Needlecrafts Crochet

10+ Scrap Yarn Crochet Patterns

Don't Let Any Leftovers Go To Waste

Striped Crochet Blanket Pattern

Haak Maar Raak 

Scrap yarn crochet projects are perfect for so many reasons. You get to use up that leftover yarn so that nothing goes to waste. The projects are often colorful thanks to the variety of yarn that you'll use, which, of course, makes them eye-catching.

Perhaps most importantly, working with leftover yarn challenges your creativity, encouraging you to create new things in unique ways that you might not have thought of before. Many designers have figured out how to do just that and then shared their findings in patterns.

Here are ten scrap yarn crochet patterns to inspire you. Remember that you can always adapt the pattern with your own ideas.

  • 01 of 10

    Granny Square Crochet Patterns

    Crochet Granny Square, Round 3
    Kathryn Vercillo

    The classic granny square is a terrific go-to motif for working with scrap yarn. You can make squares in any size to suit the amount of yarn that you have leftover. You can make solid-colored squares if you have enough scrap yarn in the same color or change yarn every round when working with just little bits of leftover yarn.

    In addition to the classic granny square, there are many variations that you can mix-and-match when making afghans and other scrap yarn projects. Before you dig into any other scrap yarn crochet patterns, start with granny squares and see what you can make.

  • 02 of 10

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Scarf Free Pattern (plus many more ideas!)

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Scarf

    Creative Crochet Workshop 

    Creative Crochet Workshop is one of the best resources when it comes to scrap yarn crochet patterns. She does a series of them each year as crochet-alongs. They started with the Scrapalicious series, which includes this scarf as well as a blanket, cushion, and bag. Then came the Scrapsadelic series followed by the Scrapsrific set.

    Start with this crochet scarf to get a true sense of what you can do with scrap yarn crafting. You can easily put together a variety of different yarns to create motifs as well as rows, joining them into the shape of a scarf. Once you're done with this, you'll be able to easily make your own scrap yarn crochet patterns!

  • 03 of 10

    Scrap Yarn Mitered Square Free Crochet Blanket Pattern

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Blanket

    Melanie Shukost, Ravelry 

    Combine even the smallest scraps of yarn to create striking mitered squares. Join these squares together to create a colorful crochet blanket. The effect is like a work of art. The more that you play around with different color combinations and color pooling, the easier it will be to figure out which scrap yarns go together best.

  • 04 of 10

    Linen Stitch Scrap Yarn Crochet Rug Free Pattern

    Crochet Rug Free Pattern

     Stitches n Scraps

    Sometimes it's hard to figure out which yarn colors go together. One smart trick is to work a multi-stranded crochet project. The way that the colors blend together makes almost any choice work. That's exactly what you'll do with this stashbusting crochet project, in which you'll hold a whopping five strands of scrap yarn together to make a linen stitch rug. The pattern links to a helpful tutorial about combining scraps of yarn.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below
  • 05 of 10

    Skinny Scrap Yarn Crochet Scarf Pattern

    Skinny Scrap Yarn Crochet Scarf

     Canoe Mtn Designs, Ravelry

    Whether or not you use scrap yarn, this crochet scarf has a cute design. It's a skinny scarf, perfect as a warm weather accessory. It's designed with a unique diagonal shape that makes it fun to try. You'll use primarily single crochet and double crochet stitches.

    The reason that this works well as a scrap yarn crochet pattern is because it's designed as a color-blocked design. Choose three colors of equal weight from your stash and make this scarf quickly and efficiently.

  • 06 of 10

    One Skein, Two Scraps Crochet Cowl Pattern

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Cowl Pattern

     AllMKDesigns, Etsy

    This crochet pattern is designed to use one full skein of yarn. What makes it a scrap yarn crochet project is that you accent the cowl with scrap yarn at the top and bottom, in whatever colors you happen to have small bits of. Many of us purchase single skeins of beautiful yarn then don't know what to do with them. This is your opportunity to combine them with scrap yarn to create beautiful color combinations for your accessories. The scrap yarn crochet rows are made using reverse single crochet to really draw attention to them.

  • 07 of 10

    Deconstructed Crochet Cowl Pattern

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Cowl Pattern

    Beth Bonkowski, Ravelry 

    This is one of the most unique crochet cowl patterns ever created. You make a variety of skinny crochet scarves with buttons on the end to loop them closed into cowls. Then you combine them in various combinations with loops and twists to create the full crochet cowl. You can even wrap them around a silk scarf for extra flair.

    What makes this a great scrap yarn crochet project is that each of the individual strands only uses up a little bit of yarn. Each one has a different stitch pattern, so you can create a variety of different mix-and-match designs using whatever bits of yarn you have left in your stash.

  • 08 of 10

    Beginner Scrap Yarn Crochet Shawl Pattern

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Blanket Shawl

    Esther Sandrof, Ravelry 

    Any striped crochet pattern is perfect for scrap yarn because you can change color on every row. As long as you have enough of any one yarn to make it across one row, then you are in business. Of course, even if you have to combine yarns to complete a row, that can work, too. There are a lot of tips about all of this in this crochet pattern.

    This is a rectangular crochet shawl pattern (or a large blanket scarf). You could adapt the pattern to make a larger blanket as well. This design primarily uses basic crochet stitches but there are some clusters for texture.

    There is a lot of fringe on either end of this wrap. You can use short bits of scrap yarn for that fringe. In fact, anytime that you're going to use fringe on a crochet project, you might want to see what bits you have leftover in your stash.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below
  • 09 of 10

    Striped Crochet Sampler Blanket Free Pattern

    Striped Crochet Blanket Pattern

    Haak Maar Raak 

    This is another example of a striped crochet pattern that asks you to change colors every row. You also make a different stitch in each row. That's what makes it a sampler blanket. It's the perfect project to use up a whole lot of leftover yarn and to practice new stitches at the same time.

    The designer has offered her own color list for the way that she made her bright rainbow striped blanket. However, you can just use whichever scrap yarn that you have in the order that you think will look best for your project.

  • 10 of 10

    Diamond Stitch Scrap Yarn Crochet Blanket Free Pattern

    Scrap Yarn Crochet Blanket Pattern

    Happy In Red 

    One smart way to make a variety of different yarn colors look great together is to tie them all together with one cohesive color. There are several ways to do this.

    • You can work double-stranded, using one color throughout and adding scrap yarn as the second color.
    • You can join scrap yarn motifs with one color and add a border around the whole thing in the same color.
    • Or you can separate rows of scrap yarn colors with the same color throughout.

    The latter is what you'll do in this scrappy yarn crochet blanket pattern. It's made using diamond stitch. It's very similar to a granny stripe, except that you use groupings of 2 dc across the row instead of 3 dc.