A lot has changed in the world lately, and with so much fear and anxiety in the air, I for one am extremely grateful for a job/hobby that allows me to enjoy being at home and provides a sense of calm. Yarn crafts have known mental benefits, and the therapeutic qualities that knitting and crochet offer are so needed right now. I keep seeing memes and posts with statements like “crafters were built for this” and I’m so happy there are so many people out there who have a craft to find some solace in during these uncertain times. When I came up with the concept for my Pattern Suites last year, I planned out all of the monthly themes in advance. With everyone urged to stay home and practice social distancing, I am so happy with the theme I chose for March:
STASHBUSTERS!
Hitting up the LYS or craft store might be impossible right now, and while it seems a lot of stores are still shipping, this is a great opportunity to use supplies we already have on hand. I am trying to limit my online shopping to necessities as I know everyone working in shipping departments must be overloaded and overworked and putting themselves at risk. If you would like to support a local shop during this time, see if you can buy a gift certificate that you can put toward a future purchase. Each of the patterns in these suites was chosen as stash busting project for one of two reasons: they either use small amounts of different yarns, or they offer a simple canvas that can be jazzed up with bits of partial skeins that have a similar gauge.
The suites of 5 knitting or 5 crochet patterns are available for only $10 – more than 50% off if you were to purchase them individually! These suites will be available until early April when they are replaced with a new set. So grab yours now while you can! Scroll down for a little background on each one, including an explanation as to how they make the perfect stash busting project.
KNITTING PATTERNS
The is the first pattern I ever designed, and the original one was made with all stash yarn! When I later wrote the pattern I recommended using 4 balls of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick and just changing colors whenever you feel like it, but you could really just use bits of any yarn in your stash and hold several thinner yarns together if necessary to reach the gauge of the super bulky yarn. This project also looks great in a solid color if you have enough skeins of one. But I’ve seen some really beautiful ones that utilize lots of different colors and textures as well.
As one of my most popular patterns, I’ve seen quite a few since I launched the pattern in 2016. The pattern calls for 5 skeins of Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton yarn in different colors, but it’s the perfect canvas to use bits and bobs from your stash and change colors wherever you like or when you run out of a partial skein.
Similarly to the Coffee Shop Wrap, the is a lovely and simple pattern that allows for several color changes throughout, even when the pattern doesn’t call for it. Get creative with leftover partial skeins and showcase a beautiful color story.
How could I leave out the from the Stashbuster list?! This is hands down my all-time favorite way to use a random skein of worsted weight yarn. I have collected some special single skeins over the years from festivals and cute LYSs when I’m traveling and don’t want to carry a bunch of yarn back, and I almost always turn them into a Mariner’s Cap. You can never have too many 🙂
The newest pattern in the suite is the (and the sister pattern in the crochet suite, the Rosebridge Plaid Blanket Scarf). The entire palette of Lion Brand’s new ReTweed yarn is so beautiful and all of the color combos within the palette work so well together. You could easily sub worsted weight yarn from your stash and create endless plaid fabrics using the techniques provided in this pattern.
CROCHET PATTERNS
Originally worked up in Lion Brand Jeans yarn (one of my faves!) the easily adapts to a variety of worsted weight yarn and doesn’t use too much of any of the individual colors, so it’s a great project to grab a skein or two from the stash.
The is such a satisfying project as the houndstooth stitch creates a beautiful and addicting color pattern that lets two complimentary colors play back and forth. Once again, any worsted weight yarn would work for this pattern, and you could even use small bits left over from other projects to create a scrappy version of lots of different colors!
I designed the for a friend’s newborn, and it was so fun to arrange all of the eight colors to create a special and personalized palette. It uses one skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease in each color, but you could easily grab a bunch of worsted weight yarn from your stash (even little bits of leftover skeins!) and work as many rows as you like in each color, changing when the yarn runs out or just when you feel like it.
Like the Waterbury Plaid Blanket Scarf featured in the knitting suite, the uses four colors of Lion Brand’s new ReTweed yarn. I’ve seen so many of these worked up in stash yarn, and the color combos are truly endless!
The is the ultimate stash buster. Each rectangle is made individually and seamed together, so you could truly come up with the most wild color stories using small bits from your stash for each of one them. The important thing with this pattern is to make sure you have a consistent gauge, but otherwise it is so fun to mix and match!
STAY TUNED FOR NEXT MONTH’S SUITE! CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THE THEME WILL BE?
