It’s easy to fall in love with the mini skeins but sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to make with them. Mini skein sets offer endless possibilities… but if you don’t know how to use mini skeins, where do you even start?

Don’t worry, we’ve got tons of ideas for both ombre and gradient mini skeins and for a collection of multicolour mini skeins! Here are my top five favourite patterns for using mini skein sets, whether you’re a member of the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club or you’re working from your yarn stash.

My five favourite patterns for using mini skein sets

• the Deflection Wrap
• the Constellation Hat and Mitts
• the D’aeki Wrap
• the Striad Wrap
• the Illuminated Wrap

Deflection Wrap

Mini skeins are all about showing off great colour, and one of the best ways to do that is with a simple pattern that lets the yarn take centre stage. The Deflection Wrap does exactly that by combining simple but intriguing textures with gradual colour changes — the perfect example of how to use mini skeins

You just organise your mini skeins into a colour flow you find pleasing — or, even better, use SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club ombré&gradient Mini-Skeins in the colour order we’ve dyed them in. Then you just cast on and go!

Constellation Hat and Mitts

Though they were originally created to use special SpaceCadet Constellation Mini-Skein sets, which were discounted during the pandemic shut down, the Constellation Hat (Ravelry link) and Constellation Mitts (Ravelry link) work equally well with yarns from the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club or any collection of scrap yarns and minis you have in your stash. It’s a great opportunity to play with your yarn, trying out different colour combinations until you find a colour order that’s unique to you!

The D’aeki Wrap

You won’t believe that a showstopper wrap like this can be so incredibly simple to knit… and without any sewing up! The D’aeki Wrap uses the Join-As-You-Go technique to create a beautiful herringbone that shows off the gorgeous hues of an ombre or gradient colour flow. Make it as long as you want for a stash busting project that’s as fun to knit as it is eye-catching to wear.

The Striad Wrap

Another pattern that uses the Join-As-You-Go technique, the Striad Wrap incorporates short rows to create modular triangles that gradually move the changing ombre and gradient mini skein colours from one end of the wrap to the other. That means it’s slightly more complicated but, despite all that gorgeous colour, it also involves absolutely no sewing up. Incredible!

 

 

The Illuminated Wrap

While theIlluminated Wrap is designed for three full-size skeins of yarn, it’s easily adapted for using mini skeins with just a little advanced planning.

As before, you’ll want to organise your mini skeins into a colour flow you find pleasing before you cast on, and then change colours as you change to a new texture block in the pattern. For instance, where the pattern moves from garter stitch to slipped stitches, you can increase the impact by switching from one mini skein to the next. A slightly more challenging choice, the results — once you’ve carefully planned your colour changes — will be stunning!

 

When it comes to knowing how to use mini skeins, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start! But used creatively in the right pattern, mini skeins allow you to create a truly stunning and unique project that will have heads turning. Whether you’re a beginner knitter or have years of experience, these five patterns for using mini skein sets are intriguing, fun, and — most of all — will create an absolutely gorgeous finished object that will be the envy of your knitting group!

You’re ready for a colour adventure… And there’s nothing as exciting as your delivery of mini-skeins from the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club!

Richly dyed in stunning hues, we design these delightful little yarn-gems to guide you on a colour journey that will inspire you to create uniquely eye-catching projects.  Each month, your parcel arrives bursting with glorious colour ready to be untwisted and explored!

The Multicolour Mix gives a range of hues in complex colourways to add interest to any project.  And the Ombre&Gradient Mix is dyed an amazing Never Ending Gradient in colours that flow from one month to the next… and onwards to the next!

The result is a guided journey through colour that is wildly exciting and so much fun to cast on!