After three years of knitting, I’ve amassed a ridiculous amount of scrap yarn. This is the yarn where there’s too much to throw away yet not enough to complete even a small project. It’s a conundrum every knitter faces – What the heck do you do with all that extra yarn?
The solution came to me in the Summer 2015 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. In it, there was article on nifty ways to use an i-cord for household items, like coasters, seat cushions, and trivets. My interested was lukewarm at first – I loved the idea of knitting things for my home, but I hated the prospect having to knit i-cords. After knitting several i-cords for a tank top I made a couple of years ago, I swore I’d never do it again.
Then, I read a little further and found out there’s a much easier way to create the dreaded i-cord. Remember those tube knitting tools for kids? Well, take that idea and mechanize it with a crank and rotating hooks. The Embellish Knit essentially “motorizes” the i-cord process. Sign me up!
I tracked down an Embellish Knit at my local craft store and got to work! Creating an i-cord has never been easier – In under twenty minutes the Embellish Knit can crank out a 75 inch i-cord. After learning how to knit an i-cord on needles and hating every minute of it, I believe this is the best invention ever created for knitters!
My first trivet was created with leftover sock yarn from socks I made earlier this year. I simply turned the crank and made three 70″ i-cords. Then, I tied the top sections together by the tail yarn. I secured those ends to the back of a chair and braided the cords together. The last step is stitching the braid into a coil, using a horizontal zig-zag stitch, (the entire process is outlined visually in Interweave’s article).
I ended up with a 6″ trivet that didn’t buckle thanks to the horizontal zig-zag stitch.
6″ sock yarn braided trivet – wool, alpaca, acrylic blend.
The success of the first trivet led me to experiment with other scrap yarns in different colors and weights. Through the process of trial and error I learned the Embellish Knit can handle a variety of different yarns, but anything above #3 weight yarn gets tangled in the hooks. Wool, cotton, acrylic, and blended fibers all seemed to work well as long they are on the lightweight end of gauge.
My scrap yarn basket has thankfully been reduced significantly thanks to a number of successful trivet projects.
6.5″ braided trivet – spun and worsted 3-ply wool.
7″ braided trivet – 100% cotton, sport weight
8″ braided trivet – worsted weight wool, 10 ply
This one is definitely a birthday present for my mother-in-law. Turquoise is her favorite color and the yarn came from a pair of socks I made for her two years ago.
7.5″ braided trivet – wool/acrylic blend, #3 weight
The most recent trivet I made is for me. It matches my kitchen perfectly and I love the heft of a lightweight worsted wool.
8″ braided trivet – worsted weight wool, 10 ply
Some of these lovely trivets will be wrapped up as Christmas gifts and some will make their way into my kitchen. Either way, I’m thrilled to have a practical, yet fun way to use up yarn that would otherwise just sit there tempting my cat to make a mess.
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c.b.w. 2015
C.B. Wentworth 