Buying leftover yarn (not an ad)

Dear users, dear designers,
at eBay etc., there are sometimes offers for bags of leftover yarn.
Have any of you ever bought leftover yarn this way? Was it worth it?

I used to buy leftover yarn or yarn bundles on eBay quite often. I’ve never had a bad experience.
You can really snag a bargain or two. :-)

Is this “waste” from a wool-processing factory, or where does the leftover yarn usually come from?

Actually, I’m happy when I find a use for my own leftover yarn, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy more. What I do sometimes do, though, is buy clearance items at a yarn store. These are often several skeins of the same color that are quite inexpensive.

I don’t have any experience with eBay in this regard.

Here’s how I handle it:
Customers who want to drop off leftover yarn can do so at my store. I then either sell it to other customers in exchange for a donation—100% of these donations go, for example, to our local senior center (for outings, etc.) or to community aid organizations—
or the leftover yarn is picked up by the kindergarten teachers at our Aschau Children’s Hospital.  Sometimes I also give them away to knitters receiving Hartz IV benefits.
This way, the leftover yarn always goes toward charitable causes.

@Josefa
Usually, it’s yarn left over after someone has knitted or crocheted a sweater or something similar. Or maybe they don’t like the color anymore. Or they simply need space for new yarn ;-)
It’s rarely industrial waste. Although I have also seen bundles with leftover Konrngarn. 

Sometimes there are really great deals out there!

Unfortunately, though, I always have to think back to one experience:
My grandma once received sacks full of yarn for a charity project.
When she started knitting, there was suddenly some weird stuff on the table... Eventually, she realized that all the balls of yarn were full of mouse droppings...

Of course, that’s not the norm—it’s more of an exception—but somehow that image is so deeply ingrained in my mind that I wouldn’t buy leftover yarn from strangers ;)

Since I have way too many leftover skeins of my own, though, I don’t need to anyway—I wouldn’t have room for any new ones anyway :)

I also end up with a lot of leftovers, or yarn that I can’t really use myself. I used to try to sell these “packages,” but it was a lot of work, and the sales weren’t always “pleasant.” People always want everything for free. I didn’t feel like dealing with that anymore.

After a long search online, I found a reputable group that’s always grateful for yarn, fabric, craft supplies (and even old wedding dresses—they sew beautiful things from them for bereaved families), etc. When something is donated there (shipping costs are covered by the people who make the items), they keep very careful track of exactly what’s made from the donations (documented with photos). The items are then sent to the organizers, who distribute them to many, many, many places: hospitals, hospices, Ronald McDonald Houses, and... and... and. This is then documented again, so you always have the peace of mind that everything is truly donated, processed, and ultimately passed on for a good cause. That’s not always the case on the internet.

I enjoy doing this and choose not to sell my many “leftovers.”

Hi everyone!

I don’t buy leftover yarn (or fabric scraps) online anymore.
I used to do that at the beginning of my “addiction,” but you can really get burned that way...
Musty-smelling yarn, probably from a damp basement, fabric scraps that were only good for appliqués (even though they were described differently and photographed in a way that made you trust the description), leftover yarn that was completely tangled and knotted together, skeins that tore or were cut every few meters...

Nope, I’m really cured of that kind of thing...


By the way, if I have leftover yarn or fabric scraps that I can’t or don’t want to use myself anymore, I give them to the kindergarten for crafts. The children always create the most beautiful pictures and other works of art from them.

Best, Nina

I also got burned a lot in the beginning—most of the time it was just a wild jumble of the cheapest acrylic yarn. If I’d bought a new skein of each of those in a store, it probably would’ve been cheaper.
Musty basement smells and various animal hairs rounded out the whole package.
By now, I’ve collected enough leftover yarn myself and only buy new yarn when I know exactly which project I’ll use it for.
I also wouldn’t buy any more (used) yarn online that I’m not familiar with. It’s better to feel it in the store. 

Thanks first of all for the many replies.

How much leftover yarn do you guys end up with on average?
I’m having a hard time imagining the quantities and lengths we’re talking about here.

I don’t really end up with that much “leftover yarn.” I always have projects where I can use even the smallest amounts.
“Leftover yarn” tends to come more from mistaken purchases ;), colors I don’t like ;), or times when I bought 500 g of a certain yarn because I wasn’t sure how much I’d need—and then ended up with large amounts of “leftover yarn.”

In the beginning, I often misjudged and bought two to four skeins too many for larger projects (sweaters, cardigans). All the smaller leftover bits are maybe half a skein or a little less. 
You can’t turn everything into amigurumi, since there’s also a lot suitable for needle/hook size 5 and up... but it can certainly be used for various other small projects. The colors and yarn weights that end up not matching anything anymore are then shredded and used as stuffing material.

I actually tend to buy too much rather than too little, simply because I don’t like running out of yarn while I’m knitting and possibly not being able to find more. It’s usually just a matter of an extra skein or so. So, I’ll buy, say, 5 skeins for a project but end up only needing 4. The leftovers can then be used for small projects. I really try my best to use them all up.

@Josefa
Here’s how it works for my projects:
sometimes I have half a ball left over per project, or sometimes nothing at all; I’m often really lucky, so the yarn is just enough to sew everything together :-). Otherwise, for each project and color, I wind a few meters onto the corresponding label so I can use it to mend something or sew on a button if needed. Tiny scraps go in the trash. If there’s at least 25 g left from a ball, it goes into my “shop leftovers donation box” (as described above).

A lot of people know that I do crafts, especially crochet. I have a few dear dance friends who every now and then bring me a little bag of yarn. Most of the time, these are small scraps that are hard to use up. So I got out my knitting dolly and turned everything that more or less went together into cords. I use them to make coasters or small rugs. I’ve also wrapped cardboard boxes with them that were sitting on the shelf in the kids’ room.
If the scraps really can’t be used, I use them as washable stuffing. That’s also how I “dispose of” torn pantyhose. Things stuffed with them can be put straight into the washing machine.
I just crocheted a little bowl of strawberries that’s completely filled with leftover yarn.

I was once lucky enough to receive a collection of leftover yarn from an estate. The lady’s daughter wanted nothing to do with needles and yarn, so I was only able to take half of what she had.

There were no unpleasant surprises, but there were also a lot of leftovers that I couldn’t do anything with. I took them to the preschool for crafts back then.

Ever since then, I’ve had a regular taker for the leftover yarn there. Every fall, at the start of the new preschool year, I bring a large box full of leftover yarn in all colors and weights. They’re always thrilled, and I often see the crafts they’ve made from it displayed in the window.