New Releases from Banana Frog, and a giveaway!

I’m all about using yarn stash most of the year, but this time of year especially I spend a lot of time thinking about and sharing patterns that you can use if you want to pare down your stash a bit. Whether you’re looking to use advent calendar yarns or the odd balls you’ve accumulated through the years, these patterns should give you some fun ideas.

The Happy Scarf is a free download on Ravelry from AC Kao that you can use as a jumping off point for making your own from your stash. They used light fingering weight yarn and larger than expected needles to get nice drape on the bias garter stitch design. It uses about 50 yards of each color but you can use more or less depending on your stash.

Another fun bias knit project is the Kruger Cowl from Bigger than Life Knits. It’s worked flat with a ruched pattern on the bias, and the ends are grafted together when the knitting is done. Each contrasting color is only about 9 grams, so you can use mini skeins or leftovers for this fun and colorful project.

Make a stash-busting hat for heads of all sizes with the Hudson Hat pattern from family roots. This stripey stockinette stitch hat can take all your worsted weight odd balls to make a super sweet long stocking cap with ear flaps and braids, and an optional tassel. It comes in five sizes from newborn to “big noggin’ adult.”

Sarah Ayers is taking the quilting trend in knitting a step further with the Starlite Blanket. Worked in sport weight yarn (though you could use different yarn to get blocks of different sizes) it’s made from classic flying geese units that are joined as you go to make the star squares. The pattern is on Ravelry and is sized to make a stroller sized blanket up to a king sized bed. That would use a lot of stash!