6 Ways To Get Crochet Yarn For Free

We’re always looking for something FREE, aren’t we? Well, there are several sources for obtaining FREE YARN. While there may be no such thing as a ‘free lunch’, there might be a way for you to enhance your yarn stash without spending any or much money.

First, swap yarn with friends. You’d be amazed (or maybe not) how often we buy yarn that later we cannot figure out why we bought that particular batch! So, one crocheter’s stash can become another crocheter’s treasure. Advertise at school, church, Y, grocery store, library, etc. giving brief details -date, time, location, contact info – and the rules – if you bring 4 skeins you can take 4 skeins – leftovers will go be taken to a charity by the organizer (you). Everyone brings a snack to share. What could be more fun than yarn AND food? Plus, you’ll make crochet friends this way!

Freecycle – search at www.freecycle.org for a freecycle group in your area. If you are unfamiliar with Freecycle – well, it’s just a way to offer or receive items that might otherwise go to the landfill or Goodwill. Nothing wrong with donating to Goodwill, but you can advertise – for free – on a Freecycle site and have the item(s) picked up from your front door at your convenience. I’ve obtained a fair amount of yarn, hooks, crochet books and patterns via Freecycle. I love it!

Recycle – find old sweaters at thrift stores or in your own closet? Unravel them and reuse the yarn. Here is a site with instructions and pictures to coach you on recycling sweaters:

http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/thrifty.html

Or just google ‘recycle sweaters’ and you’ll find more sites. There are even sites that sell recycled yarns, usually, the higher end kinds wound nicely into little balls.

Frog It – rip it, rip it, rip it. If you lose interest in a project or it’s just not working out as planned, don’t just set it aside in frustration. When you’re pretty sure you won’t rework it, frog the yarn, wind it gently, and use it to crochet something else. How many unfinished projects do you have hiding in closets, in grocery sacks, in tote bags? All of them represent a financial investment you have made in yarn. Don’t let it go to waste. Reuse that yarn! This works well for most yarns. If it’s eyelash or very fuzzy mohair, for instance, you might not want the hassle of frogging it. You can also frog ugly afghans from the thrift store if they haven’t received much use.
Thrift Store – I have found some very inexpensive -but high end – yarns in bags at the thrift store. I have purchased several pounds of bagged yarn for $2-3! Some of it even had the original wrappers on the skeins. I can’t resist spending the few dollars that these bargains cost!

Finally, if you crochet for charity, go to the stores in your area where yarn is sold and ask if they are willing to donate any yarn. Walmart used to give orphan skeins and skeins which had lost their wrappers to a group of crocheters who worked together once a week on Project Linus afghans. All they can do is say NO! And, they might say Yes and you’ll have some free yarn for your charity endeavors. No cheating……

BTW – the yarn pictured above is called ‘Recycled Sari Silk’. Know how that is obtained? I do! A regular sari (non-ceremonial) in India is 6 yards long. (The ceremonial ones, like for a wedding, are NINE YARDS LONG – the whole nine yards, maybe?) The looms to make them can only hold 3 of them at a time. There are warp threads which hold each end of the loomed work onto the loom.

When they finish weaving the sari, they cut the 3 from the loom (then they cut each sari from its mates) and they have these leftover lengths of warp that are pretty long because they’ve been wrapped numerous times around both ends of the loom. This is Recycled Sari Silk. Since the looms are in fairly primitive buildings, usually with dirt floors, there may well be twigs, leaves, and other bonus items in your sari silk! Not to worry. You just pick them out as you crochet or knit. The silk fibers are very hardy, so they can stand up to this sort of treatment. In fact, silk is one of the strongest natural fibers of all. Another day, I’ll discuss laundering your silk yarns and garments. Now, you’ve had your fiber lesson for the day!