Destashing Cotton Yarns

I've been using up the odds and ends of balls and cones of cotton yarn in my stash by knitting small rugs. I use 2 strands of cotton yarn with one strand of panty hose "yarn" that I make from old hose. The nylon yarn gives the rugs more body than the cotton yarn alone, helps the rugs dry faster, and wears like iron. In fact, I have rugs that I made 20 years ago in which the cotton yarn has worn out, but the nylon is still usable.

My typical pattern is to cast on with 2 strands of cotton and knit 2 rows. For every 3rd row I knit with 2 strands of cotton and 1 strand of panty hose yarn. The rug is knitted entirely in garter stitch. I end with 2 rows of the cotton before casting off in the cotton. Needle size is 10, 10.5, or 11...whatever seems to handle the multiple strands comfortably. There's no gauge to worry about. The number of stitches is determined by how wide you want the rug, and the number of rows by how long you want it. For a bathmat I find the equivalent of 4 balls of Sugar and Cream brand yarn or Peaches and Cream brand yarn are sufficient, using 2 balls of 2 colors. In the example below I used 1 strand of white and 1 strand of variegated pastel yarn along with beige panty hose yarn.