Lots of scratchy yarn! Any good beginner patterns for this?

[toby4]

I have lots of rough, worsted yarn. (Over a dozen skeins of different colors!) I kind of wanted to make scarves out of them, but they're scratchy and uncomfortable. Should I just make dozens of potholders? My family doesn't need that many!
I'm still beginner-level, so could someone share some easy patterns for unwearable yarn?
Thanks!

[MerigoldinWA]

What kind of yarn is it? Some yarn softens up when it is washed, some acrylics for instance. Maybe you could make tote bags, purses of some kind. Another thought was decorative items and even toys that are mostly for looking at and not cuddling. If it is scratchy wool, bags would be particularly nice and you could even make felted bags. Toys would give you a great opportunity to learn all kinds of new skills. I don't have particular patterns in mind. You could do a search for simple or beginner added to each type of item.

[Antares]

Whenever I think of using up lots of scratchy yarn, I think of using it for rugs. You can either use one strand or hold two or three strands together. There's a bunch of free rug patterns on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sear...free&sort=best

Some of these are just simple rectangles, and others are more complicated.

[Ingrid]

And you can look at patterns for knitted rugs, place mats, and the like. Felting will take away some of the scratchiness--there are lots of felted totes and slippers out there, as well as toys. And felted projects take up lots of yarn so you can justify replacing it with something luxurious and soft!

But I agree--sometimes with washing the yarn may soften up. Make a few potholders and wash them in a wool wash. If they soften up, you'll know you can venture out to other things. If not, you have some clean potholders.

[toby4]

Wow! You all replied so fast! :D
I believe that all (or most) of my yarn is Red Heart 100% acrylic worsted 4 or 6 (it also says No Dye Lot and Machine Washable on the wrapper, if that helps).
I really like the idea of totes, placemats and rugs. I'll check out felting, too!
As for the scratchiness, I'll try making a square to throw in the wash. If it gets soft, then I know that I can use them for clothes and such.
Thank you all so much! You really helped me out! ;)

[suzeeq]

It will soften up in the washer and dryer; maybe not so much the first time, but after a couple washes definitely. They used to put a finish on it that made it rough and it washes out.

[toby4]

Thank you!
I'll definitely do that. :)

[GrumpyGramma]

I believe that all (or most) of my yarn is Red Heart 100% acrylic worsted 4 or 6 (it also says No Dye Lot and Machine Washable on the wrapper, if that helps).
I really like the idea of totes, placemats and rugs. I'll check out felting, too!

I believe felting only works on wool. I think you'll find that if the Red Heart is washed and you use fabric softener, it will be a lot less scratchy, some softens up better than others. It puzzles me that within the same yarn brand, it can go from fairly soft to rough as sandpaper. As long as I use fabric softener, I find that even the RH Super Saver yarn is OK for most things that aren't necessarily next to the skin. Acrylic yarn wears well too. You might try making slippers out of some of it.

[suzeeq]

The darker and multi colors are rougher; it has to do with how the dye saturated the material when they color it.

[DavidSydney63]

Hey Toby - what did you end up doing with your scratchy yarn?