
Mom’s birthday present wrapped in yarn scraps come pompom!
Rounding out our look at “reduce, reuse, and recycle” is the late societal addition to the 3R’s… the U of “upcycle”! I love upcycling yarn leftovers into wonderfully unique designs – anything from a hair tie to gift wrapping to another publication. Something about the challenge of knowing I have this much yarn and not a strand more lends an exciting boundary box to the infinite design possibilities!

Whether it be a time of pure experimentation, like Twisted Upcycle, where I learned mobius knitting; – and subsequently revealed that the twisted rib of “Color Flow” is indeed a secret passion for twisted rib over standard rib that I didn’t know existed within me –

Or a way to make a design more accessible (and less scary) like Sun Fire, an upcycle from Solar Flare.

Typically, upcycling leftover yarns at Knit Eco Chic fall immediately within the time frame of the original publication, like with Snow Gazer’s upcycle Snow Gazer Headband.
But the pattern design related to our look at the 3Rs in crafting is a late bloomer in comparison… just like the late addition of Upcycle to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. With this sneak of the yarn can you guess which was the original design?

If you guessed “Matcha Summer” you are correct!

Coming soon to your knitting needles, “Outdoor Studio.” As the test knitters finish up their WIPs, so does our look at the 3R’s. Which is your final heads up… any pattern you love from the “reduce” Curator’s List blog will be gone Monday morning (June 4th), so don’t wait any longer before snatching them up!
Moving forward keep an eye out for “Outdoor Studio” mid-June. In the meantime, we will turn our attention next to the eco principle of fair trade. This year’s mystery knit-a-long, Je Ne Sais Quoi, features fair trade yarn from Vegan Yarn. Due to this: the MKAL blogs will be interspersed with the Fair Trade topic blogs. Fair Trade is a topic I’m so interested in exploring with you all! Feel free to PM me with any questions you’d like me to address as we continue through our “Eco Elements” year.