2026 DeStash-Along

I used to throw all the small bits into a can. When I had enough, I just set the can on the burner to melt the wax in order to add the wick. We used those ugly candles for emergency when the power would go off.

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I destashed all my candle wax and jars today! I did add to the candle stash but we burn candles quite often, and they’re useful as emergency supplies too.

They actually turned out pretty nice looking, at least while hot. My red, grey and white wax and a little bit of pink dye resulted in one bright orange and two red candles.

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That’s the fun part–seeing what the mix of colors will turn out to be! That’s a great destash!

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The conundrum of old thread! A few years ago, I set mine aside to use for sewing paper. I hardly ever remember to use it, because of how “aside” it is set. I hope with the reconfiguring or the uses of bedrooms 2 & 3, I will not have nearly as many supplies that get forgotten.

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Have y’all seen strinsel, it’s like tinsel made of thread. I cannot even guys, I almost fished the garbage for thread I chucked out. It was all old & breaky & good for nuthin. I was soooo tempted, but I resisted!

Today I’m destashing a linen sheet into a smock but there’s still so much of it left over. I may try a self drafted cross back apron as well, just to use it up.

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Sounds like a good way to use up nice fabric. I love how soft linen gets with time. I’m saving all my linen leftovers (that are too small for garment sewing) for a quilt.

I destashed almost 100g of sock yarn into a hat. It has gone into the last-minute gift bin. And I started another one immediately.

This one is a single skein of wool/silk/cashmere that I got to swatch for a sweater (it was sold as tweed, but doesn’t really look very tweed-ish in this color way). So, it just sat in my stash. Paired it with a single ball of silk and kid mohair…also purchased to test a new yarn. Together, they make a really nice fabric.

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I am using this one because she has a free template you can use to draw out your apron on fabric instead of making a pattern if you want. She is a small woman so I used her instructions on how to make the apron larger, so I actually drew the template on newspaper first.

Crossback apron

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Today is a very productive day! So far I’ve completed stitching a bunch of triangle cutoffs into pinwheels in different sizes (not completely destashed but will go in the scrappy block bin) used up all my candle wax and took an hour to finish backstitching my Christmas stitch.

My UFO/WIP bin is far from empty yet but it’s a start! I’m especially glad to get rid of the messy candle wax. I put away the leftover embroidery thread right away too. Not such a tedious job when you’ve only used two colours.

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That Christmas stitching is beautiful!

@Trillian Do we have a February prompt? Looks like it could be “blue”… :laughing:

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Very pretty cross stitch, @Immaculata!

I finished the hat and still have enough yarn for another, so I’ll probably start that later.

I went through my yarn stash again and realized that I’d like to get away from synthetics as much as possible (personal choice, no judgement). So, I moved all those yarns to their own bin and tucked it away under my desk (I may destash it, I may work through it, who knows?). I also moved them out of my active stash on Ravelry so I don’t see them. Now, thanks to ADHD and my lack of object permanence, my stash feels a little less overwhelming.

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I like your simple hat. I also have all of my acrylic yarns in one bin. I have found it to be useful for some of the silly projects I like to knit and crochet.

But, for the most part, superwash wools and natural fibers feel and knit so much nicer as well. The last six hats I made were wool and they are just springy-er?

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@tendstowardschaos, good stash management. I started making crocheted baskets a few years ago to use up all the random yarn in my stash. All the crappy colors, small amounts, acrylics, and other non-natural yarns. I ended up with 14 baskets, one less big bin+ of yarn, and donated them all to the church craft fair. They all sold, so did the next year’s 7 baskets, and all this year’s as well. Obviously, I added to my stash through thrift shops and donations, and still have one bin plus a bag of yarn. Sigh.

Here are a few of this year’s baskets. I have until November to build up my stock again. These scrappy baskets seem to delight people.

Promps:

Color: White. I added white into my yarn mixtures for a softer, paler set of baskets
Pattern: Stripes: Random yarn makes great stripes
For: Relaxation: These are my “sit and watch TV or videos” craft.

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I can see why your baskets sell out - they’re fabulous. And, one can seemingly never have enough baskets. At least, I can’t. :joy:

I’m content, for now, to remove the supplies into storage that aren’t going to be a priority for planned projects (I’ve done this with a bit of fabric, as well). I’ll deal with them when I’ve worked through some of the rest of my stash.

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I bought two meters of lightweight denim last spring to make a skirt. I pre-washed and folded it and noticed some discoloration. Today I was ironing it and I literally saw the dye disappear in patches while I ironed. It doesn’t look like normal fade on denim, it looks quite odd. I’ve never had this happen with fabric. I guess I’ll dye the fabric and see if it looks better after that :woman_shrugging:

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Destashed random small leftovers of yarn.



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Nice work! Now you’re in a colder climate again, legwarmers and earwarmers will be very useful.

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Cute leg warmers, @AIMR!

I finished off those blue yarns with another hat for the gift pile. Gotta love little projects on big needles - instant gratification.

My next side quest cast-on is going to be a small-gauge project, though, since those are generally a little easier on the hands, even if it’s cotton. I need more dish cloths! My store-bought ones are beyond threadbare.

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Over the last week, I have been plugging away at moving my craft lab from one room to another, shifting to a new storage “system,” and sorting/purging as I go. I have another box to take to the creative reuse store when I’m in town tomorrow! This time it includes embroidery stuff I’ll never use, lots of cardstock and paper (loose and in pads), a calligraphy pen purchased for a book trailer for Dr Potter’s Medicine Show, a porcelain picture frame, and a metal plating kit! Also a lot of paper scraps will be going to the burn pile along with too-small lumber scraps - which is how a neighbor heats his house, not just a bon fire. Sadly, I also had some actual garbage.

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Do you have a favourite dishcloth pattern? I have a bunch of gifted cotton to use up. I knitted a few dishcloths from a Pinterest pattern but I didn’t really like the end result (they didn’t scrub properly).

Another option is to use the cotton for some fun potholders from a vintage 1970s pattern but these are pretty fiddly. Dishcloths would be a better sofa-project.

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I just use Purl Soho’s free Corner to Corner Washcloth pattern. It’s all garter stitch, but there’s no reason you can’t modify the stitch pattern to suit. In fingering weight cotton, the finished dish cloth is still not too bulky to be shoved into our small-necked water bottles (I make mine a little smaller than the pattern dictates, though).

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