Using Up the Little Bits October 30, 2009

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:

1. Enough to knit something.  Often the item is small – like a potholder, scrubbie, iPod cozy, etc.  There is enough to do something with it.
2. 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!
3. 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.