Using stash yarn for baby hats
I live for a sale. I see those 4 bold letters on a sign and suddenly my mind is a rolodex flipping through project ideas for said sale product. And when it’s a yarn sale, you can bet I’m going to buy some, because I need it. I’ll use it. I’ll definitely use it…?
Fast-forward to months later when it’s sitting in my closet and might as well have a thought-bubble next to it that says “What were you thinking?”
This was the case for me with a summer purchase at Michael’s. With absolutely no patterns to base my shopping trip off of, I found myself taking a leisurely stroll through the yarn aisle on my lunch break. Then I saw it from afar, love at first sight — the words SALE & PANTONE together on one sign. I needed to know more.
Pantone Yarn
How could I say no to my two loves, color theory and yarn? Make that 3 loves; I definitely love a good sale.
Arms overloaded with my favorite color combinations, I awkwardly power-walked to the checkout counter. I purposely didn’t grab a cart when I entered the store, a clever trick I play on myself to avoid a large-scale purchase just like this one. I giddily returned home with my prize, excited to plan out all the beautiful garments I might create in these lovely Pantone colors.
First things first, I needed to separate the skeins and wind up all my yarn balls. I severely underestimated how time consuming this would be, and quickly realized that all these beautiful combo skeins actually equalled a ton of very tiny yarn balls. It was a bit of a let down, though I don’t really know what I was expecting.
Once all the skeins were wound and I had my basket full of tiny yarn balls, I set it aside and decided I’d figure out what to do with them in a few days. Days turned into weeks as I’d pass by them on my way to grabbing different yarn for larger projects. I’d make a point to stop and pet the yarn, at least I could enjoy how soft it was. I’d occasionally do a Ravelry search and see what other people made with this yarn, but nothing inspired me. In fact, I was starting to really regret buying it. “This was a lesson,” I’d think, “to never again buy yarn without having a project in mind.” (Sure, Jan)
Then one day out of the blue, my friend called me up and told me she was pregnant. The brain rolodex flipped back into gear: Baby hats! Immediately I knew this was the perfect yarn — soft enough for a baby, but also durable and machine washable. Plus, the small yarn balls wouldn’t be an issue since these hats are so tiny. I found the cutest pattern, Louisa Rainbow Baby Hat, and whipped up the first hat. It was so soft and squishy!
I opted to go with pink and white instead of the full rainbow color scheme; this pattern is great because you can mix and match colors as needed. I ended up being really happy with the pink and white color combo - it’s sweet and subtle. Excuse the poor night -time photo quality, I tend to have fewer good shots of my gifted knits as I’m so excited to get them out the door and to their new owners 😉
I was so happy with this hat that I made a second, smaller one with a slightly different pattern. Babies grow fast, so having multiple sizes to send is always the way to go! I decided to reverse the color scheme and make it more of a polka-dot pattern, which was even more subtle, but still a very sweet color combo.
With my two sizes finished and yarn ends weaved in, all that was left was to block both hats. The tricky bit about this yarn is that it’s actually a blend: 60% Acrylic, 20% Nylon, and 20% Bamboo. I decided that since the majority of the blend was acrylic, I’d follow the method of steam blocking. All this means is that instead of submerging this in water and pinning, you pin it down first and then use an iron (a steamer would also work) on the highest steam setting. Be careful not to get too close! The iron should be a few inches away so that the steam hits the yarn but the iron doesn’t leak on it.
I like to tap the steam button and sway the iron back and forth so it’s not focused for too long on one area. Once the whole area has been steamed, wait for it to dry and cool, and then flip it over and do the same to the other side. Et voila!
Note: the longer you steam the garment, the higher chance you have of “killing” the yarn. This basically means that the yarn can melt slightly, and will lose its elasticity. The plus side of this is that it will drape nicely and look super smooth, but once you do it there’s no going back, and it could end up being a little too drapey or limp.
These hats have now happily been worn by the cutest little baby, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’m also glad I sent two sizes — she was able to wear the smallest one for just a couple weeks, and has since upgraded to the larger size.
To see more info on these hats, check them out on my Ravelry page: Pink Stripes Hat and Pink Flurry Hat.
