I found Amanda Ochocki‘s free knit Merit Badge pattern on Ravelry this morning and, quite serendiptiously found an old pin roaming around the office! I love the idea of taking those big, clunky pins that always seem to be lurking in the back of my junk drawer and turn them into fun accessories.

The idea is simple: take an old pin and cover it with a little round swatch. You can duplicate stitch desgins on them or needle felt a design with roving like I did today. I used a very small amount of Full Circle Worsted yarn in Cardinal and size four needles to knit my swatch along with a little bit of Bare Gloss Roving for the needle felted design. Ochocki’s pattern was perfect for my three inch diameter pin and worsted weight yarn. This project only took 15 minutes!

Now I have a nifty little accessory that I can wear when the mood strikes. This project would also be perfect for a last minute gift and it’s a great way to use up those yarn scraps left over from other projects. Ochacki knit another badge with yarn that she loved and just couldn’t bring herself to use. However, you can knit a badge with your favorite yarn and then you have a wearable swatch to take with you wherever you go! Plus I can always remove the cover and knit a new one or just wear the plain button again.