WIP | Fresh Slant on Scrapghans

I love the colorful, dynamic look of the random scrapghans so many knitters and crocheters make. Some are vibrant, some are tonal, but each one is unique. Lively and bright or subtle and blended, they're an excellent way to transform leftovers into something attractive and useful.

As much as I admire these makers and their beautiful projects, random is not my strong suit. So when I found myself eyeing an ever growing pile of colorful Cotton Fleece scraps and leftovers, I faced a personal challenge: Could I create an appealing scrap-eating afghan design that allowed me to put some of these small balls of yarn to good use?

So, while we've been talking about other things like gradients, ombres and grey streaks, I’ve been quietly working in the background. To get started, I spent much of one weekend weighing partials and leftovers, calculating estimated yardage and playing with color combinations. I drew up a series of sketches, scribbled lots of notes, and began swatching.

After a fair amount of experimentation, I decided to start with a fast and easy concept that featured a single unifying main color, used nine partial skeins and appealed to my simple self. I went back to my collection of Cotton Fleece partials, targeted those with sufficient yardage, selected a rainbow of colors that played well together, and cast on.

The last time you saw this project, it looked like this:

Since then, some progress has occurred:

It looks like a hot, royal mess, doesn't it?

Of course it does! In the photo above, I had just finished the seams when the sun came out for 3.5 seconds, so I dumped the afghan on the work table and grabbed a quick shot. In spite of the way it looks here, I'm pleased with how it's coming together. It's bright, it's colorful, and it's putting a noticeable dent in my leftovers.

With luck and a bit of time, I'll finish the borders and edging this week or next. Then, it'll be time to tackle the ends, followed by blocking and my never-ending struggle to get semi-decent photos. 

If all goes well, soon this fresh slant on scrapghans will be completed and ready to share, then you can tell me what you think.

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