Tag: yarn scraps

How to Make a Yarn Boa

Marie HaighLeave a comment

The boa I am making Elly for Christmas is not finished. Yet, if I wait till I am finished to share these simple instructions, I doubt there will enough time for you to crank one out before Christmas. I am moving slowly. I get a few inches done each week.

Please do not be discouraged by my slow progress. The boa isn’t hard to make. It just takes a dedicated few hours. Dedicated time is not something I am rolling in these days.

But enough about me, on to the instructions:

First, using a chunky yarn, cut 4 strips measuring 60″ in length or measuring the length you want the finished boa to be plus 4″.

Next, holding the 4 strips together, tie a knot at one end. This is your foundation yarn. Set aside.

Next, using all the little scraps of yarn leftover from your knitting projects, make hundreds of shorter strips measuring 12″. My strips filled 2 plastic grocery bags. If buying new balls of yarn to make this boa, get at least 6 balls. The fuzzier the yarn, the better of a boa it will make.

Next, pick up one shorter strip of yarn and tie it onto your foundation yarn as close to the beginning knot as possible. Tie the shorter strip again so that it is double knotted.

Then, pick up another shorter strip and tie it as close to the previous strip as possible. Tie it again so that it is double knotted. Then push the knotted strip up against the previous strip, eliminating any space in between them and allowing you to create a very full boa.

Repeat the previous step until there are only 2 inches left of the foundation yarn. Knot the foundation yarn.

If necessary, give the boa a haircut, trimming off any long strands and trimming off the tails of the foundation yarn.

Finally, give the boa to your special girl and watch her beam in delight.

In this case, watch her frown with disapproval of you taking yet another picture of her.

Strands of Yarn

Marie Haigh1 Comment

A few months ago at a yard sale, I bought 4 bags of yarn.

On the way home, I thought of all the projects I could use the little odd balls of yarn in, starting with another skirt for Elly.

As is often my habit, I took my loot over to my neighbor’s house to show her my good fortune. As I pulled it out of the bags, my heart sunk. Something was dreadfully wrong.

These bags weren’t filled with little balls of yarn. The yarn had been meticulously cut into strands measuring a yard long. It must have taken hours to cut it up. Why would anybody do such a thing? More importantly, what was I going to do with a bunch of yarn strands?

My neighbor was equally bewildered. Yet, she said there was nothing to be done for it. If I wanted to use the yarn, I would have to tie it back together. Unfortunately, anything I knit with the yarn would have a thousand knots in it.

She was right, but I didn’t love the idea. So, I did nothing for a month with the hope that I would come up with a better plan.

Watching Elly play with the fabric boa I made her for last Christmas gave me the inspiration I needed.

I had used this tutorial to make it. It was lovely because it required no sewing. I just tied strips of fabric to a foundation strip of fabric measuring the length of the boa.

Now what little girl doesn’t need a drawer full of boas? Hopefully, I’ll finish this one in time for Christmas as well.

The funny thing is the yarn strands have to be cut even shorter. It works best when they are about a foot long. Since some of the yarn is slippery, I double knot them onto the foundation yarn, which is nothing but 4 strips of thick t-shirt yarn measuring 60 inches in length. Elly loves using scissors so she is our big helper.