See why and how I made a little yarn basket to hold fibre scraps to help the birds build their nests.
I once made this decoy wasps nest to help deter wasps from making a nest on my property. It’s made from pure wool so recently I was surprised to see a bluetit grabbing a tiny bit of fibre, presumably to add to a nest, as we currently seem to be in the middle of nesting season in my area.
This prompted me to pay attention to some of the bird activity. Before long, I could see pigeons, sparrows, blackbirds and of course, bluetits flying with all manner of materials in their beaks, all with the purpose of creating their nests.
Birds usually use sticks and leaves to build their nests but since I already had a bird helping themselves to my wool, I decided to help them out and create a tiny basket filled with tiny scraps of yarn left over from past projects.
Materials
- For the basket: I used a length of chunky wool. The basket I made is about 5-6cm in diameter and used no more than about 1m length of yarn.
- Contents: I tend to save every scrap of yarn I knit with in a jar and pulled out just the natural fibres (animal fibres – wool, mohair, alpaca and plant fibers – linen, cotton), that would stand a better chance of biodegrading wherever they eventually end up. No one scrap is more than a couple cms long to ensure no danger of entanglement for the birds or their chicks.
- Needle: I used a 9mm circular needle. Chunky wool + large needle = large gauge to pull fibre out of the bottom of the basket for easier access for the birds.
- Tapestry needle
Method
CO 20 stitches
Join in the round being careful not to twist your stitches. Add a beginning of round marker
Knit 3 rounds
Next round decrease 2 rounds. Decrease by knitting two stitches together to the end of round.
Cut yarn leaving enough of an end to weave a handle for the basket
Thread the end of the yarn through a tapestry needle and thread through the remaining stitches left on needle.
Pull yarn through the stitches to close the bottom of the basket and weave the remaining yarn through to the top of the basket. Loop to the opposite side of the basket so you have a basket handle and secure by weaving in the ends around the edge of the basket.
Fill with the fiber scraps ensuring to pull some out of the bottom so birds can have access to the contents whichever way they approach.
Hang somewhere accessible to birds.
All Homesteading 
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