After a flurry of making for the year, I’m usually left with a bag of little scrappy balls of yarn that aren’t large enough to create a single project. As part of getting started for the new year, one of my favorite things is to pull all of these scraps out and make palettes for hats.

I created this simple hat pattern many years ago that is perfect for using up whatever I have. It has a simple texture that coordinates well with stripes or solids or color blocking. The sampling above is about half of the hats I made using up my odds and ends. I like to pair my worsted weight and sock weight scraps and knit holding the two yarns together. The sock weight yarn can help unify the other colors or create subtle striping on a more monochromatic background.

Here’s to creating one-of-a-kind color combos while using up yarn scraps!