Repeat Crafter Me

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Yarn Scrap Bird “Feeder”

Now that my Daisy Afghan is finished, I have tons of scrap yarn laying around. Lots of little pieces from weaving in all those ends! I’ve seen the idea of putting the leftover yarn in a suet bird feeder featured on a couple different blogs and thought this would be the perfect thing to do now thats its Spring. The birds use the yarn as nesting material along with natural materials such as twigs, mud, hair, dry leaves, bark, moss, and more. According to The Humane Society it is safe for you to put out yarn or string to help the birds build their nest BUT you must make sure the yarn is somewhere between 4 to 8 inches long.

You can purchase any kind of suet feeder. I liked this Easy Fill Deluxe Suet Feeder with Roof so my yarn wouldn’t get too soggy in the PNW rain.

Be sure to trim your longer scraps of yarn between 4 to 8 inches and fill your suet feeder!

Hang in your backyard and hopefully we will start to see pops of pretty yarn colors in the birds nest near your home.
I also splurged on another item: A Window Nest Box! I tried to DIY one of these a couple years ago but didn’t have much luck. So I went ahead and purchased this one. Now we are just waiting for some occupants 🙂


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  1. I love the suet feeder, it is so much nicer than the ones I have seen over here, and the one I own. Great idea, I trim the dogs and push the fur into the hedge for the birds, but I haven't put out ends of yarn before.
    I would love to see if that nest box works, I would have thought the birds would be frightened by the light behind them and the movement.
    Cazzy x

    Reply

  2. We found a hummingbird nest in our tree with dryer lint and quilt fuzz. Just doing our part for the little guys…
    allsquaredup.blogspot.com
    Jessica

    Reply

    • Just a note to never offer up dryer lint for birds of any type! Despite it being soft, it crumbles very quickly and it might contain chemicals and perfumes from whatever you have washed and dried your clothe with. There are a lot of reliable websites that tell bird watchers what birds can use for their nests. All of it should be natural including non-synthetic / non-acrylic yarn.

      Reply

      • I would agree with this… I raised finches for a while, and used to put scraps of acrylic yarn in the cage when they were nesting, until one of the females lost a toe due to that. The yarn frayed and a tiny piece of it got wrapped around her toe and we were unable to get it removed from there, so eventually the toe fell off. She didn’t appear to be in pain or in any distress, but I was beside myself. I don’t ever put acrylic yarns out for the birds due to that experience.

        Reply

  4. I love this idea! I watched a bird pick up sticks in the back yard and was wishing I had something soft to offer them. I don't have a stash of ends but I could get a skein on sale and cut it up!

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  6. I have been placing thread pieces from sewing & my yarn ends from crocheting onto my huge Holly bushes. The favorite spot for the birds. This works but not as well as the suet feeder will.
    Thank you for such a fantastic idea.

    Reply

  10. This is fantastic! When I used to quilt, I had a roommate with pet rats. She'd always take my little fabric scraps for them in their cage. I have read that birds will use whatever is in their environment to make their beds and this is an absolutely fabulous idea! LOVE IT! http://missedstitches.blogspot.com

    Reply

    • Exactly. You need to think with your head, not with your heart.

      And remember even if the yarn itself is biodegradable, the dyes and preservatives it has been treated with probably aren't.

      Reply

  13. In the Netherlands the bird foundation tells us that this is dangerous for birds. The yarn can get stuck on their tongue, because birds have little hooks on their tongue. Also it can get stuck on the feet. It doesn’t matter how long the yarn is.

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  14. DO NOT DO THIS! I was told by a bird rescue this could actually endanger the birds by getting stuck in their claws or choking them.

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  17. This should be removed. It’s not safe. Birds ingest the fibers that then block their crop (the sack the food goes into before entering the stomach) the food can’t then reach the stomach so they starve to death. And that’s on top of them getting tangled in the nest and not being able to fledge or the parents being unable to leave to get food to feed. It’s so wrong on so many levels and very distressing to see it being displayed as a good idea.

    Reply

  18. All very interesting, I certainly can see why yarn may not be good.
    I save the hair from my hairbrush all year and put it out in the early spring. I basically attach it to trees and shrubs around my yard and watch the birds come for it. It’s all gone in no time. I’m sure may birds have built their nests using my hair. This spring I’m going to include my dogs hair also.

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