One - Two Skein Brainstorm

[kelliz]

Hello!  I have this terrible habit of buying sale yarn from a bin at my LYS.  So, I end up with 1-2 skeins of all kinds of yarn.  I thought we could brainstorm different things to make with small amts. of yarn.....anywhere from 50-300 yards.  I'm not too creative and I have a TON of scarves and purses that I've made.

My ideas:

One Skein Wonder (Glampyre)
Fingerless mitts
cell phone cozy


(my brain has frozen, that's why I need your help!  )

[thefragileone]

What about hats?  I tend to do the same thing    and I end up making cute hats with them.

[Mnemosyne_LA]

Don't forget that you can combine them and make larger things like shawls or hats that have stripes or blocks of color.

I keep meaning to put Odd Ball Knitting on my Amazon wishlist -- does anyone have a review of it?

[Annchen]

Socks and slippers!

If you have the patience you could cut several balls of yarn in different lengths, tie them together without trimming the edges and then knit a scarf. I've seen a scarf like that and it looked very interesting. The ends weren't weaved in and that was part of the design I think.

[kelliz]

I think I might make some hats.  Maybe some earflap hats.  I do like that shawl idea with the different yarns. 

I do have Oddball Knitting, I must not have been too impressed with it because I never get it out!  I'll have to grab it off my bookshelf to look at it again. 

I always think of making felted things with my "oddball" yarn.  I'm not sure why but I seem to.  I was thinking about making some of those purses from the book "One Skein".  They could be nice Christmas gifts.

Thanks for the replies!         Any other ideas?

[ThreadOrYarn]

So, I end up with 1-2 skeins of all kinds of yarn.  I thought we could brainstorm different things to make with small amts. of yarn.....anywhere from 50-300 yards. 

how about -
Socks
Mittens
No heel/no toe 'yoga' socks (basically a tube with a hole for the heel)
Baby stuff
the shorty buttoned up scarf that was posted last week(?)
beret
hats

check sites like magknits or knitty for accessories, and other small things

I saw a pincushion once that was just a 2" wide strip of garter stitches rolled up and sewed together so it would'nt unroll - then you can needles, small scissors etc in between the layers.

check the book "homespun, handknit" - that has a lot of smaller projects

[kelliz]

I've never heard of that book, I'm looking it up on Amazon right now using another tab.  Thanks!

I'll have to find that scarf, I sort of remember it. 

Great idea to look up the accesories on Knitty and Magknits.  I'll do that.

[Zero Cool]

Another vote for berets or cute hats.
Dishcloths if it's cotton.

There are some gorgeous patterns here for one skein stuff (I especially like the obi belt) the patterns use less than 200 yards of yarn, I made the seafoam headband and it took less than 50 yards! http://www.stitchdiva.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SDS-038

I forgot about the Isabeau purse.
You could probably make slippers with a small amount of yarn.

[artcat81]

Toys!

 my little knitted firefly spaceship used a little less than one skein of yarn.  http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=201102.msg2138239#msg2138239

"sock" type puppets could be very cute out of some of those fun fashion yarns
 
a blanket maybe? patchwork, made by knitting squares of your oddball yarns..


*edited to add a pushing up daisies inspired idea*  Knitted cozies!

[Mnemosyne_LA]

my little knitted firefly spaceship used a little less than one skein of yarn.

Ooh!  Do you have a pattern for that?  I'm making my husband a Jayne hat and I'd love to give him his own ship to go with it.

[artcat81]

my little knitted firefly spaceship used a little less than one skein of yarn.

Ooh!  Do you have a pattern for that?  I'm making my husband a Jayne hat and I'd love to give him his own ship to go with it.

I took notes, but I'm trying to decipher just what I meant when I wrote it, I'm still fairly new to knitting and just starting to be able to read patterns.  As soon as I have it figured out the pattern will be posted (or at least the notes if I get frustrated and just scan by hadnwriting in)

[kelliz]

You guys are the best!  What wonderful ideas.  I think I'll have to get that Stitch Diva pattern.  I also was thinking I need to get the adorable little critters from Crafy Alien, you know those?  They are soooooo cute!

[Zero Cool]

I totally agree, those crafty alien toys are the cutest. I love the little fox but have never knitted a toy before so I may start off with one of the kits if I can find time in my knitting schedule...

[kelliz]

I have wanted those Crafty Alien patterns for such a long timed!  But I would just make them because they are cute.  Once made they would collect dust.  My son has no interest in stuffed animals.  Maybe I can collect them and I'll have a nice gift for the next person to have a baby! 

[3-Quarters]

If any of the colors look nice together (or even not) in similar weights, you may work up enough yardage to make a striped or crazy fair-isle sweater. That's my grand plan for all the odds and ends I bought back when I thought 200 yards would get me somewhere...

[crumpet79]

There's always scarflets and mittens.  I tend to have the same problem sometimes, but have found enough to make short-sleeved shrugs with lacy patterns before.

[mmdm]

Here's one I'm about to start, if you have 2 skeins of some sport weight.
http://knitpicks.com/Hat+Trick_PD50528220.html
The pattern is downloadable for $1.29 and I have 2 balls of some really inexpensive cashmere blend coming from Elann.com.

[trinashere]

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=132687.0

Here's a link to another discussion about the things you can make with very little yarn. I'm not sure if there's anything in there that hasn't already been said, but it's wotth a look.

And how about coffee cup sleeves? They're fun, great for gifts (Christmas is coming) and use far less that a whole skein.

[catontheroof]

Ooh this has always been my problem! Where I live it's a bit difficult to find good yarns. Most there would be limited choices and price a little over my college student budget lol so my stash is basically full of one or two odd balls of yarn.

I make a lot of cozies (I think any little electronic device in my home gets one lol-cellphone, my Creative Zen, MP3 players, CD players, flashdiscs, you name it... hmm probably I should make one for flashlights and computer mouses too lol), cute toys (oh I LOVE toys!), arm warmers, eye mask (trouble sleeping in even the slightest light), small purses (coin purses, make up, pencil case, glasses case, etc), and belts.
I think stripes is a good idea. VERY good idea.

Oh and I'm planning on knitting a book cover. I love making my own journals and blank books, so... I think it'd make an interesting cover

How about coasters? Bath puffs? Felted bowl? Jewelry? Mouse pillow thingy (thought I saw a pattern somewhere...)?
Even maybe a little pillow for sleeping in (boring) classes? lol I feel like I'm going to receive evil looks from some teachers here