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Have you ever thought about what to do with those yarn ends you cut off from your crochet works in progress? This is an insight into one of the ways I recycle and reuse my yarn scraps.
For every crochet project I work on, I end up with a significant amount of yarn ends that would otherwise be thrown out. The majority all come from the yarn tails I cut off from my projects after starting a magic circle, a chain, or after weaving in my ends. Sometimes I also end up with scrap amigurumi body parts that are basically impossible to undo. Instead of just throwing these out, I collect them all in a little ziploc bag that quickly fills up.
Once the bag is full, I then send my yarn scraps off to my talented fibre artist friend, Aliona Nova, who transforms this rather unexciting bag of ends into gorgeous new yarn for me to use on future crochet projects.
The process of spinning yarn scraps into new yarn absolutely blows my mind. If you’d like to learn more about how it’s done I recommend reading the interview I did with Aliona previously on the blog. A lot of hard work is involved in spinning yarn, so this is something I personally would much rather outsource to someone who knows what they’re doing. However, I know some people that are so intrigued that they want to give it a go for themselves.
The Creative Behind the Craft: Aliona Nova
Three tips on collecting yarn scraps to be spun into new yarn
Although, I haven’t been doing this for that long, I thought these three tips that I’ve picked up from my own experience might help you too.
1. Keep your yarn scraps in one place
This tip seems rather self-explanatory. However, if you’re anything like me and tend to move around when you crochet, it’s easy to end up with multiple piles of yarn scraps scattered all over the house. If you’re planning to reuse or recycle your yarn scraps, I highly recommend picking one spot to keep all your yarn scraps in. I use a ziplock bag that follows me around whenever I’m crocheting. But you could easily use a box, a drawer, a canvas bag, a jar, or even a fish bowl. Be as creative as you like! Just be sure to keep all those yarn scraps in one place. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
2. Do your research on what types of yarn can be recycled
Not all yarn materials can be recycled into new yarn. I normally use cotton, and occasionally acrylic or wool yarns for crochet, which all can be. Recently, I started using velvet yarn, and since it was malting quite a bit, I thought I’d check whether I could get velvet yarn scraps spun into new yarn too. I’m so glad I checked, because the answer was no. This avoided me having to dig through my bag of scraps before sending it away. Point is, if you’re not sure, double check. It’ll save you a lot of time in the long run.
3. Plan the projects you want to make with your new yarn before ordering it
This is definitely an optional tip, but it is something I did before sending off my bag of yarn scraps to Aliona. I first decided on the projects I wanted to make with the recycled yarn. This helped me know what kind of yarn I wanted, including the weight, colours, quantities, and what type of fibre would be good to mix with my yarn scraps. I of course also discussed all of this with Aliona too.
All in all, having new yarn made out of your yarn scraps is a treat! For one, it’s great to know you’re reducing your own yarn waste. But there is also something really special about the new yarn you get from your own yarn scraps. It’s a testament to the hours of your own hard work from crocheting other projects. Plus, it’s also another way to support another fibre artists’ work.
I seriously can’t wait to show you all what I’m going to make with my first batch of recycled yarn!
Until next time, happy crocheting,
Cilla x
