Tradewinds August 2020 Web Final

HRNeptune.com
New yarn from old sweaters
By Margaret Mills
Reprinted with permissions from Backwoods Home Magazine Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
Years ago, when my grandmother learned that some
women purchased new fabric to make quilts, she was
shocked. She was an “old-school” fiber artist — quilting,
crocheting, and sewing to stretch her budget and provide
for her family. Quilts were thriftily made of leftover bits of
fabric; rugs were woven or braided from worn-out clothing.
While the resurgence of these crafts brings some
long-overdue respect for the artistry and skill of spinners,
weavers, knitters, and seamstresses, the economics of
such handwork has shifted. It is difficult these days to
make a garment as cheaply as you can buy a similar
item from a big box store. Thrift, of course, is not the only
factor in the renewed interest in hand-crafting fiber items.
For many, it may not be a factor at all.
The variety of yarns now available in yarn and fabric
shops boggles the mind — as does the price. Not content
to stick with the economical and practical (but uninspired)
acrylic yarn, I cast around for a means of acquiring wool
yarn for less. One option in keeping with grandmother’s
thrifty mindset is to salvage wool from a knitted or crocheted
garment. Such recycling has also experienced
a resurgence, so you can find a number of tutorials and
articles on the internet detailing the process. A local fiber
arts store even offers workshops on recycling yarn from
sweaters.
Recycling a free sweater is best, of course, and recycling
the yarn from a sweater you already own would be ideal.
Not having an old, out-of-style wool sweater lurking in
the back of the closet, I began a search in our local thrift
shop. While you might pick up a wool sweater at a yard
sale for pennies, our thrift shop was sweater savvy: the
pure wool sweaters were priced higher than the machine-made
acrylic. Still, a wool sweater for under $10
works for this project, and I found a selection.
Look for a sweater that is close to 100% wool. A little
nylon or acrylic serves to strengthen wool fibers and
prevents breakage when you are unraveling the garment.
Beware of felting, where the sweater has been washed
in hot water or dried in a dryer. If you cannot differentiate
the stitches, it is felted. Also beware of serged seams
where the sewn edges of the sweater have been cut.
The pieces of the sweater should be sewn or crocheted
together. Also check for any moth damage to avoid
winding up with little short bits of yarn when you unravel
the sweater. Likewise, any fancy knit-in color patterns will
result in lots of short bits of yarn.
I finally located a $7 sweater with seams sewn with the
same yarn. This sweater was a drab green mixture of
mohair and wool with 5% nylon. It was hand-knit in Italy,
but it was not particularly fashionable or attractive.
Dismantle
The first step is to dismantle the sections of the sweater.
A pair of sewing scissors or sharp-pointed embroidery
scissors is good for this. A tapestry needle is useful for
picking out those stitches, too. Locate the seams, then
clip the knot or backstitch holding the seam together at
the end. Remove the thread.
With this sweater, the mohair tended to tangle around
itself, and the thread holding the seam was the same
green yarn, so it was difficult to see. Still, the sweater
was reasonably easy to dismantle. I took the sleeves
off first, then removed the front sections from the back
section. There were also buttons to remove.
Unravel
Once the sweater is dismantled, begin the unraveling
process by finding the end of the work. The knitter will
probably have knotted the end after the final stitch, or
woven it into the body. Many, but not all, sweaters are
knit from the top down, so tug at the bottom corners first.
Loosen the first thread and pull. It should unravel. If you
find yourself undoing each stitch, you are pulling from
the wrong end. Wrap the yarn in a ball as you unravel to
prevent it from tangling. Unraveling our Italian hand-knit
sweater was pretty straightforward. The mohair tended to
tangle and resist pulling, but that only slowed the process
slightly. I had several balls of yarn when finished, at least
one for each sweater section.
Skein
The yarn will be kinky from the knitting. The next step is
to wrap it in hanks. If you wish to measure the amount
of yarn you have salvaged, set two chairs back to back,
then measure a two-yard piece of string and wrap it
around the chair backs, adjusting the chairs to measure
exactly two yards. Wrap the salvaged yarn around the
chair backs. This creates hanks exactly one yard long.
You will be able to determine the amount of yarn you
have by counting the strands in each hank. Use this
opportunity to combine some of your balls of yarn as
well. Just tie the ends together and keep wrapping. Don’t
make them too thick or they will take too long to dry
when washed. I ended up with four hanks of yarn. Tie the
hanks in two places with a piece of string or light yarn to
hold them in place.
Wash
Fill a pan or sink with lukewarm water. Do not use hot
water as you do not want to felt the wool. Add a gentle
detergent to the water and submerge the hanks for about
three hours. Rinse the hanks of yarn in cool water and
gently press out the excess water. Hang them to dry on a
clothes rack or over the shower curtain. I left them to dry
overnight, but much depends on your humidity, temperature,
and the amount and weight of the wool. Some people
recommended weighting the hanks to further straighten
the yarn, but mine straightened quite well without any
additional weight.
Once the wool is dry and straightened to your satisfaction,
take it down from the rack and roll it into balls. I
ended my experiment with more than 400 yards of green
mohair yarn, for several hours’ work and a $7 investment.
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