Stash-busting!  I like to say it with Jazz Hands!  Let's do it!

1.    Stripes
Got a bunch of single skeins of yarn where you need two skeins to make something?  Try stripes!  You can create a pretty great scarf by striping yarns of two different thicknesses, or the same yarn but in two different colors, or one boring yarn and one novelty yarn.  Same color, different color, same fiber, different fiber - the sky's the limit, here!

The easiest way to make stripes is to work garter stitch (knit every stitch).  Alternately work 2 rows with Yarn 1 and 2 rows with Yarn 2.  This creates one garter stitch ridge for each yarn.  

You can also do fat stripes, working 4 garter stitch ridges in each color.  Or 8, 10, 12!  Work 4 ridges in Yarn 1, and 2 ridges in Yarn 2!  

I love stripes.  This works well for sock yarns, too, by the way!

2.    Toys
Knitted and crocheted toys are a great way to use up smaller amounts of yarn.  

There are oodles of free toy patterns out there, from simple balls to adorable ducks and everything in between.  I am absolutely in love with the felted knitted amigurumi toys from Crafty Alien.  Crafty Alien patterns are not free, but they are totally worth the minor cost.

You can even knit your own dog and cat toys!  Just be sure to monitor play, and take the toy away if Mittens or Fido starts chewing through to the stuffing.

3.    Felting
Felting is an awesome way to use up your 100% animal yarns.  You can felt wool, of course, but mohair, angora, and alpaca also felt nicely.  Some people might consider it sacrilege to felt up alpaca yarn, but they haven't seen my friend's felted alpaca bucket hat.  (It's gorgeous!)

You can knit and felt up acres of yarn making felted bags, felted slippers, felted hats, felted clogs, felted baskets, and so forth.  But you can also use up smaller amounts of yarn to make felted embellishments, like daisies and sunflowers.  

4.    Mitered Squares
There are several projects that involve mitered squares.  These are great for using up stash, because - as with stripes - you can mix and match random skeins of yarn.  You can alternate the yarns for each garter stitch ridge to make stripes, or use a different yarn for each mitered square.

Acrylic stash can be used in mitered squares to make baby afghans!

5.    Lengthwise Scarf
Take long lengths of yarn - as many different yarns as possible - and knit them into a lengthwise scarf!  Granted, it can be a little tedious to cast on an entire scarf's length of stitches.  But this lets you mix and match colors, styles, and fibers in really interesting ways.

Lengthwise scarves seem to work best if you work out a scheme ahead of time.  For example you might choose a color, then pick out all the yarns you have in that color.  Or you may decide to alternate between light and dark.  

Garter stitch is the traditional choice for a lengthwise scarf, but I like the way seed stitch looks.  And let the ends dangle on each side to finish with a lovely fringe!