How to Use Up Your Leftover Yarn
6 easy charity projects to use up your yarn stash
Bits and ends of yarn are not throw-away objects when you knit for charity - you'd be amazed at how many things you can create with leftover yarn! From now on, when you finish a knitting project, even as little as a yard of yarn can be put to good use - save it all, together, until you have the equivalent of a skein.
Here are 6 easy charity projects you can do to use up your yarn bits and pieces:
USE YOUR LEFTOVER YARN
1. Baby booties. Two baby booties take very little yarn, and you can donate them to your nearest hospital. If you don't have enough of one solid color yarn to do two booties, you can add a 'stripe' of another color yarn to each bootie - and that may even help you use up TWO scraps of yarn!
2. Start a 'lap blanket' or afghan for your local seniors' lodge - just knit using the scrap yarn bits as you go, and when it's big enough, donate it!
3. If you know how to knit socks, you can use scrap yarn to knit tiny Christmas stockings, either as ornaments or for gifts. They don't have to be in traditional Christmas colors, either - experiment, or get 'funky!' Donate the finished projects to your local women's or homeless shelter.
4. Make finger puppets for your local low-income neighborhood center or day-care. For patterns, do a Google search for 'knit finger puppets.'
5. 'Catnip mice' can be made with tiny triangles, and even stuffed with leftover yarn! Donate them to your local SPCA or animal rescue facility.
6. Leftover yarn can be used to knit 'sample' 7" x 9" squares for the Warm Up America charity. Drop the squares off at a Michael's Craft Store, where they eventually get sewn into blankets for the homeless.