What stash yarn is really for

You know I love to cook--sometimes I even follow a recipe.  But not very often.  I like making up things with whatever I have on hand.  There’s something so satisfying about turning leftovers, and the odd bit of this or that, into something new.

In my kitchen, that might be folding a bit of leftover chicken and vegetables into a pot pie, or stretching half a cup of pasta sauce into a risotto for another dinner. I’ve always been that way, saving the best bits of a meal because I know they still have something wonderful to give.

I'm of Scottish descent, and I hate waste, but it's more than that, I love the creativity of it. The French never throw anything away—leftover fish becomes croquettes; bits of charcuterie and cheese become tartines, those chic open-faced sandwiches that look like something out of a magazine.

image courtesy of Le chef's wivehttps://lechefswife.com/

The Italians turn cold risotto into crispy, melty arancini. These cultures don’t just use leftovers—they elevate them.

And honestly? I feel the same way about yarn.

What stash yarn isn’t

When I talk about stash yarn, I don’t mean the skeins you’ve earmarked for a specific project—the 6 balls of Kidsilk Haze you bought to make that Colorplay Scarf, or the sweater quantity of Noro Silk Garden waiting patiently on your shelf.

No, stash yarn is different. It’s the 40 grams of a special hand-dye leftover from your last shawl. It’s the single skein you bought on vacation just because the color spoke to you. It’s the yarn you grabbed at a trunk show or on sale or just because you needed a little pick-me-up that day. Stash yarn is yarn with a story—but no assignment.

Stash yarn can feel like clutter, or it can feel like potential. It's all in how you look at it. 

Yarn is your ingredient. You are the chef.

If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen, looked in the fridge, and wondered what to make with one egg, a heel of cheese, and a handful of arugula—you know that limitations can spark creativity.

It’s the same with stash yarn.

At our summer retreat this year, we leaned into that idea. Instead of starting with a pattern, we started with the yarn. Bits and pieces. Leftovers. One-of-a-kinds. And then we explored what was possible.

First we organized our stash by color. Makes such a difference, no?

We swatched. We played with stitch structure. We talked about how color, texture, and gauge work together. 

 We layered yarns and held two together. We imagined new fabrics. Some people followed a pattern; others improvised entirely. Everyone created something uniquely theirs.

There are a few rules—but they’re more like recipes

Just like balancing sweet and salty in a sauce or adding a dash of acid to brighten a stew, knitting with stash yarn is about harmony. 

We talked about how a fine fuzzy yarn can soften the differences between different variegated yarns, how colors appear close up versus how they look from far away, and that stitch patterns matter. Linen stitch and seed stitch are your friends here—they tame wild yarns and blend colors with grace.  Miters create symmetry and help bring order to chaos. 

Also, we sometimes need to include colors we don't actually like. Do you see that strange acid yellow above? That's the squeeze of freshness my palette needed to make all the teals and blues pop.  

Cooking and knitting: a shared joy

Both crafts ask you to pay attention. To touch and taste and listen and learn. To experiment. To take joy in the process. Whether I’m standing in the kitchen or sitting on the couch with my needles, I’m in that same state of happy flow—making something out of what I have, and letting the ingredients guide me.  

That’s what I hope you’ll take from this post—not just ideas for your stash, but permission to use it. To trust your instincts. To make something beautiful and unexpected and truly yours. 

The point isn’t perfection—it’s play.

What will you make with your leftovers?

If you’re feeling inspired, check out our most stash-friendly pattern, here—the Entropy pattern, designed to let your creativity shine.  I've made three of them, Nicole has made at least that many, and they are all uniquely beautiful.  Here's the one I made to match my daughter Katie's bedroom

I’d love to hear your stash stories. What’s hiding in your yarn pantry? What yarns are waiting to become something new?

Leave a comment, shoot me a message, or stop by the shop and show me. 

Hugs,
Ellen