Thrifty Crochet

My $8.99 jumble lot of yarn arrived; let's see if I got the bargain I think I did. There are 22 skeins of barely used or new yarn, mostly worsted weight with a few plush yarns. They have a little debris on the outside, mostly bits of yarn snips that likely came from projects or other skeins, but have no odor or soiling. These two skeins are the only ones that came with labels. The Just Chenille yarn is $1.25 at Dollar Tree, and the Big Twist Posh retails for $9.99. As for the other twenty skeins, I'd price them at $3.00 each resale value, which along with the value of the two labelled skeins makes this lot worth $71.24. Definitely a good deal.

My plan to have a no-spend year got off to a non-start when my health insurance premiums only increased $200.00 for January and February*. Hopefully that remains the case for the months that remain until I go on Medicare later in the year. Although I had no reason (yet) to curtail my spending, I still watched every penny, and did not spend as I usually do. Aside from the $418.23 I spent on food and medications, books for research for my day job (didn't think about that) pet supplies (ditto), and Sunpass funds for our car's transponder ($50.00 which was reimbursed by my guy), I spent $90.31 on yarn and fabric (I should note that half of that was paid in cash with money I'd saved from last Christmas.) What I discovered is that it's really difficult not to spend money. Even though by using cash I set aside last year and didn't spend, and using only forty-five dollars and change from this month's earnings, it added up faster than I realized. As I'm stil...

Crochet often comes in handy when I need a container for our home. I sometimes design my own patterns based on others, like this free pattern over at Yarnspirations for rectangular basket. I needed something similar but wider, lower and sturdier for my glucose log clipboard and testing supplies, which keep falling through the wire rack shelves in the bathroom closet. I pulled these three super bulky weight gray yarns from my stash because they'll make a sturdy basket. After reading the pattern, which was in rounds and not what I wanted to do, I went ahead and crocheted the basket I wanted in one piece using just rows of single and double crochet for the bottom and a rim of single crochet for the sides. Here's the finished basket, which I did start and finish in one day. It was difficult to keep the ends woven into the project; this yarn is super slippery and pops out of every stitch. It also turned out shorter on one side because I made a mistake in counting stitc...

My jumble lot of thrifted yarn will be arriving today, so I'm excited to see if what I get is worth the $8.99 I paid for it. Pretty sure it will be. I put in a $9.99 bid on this 14 pound lot of yarn, but I probably won't win it for that. Bidders are really fighting over the big lots these days, likely to resell them.* I also bid the minimum on this interesting 10 lbs. lot of yarn because the colors and fibers were unusual. I do have a soft spot for unusual yarn.* While I'm still watching my spending, because my rates havin't yet increased I am giving myself permission to thrift any great bargain I see online or out there in the brick and mortar thrift stores.) Stay tuned to the blog to find out how I do with the jumble lot. *I actually lost both of these lots to higher bidders. All of the images in this post are from the original auction listings at ShopGoodwill.com.

I collect vintage crochet magazines and leaflets, mainly because like me they date back to a simpler time. They're also very cheap to thrift and offer classic patterns that look just as nice as anything contemporary that's selling for much higher prices. Here are some that I pulled from my pattern stash to donate what I no longer wanted and look through what I kept for project ideas this year. I have a nice collection of Leisure Arts Leaflets and crochet magazines, some of which date back to the 90's when I was more actively crocheting. I bought these in larger thrifted lots over the years and they cost me literally pennies per issue. You can also find vintage crochet pattern leaflets and books at thrift stores. Let's take a peek at the patterns that caught my eye from these two old issues of Crochet World and McCall's Crochet Patterns. Old issues of Crochet World often offer wearable patterns, like this Touch of Style Oversize Blouse made with cot...

Last week I realized on the 14th that two weeks of 2026 flew right by me, and right now I'm writing during the third week. I wanted to be finished with more projects by now, but life and work have to come first. I think this might be when most crocheters start a new shiny project to boost their spirits. Not me. I kept working away at my first project for the year, and here's why: I don't like being surrounded by unfinished things. I also tend to get fatigued and abandon projects more easily if I've left them by the wayside to do something else. Finally, the payoff of the finished project gives me a much better spirit boost than messing around with several projects at the same time. I have a couple of strategies for sticking to working on one project at a time, which I can use to keep myself focused on reaching the finish line. Planning my next project is probably what I do most often by pulling the yarn from my stash, getting out the printed pattern for the...

One of the main challenges when thrifting yarn is putting together a palette for any project. Most of what I make are either one-skein or multicolor projects, as I don't have the luxury of going and purchasing multiple skeins in one color (I do sometimes thrift them when I can find them, but that's rare.) For my next crochet project I want to use this lot of skeins, which coordinates well together, to make an Ocean Tranquility throw. I do need to tweak the palette a little, however, to suit what I'm imagining. The first step is to shop my stash and pull some skeins that will coordinate as well. Since I moved my yarn onto book shelves this is so much easier. This variegated yarn from the lot is the only skein I'm going to remove. In general I'm not a fan of black yarn, and this has a bit too much of it. These are the skeins I pulled from my stash to add to the lot's blues and purples. I like a little green whenever I can incorporate it int...

