11 Free Crochet Patterns to Make With Leftover Yarn

Flower Headband

Small things are almost always good options for using up yarn leftovers, but some patterns are so well-suited for this that you'd never think of them as scrap-busters. This floral headband is one of those projects. The headband itself makes use of one color and the little flowers take care of a few more. Best of all, it's easy to adapt the size of this for babies, kids, or even adults!

Crochet Flower Headband from Make & Do Crew

Mug Cozy

After working on a bigger project that uses lots of colors, it can be especially frustrating to have so many partial skeins left. After sharing a colorful crochet-a-long, Kirsten from Haak Maar Raak created a few companion patterns that use the leftovers in a very cute way. Both this mug cozy and their pin cushion tutorial use yarn to cross stitch over a crocheted base, which is a brilliant technique for using up small lengths of yarn.

Hygge Mug Cozy from Haak Maar Raak

Crochet Hearts

From pins to patches to pretty embellishments, you'll love crocheting these easy hearts! Each one takes only about 5 yards of yarn, and you can alter the size with your yarn and hook choice. You could even use these to document all your projects by making one heart with the yarn from each thing you make. Then hang them on a string to make a garland celebrating the crochet you love!

How to Crochet a Heart from The Spruce Crafts

Pocket Panda

Small toys don't use much yarn, making them a fast and fun way to use what you have. This Pocket Panda is a great example of how cute your yarn leftovers can become. And don't worry about not having these colors on hand. First, colorful pandas would be adorable for kids. But you won't have to stop with panda's because Spin a Yarn Crochet has lots of small (and free!) patterns.

Pocket Panda Crochet Pattern from Spin a Yarn Crochet

Coin Purse

Keep your cash contained in this crocheted coin purse. You can make this with a partial skein of yarn, plus some extra for a stripe, or use smaller amounts of lots of colors to add more stripes. Sure that means more ends to work in, but you can't beat stripes that use up all those leftovers!

Coin Purse Crochet Pattern from The Spruce Crafts

Crochet Bonnet

With rows of granny stitch and ruffled flowers, this adorable bonnet can use as many or as few colors of yarn as you can imagine! Mixing up the colors looks as lovely as creating a soft gradient, and the result is a sweet hat with a vintage feeling.

Stash Busting Pixie Bonnet Crochet Pattern from The Firefly Hook

Washcloths

Corner to corner crochet can be a great way to work with small amounts of yarn, and that's what this washcloth from My Poppet does. Holding the colorful yarn with a neutral boucle yarn gives it a great texture while gentle changing colors on a diagonal. And if rainbows aren't your thing, you can swap in any extra cotton yarn you have on hand!

Rainbow Crochet Washcloths from My Poppet

Mug Coasters

Have you ever thought about giving your mug a hug? You can do that with these crocheted coasters! Each little disc has a rim that hugs the bottom of your mug. They are simple to work up and would make a great gift when paired with a mug or some tea!

Mug Hug Trivet from Lady Jay Crochet (on Ravelry)

Pouches

When it comes to staying organized, you can never have too many pouches. And when you have a partial skein of yarn, you can crochet your own lined pouches in two styles! These small zipper bags use star stitch, giving them a fun texture that also gives the sides the structure you need.

Star Stitch Pouches from All About Ami

Fingerless Gloves

Have some extra yarn after making a hat or scarf? Put it to use with some fingerless gloves! Treble crochet makes these mitts come together quickly and easily, and they don't need much yarn at all! The starting point for these is a simple rectangle, which means any crocheter can make them without worrying about shaping fingers or thumbs in standard mittens or gloves.

Fingerless Gloves for Beginners from The Spruce Crafts

Kitchen Rounds

These all-purpose kitchen rounds from Jennifer of FiberFlux are perfect for using small amounts of cotton yarn. They look pretty and work as trivets, dishcloths, coasters, and anything else you might need a small circle for.

Kitchen Lovelies Pattern from FiberFlux

Updated by Mollie Johanson