A Love Affair with Scrappy Knitting

Part One - Waste not want not Scrappy Socks

Scrappy Socks are such a fabulous  way to use up all those many bits of yarn we have left over from larger projects.

They are also a great way to keep your interest going as you will be changing colour frequently, so it is highly unlikely that boredom will set in.

Highly portable, and if you use a basic sock pattern, not much concentration is needed and you can pick up and knit anywhere at short notice. Train, bus, sitting in the car waiting, during your lunch break, and even take them going on holiday as little needles are allowed on most airlines (check before you go).

Socks can be matching or completely random and you can use any little scrap of yarn left over from previous projects. Mini skeins from Advent Calendars are perfect and there are now online sellers who will sell 100g (enough to knit a pair of socks) already wound into little balls in an array of colours.

Scrappy socks are my total knitting joy and quite addictive. I keep a stash of little wound balls of yarn in a special box, ready for the next cast on. It is like diving into a sweet jar without the added calories and it makes me happy to add to this box whenever possible.

If you search on Instagram under the hashtag #happyscrappysocks you find a lot of inspiration and there are knitalongs to take part in too. The next one starts on 3rd Feb. and is hosted by Jen from @every.thing.shapes.us – all the info as well as lots of super useful tips are on Jen’s page on Instagram. Why not join in the fun – there are prizes too!

I usually knit my scrappy socks totally random by putting a few balls into a bag, reaching in with my hand to fish a new ball out and then knit a random number of rounds. If the random thing fills you with dread, you can lay your colours out first and then work a set number of rounds for each colour.

Socks can be knitted plain or with added patterns, for me a plain or ribbed version is the most fun and relaxing at the same time and I always have a pair on the go.

Find my easy peasy sock pattern here Oma’s Socks link

What about all those pesky ends I hear you ask? If you like sewing in ends, that’s the path for you. You could double knot, but it might be uncomfortable when wearing the socks. There is the clasped weft join and Louise from

Everyday Knitter

has a great youtube video explaining this technique (Link).

I personally knit my ends in as I go: I stop about 8sts before the end of the round with the current colour. I then knit in the end of the new colour over these stitches. Then I knit the first 8sts with the new colour of the new round, working in the end of the old colour.

Jen Arnall-Culliford explains this technique really well in this video here (LINK).

Scrappy knitting is such fun and socks are of course only one of the many ways to use up bits of yarn. They just happen to be my favourite.

Let me know if you have tried scrappy knitting or if you are keen to give it a go. Any questions, just ask and I try to answer.

Wishing you a colourful week, until soon,

Heike xo