When April rolls around, we at The Knitter’s Planner start thinking about our wonderful planet and what we can do to help keep it healthy. With all the textiles already out in the world, reclaiming materials from thrifted objects is one way we can do our part to reduce our consumption levels.
We decided to give it a try to see if we could find anything at our local thrift shop to unravel and make new!
There are plenty of great tutorials out there, so we won’t try to reinvent the wheel here! We suggest you read these two:
My Virtual Sanity: Recycling Sweaters for Yarn
Recycling Yarn from Second-Hand Sweaters
At my local thrift shop, I found a wonderful Nordstrom brand sweater in a linen/cashmere blend. The yarn feels great, and the color is perfect for my skin tone. I did have some pilling that almost made me pass it up, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I think it would make a lovely lace shawl for summer. Because we are doing this for sustainability, if the garment is intact, in style and in good condition, consider leaving it for another customer. My blue sweater had some makeup stains that I ended up having to cut out, which made it unlikely to be purchased by another customer.
I recommend hand washing your garment before unravelling, but I was eager and wanted to start disassembling the sweater right away. I regretted that choice; I felt like it was dirty the whole time I was unravelling!
I will say that unravelling really tested my patience. I suggest listening to a movie or favorite podcast while you do this step.
I balled my yarn as I unraveled, then wound it into hanks for washing and drying. As a bonus, this also allowed me to measure my yarn so I know exactly how much I have.
I handwashed the hanks using a mild soap and letting them soak a bit. They are now hanging to dry and waiting for the perfect pattern!
We hope you will try this method. Not only is it a good choice for our planet; the joy of seeing and old item made into something fresh and new is worth the time!
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