Saving Money When Buying Yarn? Using Leftover Yarn and More Tips + Tricks

Dear users, dear designers,
do you have any tips and tricks for saving money when buying yarn?
Leftover yarn is affordable. Are there other inexpensive types of yarn / sources?

No advertising for shops online / offline allowed.

Does anyone else have anything to add?

I would have thought a topic like this would get more posts?

Hmm. What exactly are you getting at here? The only thing I can think of is buying a little extra whenever there’s a sale. But I find it hard to suggest sources without naming specific stores...

I figured that, as avid yarn crafters, you’d know some tricks for using yarn sparingly or similar strategies. Surely there must be other options besides sales?

Unwanted projects or clothes that no longer fit can be unraveled and then used to crochet or knit something else.

That would be another option.

Ahhh. I put the tiny scraps in a scrap jar and use them to stuff small amigurumi pieces (it’s often easier than using cotton batting for small pieces). Almost nothing gets thrown away. 

I think that’s a great idea, too. My grandma often knitted an extra piece onto the bottom and sleeves of our sweaters :-) With kids, the sleeves are often what end up being too short, even though the rest of the sweater would still fit.

You can use cut-off or leftover threads as fringes or to make a mane for a horse or something similar.

I also collect my cut-off threads—or even scraps of wool that are too small—and use them to stuff the hearts I sew. Whenever my jar is full, I quickly sew a heart, so I always have a little gift on hand.



I wouldn’t have thought of using leftover yarn for stuffing—I’ll give it a try sometime!

It looks like we’ve gathered a few ideas after all. :-)
Great.

I cut up my leftover yarn into small pieces and put it in the garden or on the balcony. The birds are happy to take it. For me, cheap yarn is a double-edged sword. Sure, you can buy a skein in stores for as little as 99 cents. But the result is often not very nice, and after washing—if not sooner—it’s usually ready for the trash. We have a saying here: “If you buy cheap, you buy twice.” Amigurumi are often made as gifts, usually for children. And that’s exactly when you shouldn’t focus on the price, but rather on quality. Personally, I save on yarn by “stocking up” when my favorite yarn is on sale. My local yarn shop also has customer loyalty booklets sometimes, where you get good discounts once you reach a certain purchase amount. Handcrafting should be a joy. And I feel that joy when the yarn runs through my fingers and just feels really good. I’d rather skip a trip to the hair salon or a restaurant than skimp on good yarn ;-)