As many other knitters do, I've been saving all those pesky yarn scraps that accumulate as you finish projects.  The trims from weaving in ends, the leftover yardage that did quite get used.  I've always had a use for them.  Adding into all my different blanket designs.  But what about those scraps that are just too short to tie onto your blanket?  Read on for a few suggestions!

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Decor
The first project I made was to fill up a clear lamp base with the smallest scraps, and made sure to use my favorite special colors.  This is one of my favorite pieces because I not only got to save the yarn, but it adds quite a bit of color to my room.  I picked up this adorable clear base and shade at Target.  Once I collected enough scraps, I stuffed this puppy FULL!  

Scrappy Skeins
I picked up a few bulky skeins of handspun at a local fiber festival.  I wanted to add a little color to it, so I tied on a bunch of the smallest scraps every few inches.  It looks a little funky, but that's just the way I like it.  I'm thinking about making a few more skeins like this and creating a throw pillow. 
I wish I was one of those talented spinners out there.  How cool would it be to spin them all together?  That's when I discovered LoomDenim on Etsy.  You simply send Ashley as many bags of your yarn scraps as you wish, and she spins them into STUNNING works of art.  I'm getting ready to send off some to her once I finish a few more projects.  

I hope you get inspired by these projects!  What do you do with your yarn scraps? Comment below, I'd love to hear!

I first discovered sari yarn years ago when I was browsing a local yarn shop.  I was in awe of the silky softness, and of course the BRIGHT colors!  I bought a skein, but was never sure what to make with it, and ended up gifting it away in one of my knitting swaps.  Boy am I kicking myself now!

Fast forward to this year.  I started listening to the Knit Collage Podcast and was totally inspired by Amy's entire mantra; follow what inspires you, embrace the weirdness, and always be growing.  All of the Knit Collage yarns are handmade and hand spun in India by a group of women.  Incredible!  In one of her early podcasts, she had guest Christina Dean, and they discussed the effects of fast fashion and how much waste it creates.  Christina created Redress an amazing fashion company that focuses on reducing textile waste. Needless to say, I was inspired.  What could I do to help?

I remembered back to the day I first picked up sari yarn.  Using the powers of Google, I researched high and low about the materials, process, and the workers who make this colorful yarn.  Sari textiles are a major tradition and a huge fixture in manufacturing in India.  Unfortunately, many tons of scraps from the manufacturing floor become waste.  What is their way of turning these into usable products?  Making colorful ribbons and yarn.  I discovered a manufacturing group located in Rajasthan, India that sells gorgeous textiles and home decor.  They also sell the sari ribbon!  IN BULK!  Dangerous for me, I know!  I placed an order and within a few days the yarn traveled all the way to my doorstep.  

I knew I wanted to design a blanket for my home using these crazy colorful skeins.   I found lots of projects on Ravelry using sari yarn, but not a single blanket pattern.  There had to be more people out there wanting to make a sari blanket.  Grabbing the largest needles I had (US 15), I cast on what became my Pink City Sari Blanket.  Each stitch was a complete joy.  With every color change in the skein, there were delicate hand stitches joining  the sari scraps.  These women in India are so talented!  Within a few days, my blanket was complete.  Oh the wonders of chunky yarn.  I can honestly say, I snuggle up with it every day!  It has definitely become my favorite piece at home.  
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I hope I've inspired you to test out this amazing fiber for yourself!  Not only are you using recycled materials, you also empower women with each skein they create.  
What is your favorite project using sari ribbon?  Leave a comment below!

Hi all! After a long hiatus from my blog posting, I learned how much I miss it! With all the new directions my shop has taken in the last year, it just makes sense to get back into blogging. Those Instagram captions only explain so much!

This year, I've decided to take a more eco-friendly approach to my shop. As much as I LOVE using luxury yarns and expensive indie dyed yarn, it isn't always the most financially wise decision. What began my journey into recycled yarns was frogging my own previous projects. If I wasn't going to wear this huge shawl, why not reuse the yarn and design something new? While I love reusing hand dyed yarns, I didn't want to frog EVERYTHING I had made. I did want to keep some of it!

When I first started researching recycled yarns, I rediscovered sari yarn. This amazing silk yarn was re purposed from traditional Indian saris, and turned into gorgeous colorways for the next knitting project. They even take unusable scraps from the manufacturing process to turn into yarn! How cool is that? Even better, it employs women in India who may otherwise not be able to work. With this fiber, I searched for a blanket pattern to highlight this incredible material. Unfortunately, I could not find a single hand knit blanket pattern using sari ribbon yarn. As a result, my Pink City Sari Blanket was born! You can download it for FREE on Ravelry by clicking this link! (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-pink-city-sari-blanket).

Then, I discovered Echoview Fiber Mill. My favorite yarn of theirs is from the Recycled Yarn Collective. They take a super-soft wool and blend it with recycled yarn scraps from other yarn businesses! I recently purchased my first few skeins from them, and cannot wait to test it out!

With this blog, I hope to continue to discover sustainable yarn companies around the world as well as design new patterns for all of you using these materials! Do you have any yarn company recommendations for me? Leave them below in the comments!!