once upon a time, there was a sweater. a really warm and cosy green sweater. it was hanging in a shop when suddenly a sixteen year old bought it. the sweater was really happy because it could now fulfill it's purpose: make someone nice and warm! but after some years, the teenager decided she didn't like the sweater anymore. her style had changed and chunky green sweaters just didn't fit anymore. the sweater was left alone in the closet for years and years... they were even planning on selling him on a fleamarket! he was very unhappy. until the teenager, now 23 and obsessed with anything crafty and yarn-ish, decided it was time the sweater got a new life... and a new purpose... as yarn!!
the sweater got chopped up and unraveled...
...the yarn was tied into hanks, but they were kinky from years of knitted-ness... also a bit smelly and dusty...
...so the hanks were washed with some soap, and dried...
...the kinks were gone and the hanks were tied up into nice skeins...
good for 380 grams of brand new yarn!
unraveling sweaters is actually a really nice idea to repurpose yarn. i saw the idea on pinterest first, then i found a ravelry group dedicated to the art of unraveling, where i found several tutorials and how-to's online. so i took my sweater and i started unraveling!
it takes quite some time and patience but i think it is totally worth it. what most people do is look for sweaters in thriftstores, mostly sweaters with a quality yarn blend, so they get lots of quality yarns (cashmere, silk,...) for little money. not so stupid, eh? mine was 80%lambswool and 20%nylon. i'm planning on doing this more but i've got a huge stash of yarn i need to get through first... :)
I love that green. I just joined the UnRavelers group too. Would you believe I've had a big box of thrift sweaters waiting to be unraveled in my garage for years? I feel guilty every time I see it. I've resolved to try and get thru my stash ASAP so I can use them.
ReplyDeleteSame here! I really got to keep myself from going to thrifstores to find more sweaters, because I really got enough yarn to keep me knitting for years. This unraveling thing is addictive! :) But if you got the sweaters already... Why not unravel them? They take up much less space as yarn... :)
DeleteI actually read the second link you gave years ago online and my husband made me a middy noddy for that purpose. I guess moving and other things distracted me from it. But, I've just gotta do it!
DeleteHe dat is een heel erg goed idee! Mooie kleur trouwens, dat groen. Dat zet me nu echt aan het denken. Ik hou mijn ogen al open voor wollen truien.
ReplyDeleteGoed opletten als je een trui koopt, de naden mogen in geen geval met een overlock afgewerkt zijn. Dan krijg je allemaal korte stukjes draad. :) Veel plezier ermee!
DeleteSuch a good idea! Never thought of reusing the material!
ReplyDeleteI was in the thrift-store today, on the lookout for thrifty/unravely finds. There was this old lady, fiercely squinting her eyes at me, as I snatched two skeins of 50% cream wool whilst she was rummaging the same box. When we met again at the register, she was about to explode (eyes popping, red tan, piercing mouth) when she saw the beautiful red and golden sparkly knit sweater I was holding. She must have been in the unraveling business as wel...
ReplyDeleteNice blog! I feel we have a lot in common (young of age with the same oldskool hobbies, same country, same cramped itchy fingers if left to rest)
Wow, I never came across ANYONE who was jealous of me picking up all the dusty yarn and oversized wooly sweaters. The only thing I got were some looks that said "what the hell is she gonna do with that oversized ugly sweater".
DeleteThanks for the compliment, I'm checking out your blog in just a second.. :) See you there! ;)