The wool-eater blanket earns its name honestly – it consumes yarn at a rate that surprises people the first time they make one. That is exactly what makes it useful: it is one of the best ways to turn a pile of small leftover balls into something worth having.
How it works
The blanket is built from overlapping shell shapes worked in rounds, each round of shells sitting between the shells of the round below. The offset is what creates the interlocking, scalloped surface, and it is why the finished fabric looks far more complex than the stitch actually is.
Once the first two rounds are established the pattern becomes almost automatic. It is a good project for working while distracted.
Using up leftovers
Change colour whenever a ball runs out. There is no need to plan the sequence – the shell construction breaks the colours into small overlapping segments rather than hard stripes, so even an unplanned assortment tends to look deliberate.
If the mix looks too chaotic, a single unifying colour worked every third or fourth round will pull it together.
Yarn
For a baby blanket, everything you use needs to be soft and machine washable. That is the one constraint on a stash project: check each leftover ball before it goes in, because one scratchy or hand-wash-only yarn compromises the whole blanket.
Keep the yarn weights reasonably consistent. Mixing a DK with a chunky in the same blanket will make the rounds pull unevenly.
Keeping it flat
Each round needs the right number of shells to lie flat. Too few and the blanket cups; too many and the edge ruffles. Count the shells in the first few rounds carefully – once you are established, the pattern maintains itself.
Finishing
The scalloped edge is attractive as it is and needs no border. If you want a firmer edge, a single round of double crochet worked into the scallops will steady it without flattening the shape.
