Recycling old sweaters into yarn!

[@helend6774]

Many years ago, I bought a thick cable knit cashmere sweater for my daughter at Good Will. She outgrew it so instead of donating it, I decided to frog it. It was knit using double yarn so when I was done, I got double the yardage and made 2 sweaters from it. Win win.

[@zangetsu284]

This is incredible, I know this is a tutorial, but I need a hundred more videos of thrifted knit or crochet sweaters getting this treatment

[@oppositeofh8]

fantastic idea. so often i see sweaters in the thrift store, where i fall in love with the yarn but not the sweater. thanks for the inspiration & know how.

[@isabelkassan5244]

Years ago my mum and I used to do this! She used to crochet a lot! We got some cheap interesting yarns this way! Excellent video!

[@gittel_malky]

Very clear and helpful video! When I buy a sweater to unravel and it has any wool, cashmere, alpaca, etc., I pop it into a plastic bag, tie it off, and put it in the freezer for a few days. This kills any moth larvae and so forth.

[@janelle3711]

wish i would've seen this tutorial 50 minutes ago before i butchered my sweater haha ! thank you for this super clear tutorial !

[@lindaouk3713]

Thank you for showing us how to choose the right seam to look for🙂Now, I can give this a try😊

[@Woodlawn22]

A well-done tutorial! Kudos to you Mirith! One or two sweaters I have unraveled that were a thin cotton yarn were actually knitted using two working yarns! This meant one row of unraveling had to follow the other so I was winding into two balls as I went along rather than just one. One handy tool for winding the yarn is a an electric spinner. Or just using a hand ball winder helps a lot. If neither of those is available just wind into a ball by hand as you go. You need a rubber band to put around the ball so you can stop now and then, secure it, and let the ball dangle to release some of the excess spin.

[@orkatelura2965]

Well... I learned the hard way and now I'm sitting with a half unraveled sweater with all edges overlocked. Help, please...

[@Pluviophile218]

Unfortunately that sweater will need to be thrown away. Not much you can do with an interlocked piece. So sorry.

[@sophiacromwell8017]

Macrame? Granny Squares? Give it to kids (with a packet of beads) to make Friendship Bracelets?

[@MsLarrythegreat]

Nålbinding needs cut yarn. Haven't tried it though.

[@camellia8625]

Can it be used along with other scrap yarn, in a rag rug style shaggy rug, latch hooked through hessian

[@KnittingsAndSewings]

Great, clear to understand tutorial. Thanks! I've been wanting to do this. Off to the thrift store I go!

[@mirith]

Glad to hear it! Enjoy!

[@thatgrumpychick4928]

My great grandmother used to tell me that she used to do this during the wars when her family needed garments

[@Pluviophile218]

It's so nice to learn a useful skill. I enjoy doing this as well.

[@sareneve1626]

only about halfway through the process myself, but thank you so much for making this tutorial! it's also clear and well-explained. thank you!

[@GabrielaLtc]

Thank you, now I know what to look for to have a continuous yarn. :)

[@camellia8625]

Extremely helpful with estimating yardage

[@KarenJedrzynski]

I wish you would have shown how you keep it from getting tangled as you unravel it.

[@shelleysmith4017]

Thank you for reminding folks to protect themselves because covid is still a worldwide problem. My husband is a research scientist and professor at a world renowned university and has been researching various diseases with no cures for the last 30 years, and has been researching covid19 and it’s mutations since it escaped China. Leaving the clothing outside for several days is great advice, but if you live in an area where you cannot do that, if the garment is washable, when you get home, with your face mask still on, immediately put in in the washing machine and wash. Soap will kill any potential covid virus. Just make sure to wash your washing machine door/lid to kill any potential covid virus…and of course wash your hand and put the bag you carried the garments home in if they are paper or plastic. I take my own bags that can be washed and just throw them in the washer with the garments. It is also more eco friendly that way too. But so many think covid is no longer a problem which is not the case. I loved your explanation although I have been doing this for years! Thank you for sharing. These places are also a great and inexpensive way to get beautiful and unusual buttons as they can be so expensive. I have been known to buy an ugly coloured garment just for the buttons. Thanks again, I hope you are staying safe and well!

[@floras7630]

I’m so excited to do this

[@asslicks2649]

This was really helpful, and I like the way you made the video!

[@daphneraven6745]

Just a word to the wise: if you’re going to wash the yarn up, you need to make sure that it’s not wool before using detergent. Detergent plus agitating wool in water is the recipe for felt. Far better to hand wash in lukewarm water with the proper cleansing agent, then to risk detergent and agitation.

