Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn [Kindle Edition]

Melissa Leapman has put together another good book with some very refreshing and good ways to deal with your left-over stash. The book contains 21 patterns and the patterns are divided by type of yarn - lightweight, worsted, and thick. Ms. Leapman reconstructs what we think about our 'stash' - "It's not just a stash, it's a personalized yarn collection". I agree with her. It's just that I often don't know what to do with my stash or exactly what's in it. Her book addresses these concerns and gives me lots of ideas. The first section discusses the need to get your yarn together and know what you have in your stash. You can't really make good use of it until you're familiar with what you have. She suggests separating the yarn by weight and if the yarn has no label, then use wraps per inch. She suggests 4 piles: super fine, light, medium, bulky and super bulky. She offers wonderful tips. For instance, multi-stranded yarn can be separated for a lighter weight yarn. Finer weight yarns can be combined for a bulkier weight yarn. She suggests cataloguing the yarn and recommends that knitters all utilize ravelry.com, a wonderful website that has a feature to help with cataloguing. She also suggests using a yarn notebook to list every yarn you own. Personally, I'd need several notebooks! Also, it's very important to store the yarn carefully so that it doesn't get ruined.

There is a nice section on color combinations. She explains the theory of color and provides different color combinations that go together. She discusses the Magic Ball Technique to get random color patterns. One cuts random lengths of yarn from one ball and a different length from a second ball. Then continue adding lengths from different yarns and wind them all together. Attach the lengths with knots.

There is a section on ways to use science and math to make use of your stash. She discusses the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci Sequence. I love that this is included. Take a chance, she says. Use dice and "choose twelve colors you'd like to use in a project, and number each one." Use the dice to determine how many rows for each color. Random and mathematical - how can a knitter go wrong?

Ms. Leapman states that we should be sure "that each yarn used within a project has the same laundering and care specifications." Weight of yarn should also be consistent so that gauge can be achieved. Gauge and yarn type are listed for each of the patterns and we should be sure to have enough yarn to complete the project.

The patterns are very varied in type, from sweaters and shawls, to bracelets and purses. My favorites are the Greenmarket Bag in a lace pattern in fine/sportweight yarn; Mona's Little Bias Scarf in fine/sportweight yarn; Keiki Baby Kimono in fine/sportweight yarn; Sporty Stripes Sweater in Light/DK weight; Puzzle Play Blanket in medium/worsted yarn; Sausalito Purse in medium/worsted yarn; Tamara's Wrap in Medium/Worsted yarn (my favorite pattern in the book); Urban Knitster Slouch Hat in bulky weight yarn; and Bravissimo Throw in bulky weight yarn (my second favorite pattern). That's nine patterns that really called out to me.

The book is an EXCELLENT resource and has enough lovely and different patterns all clearly written for me to rate it a '5'. Thank you Ms. Leapman.

Partial skeins and balls, left over from larger projects, are the bane of every knitter's existence. The yarn is too good to throw out, but there's not enough to actually make anything. However, this book solves the problem, with its many patterns for projects so well designed that, as author Melissa Leapman says, "no one will ever know these projects were made from leftovers!"

The attractive projects include (1) a charted "jigsaw puzzle piece" baby blanket; (2) geometrically-patterned bangle bracelets; (3) striped mittens, scarves, shawls, throws, and sweaters; (4) striped and patterned shopping, sample, and tote bags; (5) a Fair Isle yoked sweater and a Fair Isle vest; and (6) many single-color hats. The projects are grouped in the book according to the yarn weights used: fine, lightweight, worsted, or chunky.

What I really like about this book is the lengthy introduction that discusses sorting yarns leftovers by weight and color, to ensure the best possible combinations for successful knitted fabrics. Several pages, illustrated with color wheels, explain the scientific theory of color--including how to get good results from monochromatic color combinations, and from combinations of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 colors. The book also includes explanations of how to join yarns together using standard knitting techniques, or using the "Russian join" (which uses a tapestry needle). There is a nice discussion of how to put together a "Magic Ball" of short lengths of leftover yarns of different colors and textures (the ball is knitted up like regular yarn); as well as some discussion of yarn storage.

Nearly all of the projects are fairly easy to knit. (The Fair Isle garments, the intarsia sample bag, and the charted puzzle-piece blanket will require moderate knitting experience). Note, though, that whether you will have enough yarn already on hand to knit many of the larger projects will depend entirely on the actual size and makeup of your personal yarn stash! For me, this book rates an unqualified 5 stars.

There are a number of projects in this book that I know for sure that I want to knit and love the many tips & tricks scattered throughout the book in notes within each project, but the most invaluable part of this book is in the beginning. I'm referring to the "How to get it all together and sort it" section of the book. Melissa recommends sorting by weight first and then color families. She tells us how to do this and even gives us a couple of charts to go by for us knitters who find this one of the hardest things to do without a ball band. A problem for many of those left-over balls of yarn. But don't fear, Melissa has helpful charts also. She even includes a chart on how to get the weight you need by combining two or three other weights of yarn. Even picking out the correct color combinations can be daunting. But Melissa gives you all the information you need to be successful. I hardly have to stress how invaluable it is to know how to plan the color combinations. Oh how I love this potential in this book. Melissa explains it and breaks it all down to where anybody will have success by following her advise.

I know I'll be referring to this books for many other projects as well. Even just for the color combination secion alone. So now I'm going to take Melissa's suggestion of shopping from my Stash and making use of this wonderful book while knitting a dent into my own yarn collection. But first I need to pull all those hidden balls out into the open and find out just what I have. Thanks for the inspiration, Melissa!