a twisted knot. I believe I once saw a You Tube showing how to work in those ends doing a double crochet, similar to how I do it.

[Dsynr]

I once had leftover yarn in various shades of blue. I used it to make a triangular shawl. I doubled the yarns for extra thickness to make it warm, and started at the bottom with 3 sts. I added a stitch at the beginning of every row. I started with the darkest yarn. When it was gone, I used the next shade. I finished with some leftover off-white. Mine was knitted, but I imagine you could easily crochet something similar.

The Big Guy said my shawl reminded him of water and called it my "Water Blanket". It comes in very handy when I'm at the computer and the basement is too cool for me. If I get too warm, I can always throw it over the back of the chair. I've also used it on long plane trips or those charter-bus trips the Senior Center is always inviting me to.

[Tami]

If I have enough I practice stitches or make up motifs to make something at a later date, granny squares small are another way I use them. or i go to blogs like these

Attic24: Birdie Decoration Bunny Mummy: Search results for sail

[Barbara G.]

If I have enough I practice stitches or make up motifs to make something at a later date, granny squares small are another way I use them. or i go to blogs like these

Attic24: Birdie Decoration Bunny Mummy: Search results for sail

How cute! I love the sailing pattern which is shown in your second link! Thank you!

[KathyL.]

I did this w/ a couple of kitty blankets I made. Used up all my small balls. I didn't bother weaving in the ends.....just knotted and made sure they were all on one side. My fur balls like them.

[Humble]

I like your idea for scrap yarn but I don't know what a Russian Join or a Braided Join are! Where can I find how to do them?

[Agnes]

Dear Humble: I found both Russian and Braided Join on You Tube. I've tried them both and found they do the join. Actually I find any join will do according to the results i want. I liked the Russian of the two. Agnes

[Irishjl]

Mammarose, your "scrapghan" is beautiful. Who would imagine that beauty could be fashioned out of scraps? You have given me a idea of what to do with my scraps. Thank you so much.--Jan

[Irishjl]

Kathy L. what a great idea. I have furballs as well and they are constantly getting on my afghans and sleeping on them. Now they can have their own. Thank you.--Jan