Most thrifty knitters find that the leftover yarn for their projects can begin to accumulate over time, and eventually, you have to figure out what to do with them. I have three different leftover categories:
- Enough to knit something. Often the item is small – like a potholder, scrubbie, iPod cozy, etc. There is enough to do something with it.
- Needs to be combined to make something. This is often a few yards left-over even from a knitted mitten, sock or hat. On it’s own, probably not going to make anything, but with something else, Walla!
- The bitter ends. This is the trimmings of ends after weaving in. I save them for stuffing little cat toys that I knit out of #1 and #2 yarns.
Today I present a hat knit out of category #2 yarns, mostly leftovers from Afghans for Afghans projects. I’ve been collecting wool worsteds in a tote bag, and try to use up the small bits in stripes and the like. But this time, I realized it was all mostly #2, so I adapted the Slip-a-Color pattern in Knit Hats! for a colorful hat that won’t make this shipment for Afghans for Afghans, but will make someone warm in the future:
The Slip-Stitch pattern (which I’ve adapted and written entirely on my own) is a six-round pattern with even number of stitches:
Round 1: Knit with Color A
Round 2: With color B, * k1, slip 1 (with yarn in back) * for the whole round.
Round 3: With B, * p1, slip 1 (with yarn in back) * for the whole round.
Round 4: Knit with Color C.
Round 5: With Color D, * slip 1 (with yarn in back), k1 * for the whole round.
Round 6: With D, * slip 1 (with yarn in back), p1 * for the whole round.
Repeat 1 – 6 rounds, switching in colors as you feel like it!
If I only had enough yarn for a round, I used it for a Round 2 or 5, since that creates the purl bump, and gives a “pop” to the round.
Edited to add: This is now a free pattern as a pdf download on Ravelry. Enjoy! Go here to download.