On Thursday night this week I completed the first crochet project of 2026, which was making seven thrifted cakes of Mandala Ombre in Serene, one of my favorite yarns, into this lovely throw. I'm really happy with my crocheting on this throw, too. I did have to tear out a few rows to correct mistakes, but the end result was worth it. I'm also happy to report that this tail was all the yarn that was left when I finished the final row, and I wove that into the project, so I used exactly seven skeins. Making this throw helped me regain a sense of what I can do versus brooding all the time about what I can't. It gave me plenty of joy and calm, and many hours of happiness in the process. I feel as if I've gotten off to a good start for the year.

I put in a minimal bid of $8.99 for this jumbled lot of yarn at the online thrift auction, and ended up winning it with no challengers. Only two of the skeins have labels, which is likely why no one wanted to bid on it. My guess is that it's mostly acrylic worsted, but I'll know better once it arrives. There are 22 skeins and balls, and the price I paid for the lot means I got them for about forty-one cents each. That's a bargain not even the dollar store can beat. Thrift your yarn, my friends. :) Image Credit: all of the images in this post were taken from the original auction listing at ShopGoodwill.com.

This was my yarn stash in May of 2024, which was the last time I sorted and organized it. This is about average for my stash because I use it up as quickly as I thrift it (sometimes faster.) Working out of plastic storage bins has been a bit of a pain, however. I can never see what I have in a glance, and digging through it while looking for a specific weight or color is annoying. So I decided to move my entire stash onto bookshelves. Here is my stash after the move. I plan to go through each shelf, weed out what yarn I'm not planning to use (I donate these skeins to our local church thrift store) and arrange the colors better. Although it still needs work I'm very happy with how it looks now, and it should be much easier to find the yarn I want.

Last week I began my annual spring cleaning by reorganizing my yan stash, and that meant investing in some low-cost containers for temporary storage. I picked up these two from Dollar Tree for $1.25 each. This 12" L X 9.375" W X 7.875" H bin is pretty lightweight, but so is silk yarn. I was able to easily stow all the skeins for an upcoming project in it. For heavier storage, I recommend the sturdier 11" L X 10.5" W X 10.5" H collapsible storage containers. They come in all sorts of colors and patterns, and they can hold quite a lot. This one has all the skeins plus the current project I'm working on along with the pattern. Of course making your own storage is even better than purchasing it. I crocheted this big beautiful basket using this video tutorial from Jayda InStitches that remains one of my favorite ways to use up all those little balls of leftover variegated yarn. Now, these are just temporary containers for storing pro...

A Buy It Now bargain lot of yarn and floss I had bookmarked back in December came up on my auction site feed about to expire. I still had some money left over from Christmas, so I went ahead and purchased it for $9.99. The ten yarn skeins in this lot include some colors I need for an upcoming project, and the purchase price makes them .99 each. This lot also includes another O'Go wheel skein of bulky yarn, which I can use with the one I already have. I'll post pics as soon as the lot arrives. 2026 was supposed to be a no-spend year for me, but so far my health insurance premiums have gone up only $200.00 per month. I'm also flying through yarn at the rate of one or two skeins per day, which will deplete my stash before the end of the year. I still see great bargains like this one and that $4.18 bundle of sashay yarn I bought earlier this month at Goodwill. Until the health insurance debacle is decided once and for all, I've decided to let myself thrift ...

Once I get through another skein I'll be about halfway done with my current crochet project, so I'm already thinking about the second project for 2026. I wouldn't mind making a throw out of all the yarn (except the O'Go) in this lot. The colors work well together, and it would be a fun challenge. I might use Anastacia Zittel's Ocean Tranquility pattern (free to download and print) for it, as I really like that one. I also want to experiment with the sashay yarn I thrifted and make a wrap of some kind, perhaps by sewing it together in layers. That I may do before the throw. I generally only work on one crochet project at a time, and that's so I don't get too frazzled by having too many works in progress. I also prefer to finish one thing before starting another. Nothing keeps me from thinking about future projects, however, and it's fun to imagine what I'll do next.

My guy and I love to visit historic towns, and for the first trip of 2026 we drove up to the lovely town of Melrose, Florida last week. To see some pics and learn more, check out my photo album here .

For my final purchase of 2025 I spent some unexpected royalties that came in on yarn, some new crochet hooks and a $10.00 mystery bag from GuChet on Etsy. The crochet hooks look like mermaid scales and are so pretty. I'm already using them on my current WIP. The contents of the mystery bag were very cool, and certainly worth $10.00. I love the fun colors and textures of the yarn, and the little notions will certainly come in handy this year with all the crochet I have planned. 2026 is going to be a no-spend year for me, so it's nice to have one final dose of shopping happiness. :)

The Winter 2026 issue of GreenCraft just hit the stands, and this is the only magazine that is a must-buy for me. I was wowed as always by the dozens of upcycling project and repurposing ideas. Just looking through it is a joy. I've always wanted to make some bracelets out of buttons, and "From Button Box to Bracelet" by Deborah Helms offers a simple project to do just that. Visible mending gets the spotlight in "Worn, Torn and Mended" by Elliot Harper, who uses old jeans and sashiko-inspired stitching to make a tote. The issue also offers 14 ways to repurpose unwanted discards and junk in your garden, and the photos in this section are simply stunning. I love GreenCraft because it does inspire me to focus on reusing and repurposing rather than buying new, and in such a lovely way that it becomes art. Definitely check out this issue if you want some new and wonderful upcycling ideas.