[@Pluviophile218]

Nice tip. Also I never wash yarn or a sweater in hot water. Always soak in lukewarm and rinse in cool.

[@PugLovah]

Yay! I was hoping to find an easy method like yours. I scored some natural fiber sweaters at a thrift store today with the intent of frogging & recycling the yarn. Your tip on looking at the inside seams was GOLD. Question: One sweater is Italian cashmere in bright red. For the first step, does it have to be soaked in hot water?

[@shelleysmith4017]

I would strongly suggest not using hot water to soak the red cashmere (great find though). The warmest I would go with it is body temp, test like you would for a baby’s bottle. If the water is hot, it will damage the fibres.

[@MelaniMiguel]

Great tutorial. 👌🏾 Thank you. ❤️

[@ickachu]

I just made a mess XD It's difficult to find the right place/thread to cut.

[@Pluviophile218]

I have deconstructed a few sweaters and I found that washing the item first made is dry easier, then I took it apart. Is that a good idea. Also, I really got interested in your way of calculating yardage. Nice video. Thank you.

[@steadfastinthefaith.]

I totally get why you would wash the sweater when you actually buy it before unraveling it, but I guess I was confused by why you washed each skein if you had already washed the sweater to begin with before you unraveled it. Also sorry if this is a really stupid question, but is there a particular way to unravel these types of skeins? I had never worked with this type of yarn before and I bought some that was wrapped just like yours from hobby lobby and it was an absolute nightmare to undo. It turned into a giant knotted mess that I had to spend a few hours unknottinging to get into balls.

[@alorahoward]

They likely washed the skeins to relax all the curling and kinking that happened from the fiber being knit into that shape for so long. It isn't required, but it can help stop excessive tangling. As for unraveling hanks/skeins like those, the easiest way is to use a yarn swift since that's what they're made for, but you could also open up the skein and slide it over the back of a chair or something similar while winding :)

[@steadfastinthefaith.]

@@alorahoward I wondered if that was a reason they washed them. Thanks! And actually after I commented on here I went and looked up videos on how to unravel these skeins! I wish I would have done that before trying it on my own! Lol. Thanks for your reply!

[@11thShadowDragon]

Very handy, thank you!

[@franticxavierjaymes1609]

Thanks

[@ellenacollinson4448]

Im gunna cry, been trying for hours to take the seams out like you did but its not happening

[@dogsareawomansbestfriend]

That's a great idea!!

[@wild_cub_times]

Oh thang god, I thought I screwed up and was about to cut the rows, but hopefully the other shirt is one piece

[@staceymortson1604]

Do you unravel then wind onto a swift? I missed how you got the skeins

[@mirith]

I unwind directly on to the swift!

[@susancheveralllong7694]

Hi great and clear information keep going 👍🙂👍

[@mariadelmardospasos]

Thank you for this! It was co clear and usefull! I didn't understand the yardage part: I got that you count the number of strands and that you multiply by the width of your swift but why do you divide it all by 36? What does that number stand for? Thank you!

[@mirith]

Only to get the number of yards! 36 inches = 1 yard.

[@chriscaine7689]

I am certainly interested in doing this as yarn is quite expensive, especially if it's pure wool, cashmere, angora etc. However, you can't put those in hot water which is a real disappointment

[@jill552]

And why does that disappoint? Don’t use hot water.

[@karenshin6359]

What will be your next video about?

[@jessicaprintke4973]

Aww

[@VondaInWonderland]

Thank you! I have a fabulous mohair sweater that I shrunk ┐('～`;)┌ I love the way it feels and would love to make something else out of it ❤️

[@mirith]

Good luck! Mohair may be a bit tricky to unravel, especially if it's from a garment that's been felted/shrunk. It's a very sticky fiber and may require a bit of force to unravel. Would recommend winding it up frequently when unraveling too, as it tends to tangle easily and sometimes nastily!

[@knittysong]

Instead of unraveling, check out some videos on making hats, mittens, etc from old sweaters by cutting them up and sewing pieces together. Works great, especially on felted (shrunk) pieces that don't unravel well.

[@VondaInWonderland]

Thanks for the tips. I hope that it unravels, I would like to make some fingerless gloves :)

[@latitude1904]

Two strikes for frogging: mohsir and felted. If you find it too hard, cut it up and sew some fingerless mitts etc.

[@praxisfurnaturheilkunde5394]

Treat it with a lot of fabric or even hair conditioner and stretch it while laying in the hair conditioner bath.

[@lindamon5101]

Volume

[@kellybryson7754]

Who knew?

[@landmeyer2272]

YOUR VOLUME IT'S VERY LOW