Crochet Makes From Scrap Cakes: Turn your scrap yarn into colourful crochet projects

by Naomi Vincent

Overview

Love yarn but don't know what to do with all your scraps? This guide will show you how to make wonderful, colourful cakes of yarn to create scrappy but beautiful crochet makes.

This unique book explains how you can use up the small balls of yarn that are left over from project making, to make bespoke ‘scrap cakes’ – chunky balls of scrap yarn – specifically to suit a crochet pattern.

Crocheting with scrap cakes gives the finished project a multicoloured scrappy look but in a considered way, because the author explains how to create the scrap cakes to get the perfect colour contrast. She also explains how to make scrap cakes with different colour themes by sorting your scraps into tonal groups before winding them up, it's the perfect way to play with colour and make unique yarn for your crochet projects.

The front of the book features a section about how to make the scrap cakes which author, Naomi Vincent, makes on a winder. She also explains how to make them if you are winding the balls by hand in order to make sure that the yarn comes from the centre of the ball while you're working.

Naomi explains how many lengths of each colour yarn you need for each part of the pattern, how to measure it out and in what order, how to do the ‘magic knot’ technique to join the yarns and the order they need to be wound in.

In addition to the instructions about making the scrap cakes there are 15 crochet projects for colorful scrappy makes including a shawl, scarf, bag, hat, cardigan and different sized blankets and throws. The projects use lots of interesting crochet stitches and techniques - there's a granny square blanket, a corner to corner throw and some fun stitches like the mini bean stitch and the cluster stitch, and there are instructions for all of these at the back of the book for reference.

This has everything you need to bust your stash of 'yarnlings' and make some amazing crochet projects along the way!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781446313640
Publisher:	David & Charles
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	210 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Naomi Vincent has built a large following with her brand Nai Nai Makes, on Instagram, Etsy and Ravelry where she sells her scrap cakes, patterns and kits.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

I bet you have a great stash of leftover yarns and but none are enough to make something new? Let’s make something fabulous with all those leftover yarns! From blankets to baskets, bags to shawls – any project can be a scrappy project!

Within this book, I will help you to understand how to make a scrap cake for a project of your choice and how to measure your yarn scraps to make it work. Making scrap cakes for projects is an excellent way to use up and reuse all your scraps to prevent waste and clear up some space! It lets us create useful items or garments from things we would normally hoard or throw away.

Each pattern in this book will have the scrap cake measurements at the start but if you do prefer to create your own pattern, you need to think about how you want the colours to change throughout the design. 

For my scrap cakes and colour combinations I take inspiration from everything I see around me, mostly scenery, textiles and food. My favourite colourways to create are the four seasons. My favourite is autumn made up of warming earthy tones and khaki greens.

Sticking to a particular theme or subject when creating your colourway will give the finished look a more polished look and more significant and with personal meaning to you.

My personal recommendation is also to invest in a yarn winder! These contraptions will change the way you wind your yarn forever more. They are definitely the saviour of all scrap yarn stashes and a must have for any yarn-y crafter. 

Now onto the yarn stash itself. I prefer to organise by scrap stash depending on how much yarn is left of each type. Once I’ve wound the yarn, I label each yarn cake with its weight. 

Of course, you can sort your scraps by colour as well, especially if you have specific colour combinations in mind!

I personally like to keep them separated by weight and worry about colours matching later. I also love a random colour mix where I don’t worry too much about shades or tones matching in advance.

 

Have a look through my patterns within this book or create a new pattern of your choice; either way let’s get the yarn measurements for your pattern started!