# How to unravel a sweater for yarn, very cool and easy too!



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

My interest in unraveling began last year, it just occurred to me that I could get cool yarn this way. I did unravel one unfinished project I found at the thrift store to get 100% wool yarn which is ideal for socks. I also bought a pale green cashmere yarn on Etsy that was salvaged this way for sale and it was very cheap. So I bought it to make a shawl out of only to find it breaks so easily. I did write the seller and she said it came from a sweater, which I suppose was just too old I guess. It is hard to work with as it breaks with not much pull...my shawl is very delicate and it was a time consuming project that I stopped for now because of that. This said, I decided I needed to do this myself and would start finding sweaters with strong enough fiber to make it worth doing.

My first project would be a mohair sweater..yes mohair is harder to unravel with all the long fiber strands (I used a crochet hook to loosen fibers as I went along).

I found this site while I was about to begin unraveling this beautiful purple with blue hues Mohair sweater. I had picked it up last year at the thrift store. It was sadly too big on me but more importantly, too bright of a color for me to wear. I look best in softer colors.  I reluctantly decided to unravel it instead of taking it in for me to wear as a sweater. I had some idea of how to begin but wanted to just see instruction on it due to the value of the yarn...this sweater had seams and also had stitching along all the edges to secure the shape of the panels that were stitched together before it was sewn. I was not sure if it was done as panels or cut from large panels at first. Once I saw this web page, it was easy for me to determine my sweater had been made into panels and then sewn together with the edges also stitched. Because the thread is the same color as the sweater, once I cut apart the panes, I had to carefully clip between the loops on the upper and lower edges, so I could draw the happy string I did find to unwind a continuous length of yarn. I do have some areas where I had to tie sections together where I cut the yarn by mistake when I cut between loops, this was easy to do with the Mohair fibers and the thread color. I was very lucky as most of my yarn came out in one piece per panel to wind into nice sized balls. Her pics are pretty easy to follow and the next sweater I do, I will take pics to show how I did mine. After unraveling the sweater yesterday, I now have beautiful yarn balls of Purple with blue hues Mohair to use for scarves which it is ideal for. 

For those just starting to utilize this method to obtain expensive yarns...it is well worth your time. I would stress the importance of finding sweaters that are made of the natural fibers or highly desirable yarns as the time you spend is important for it to be worth it. You must check the seams and construction of the sweater you choose to unravel..this is very important or you will end up doing a lot of knotting as when they cut the pieces from large panels...the ends are all cut which makes each piece of yarn the width of the sweater...I would not want to do this myself. 

I am officially hooked! I hope others will start their own unraveling projects...

She also has some projects on her site that you can check out on Art Yarn fun. 

http://www.handspunartyarn.com/p/how-to-unravel-sweater-to-recycle-yarn.html


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I would love to employ this practice for enhancing the yarn stash, but the cut up way in which most sweaters are knit and sewn just makes my hair turn gray faster if I attempt to unwind 'em!


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I get a lot of my nicer yarns by frogging thrift store finds.
I love the process.
And yes. I enjoy frogging mohair.
You get to where you 'know' the particular piece and you can easily see how the stitches are built and they just come apart like magic in my hands.

And I get a TON of yarn.
1,000's of yards. 1,000's!! For less than 3 dollars.
Love. Love. Love frogging sweaters!

And usually I start with the sleeves.
I take apart the stitches at the shoulder and the seam down the arm.
I get 1 ball per sleeve.
Then I take the seams out of the sides, if the sweater is built that way.
I remove the collar/neckline and have at!
Love it.


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Forerunner said:


> I would love to employ this practice for enhancing the yarn stash, but the cut up way in which most sweaters are knit and sewn just makes my hair turn gray faster if I attempt to unable them!


It is work and time consuming...about 3 hours for mine. The natural fiber sweaters from the thrift store are mainly crocheted or knit into the pieces that are then sewn together and not made by cutting up large panels and then sewing those together or continuous handwork, many hand made.

In the link I pasted above, the young lady shows how to tell by checking the seams and then you will know if the sweater is worth doing. 

For a skein of this yarn $8 is a store price tag found on what was a win on a cheap ebay listing of the same blend. It took three of these to make a long scarf. So I would assume three skeins might make up the sleeves or possibly more, 6 per side on the sweater. I wound them in balls but I would assume that I have at least 15 skeins worth of this yarn ($8 x 15 =$120. Woo hoo, that is a haul isn't it?


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I envy the both of yuhz.

:indif:


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

chickenista said:


> I get a lot of my nicer yarns by frogging thrift store finds.
> I love the process.
> And yes. I enjoy frogging mohair.
> You get to where you 'know' the particular piece and you can easily see how the stitches are built and they just come apart like magic in my hands.
> ...


This sweater was very small knit so the yarn from it really added up. You are so right, you begin to see the stitch directions etc as you go despite the fibers being long off the yarn. I think it will be a fun way this winter to get really nice yarns.....My hands hardly ever tire so this was a breeze. I wound up with 8 balls of different sizes. 

I can see how you must have so much yarn from this method!


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Forerunner said:


> I envy the both of yuhz.
> 
> :indif:


Aww no envy.....I think you should try it, bet you can do this with ease.... The way the sweater is put together is very important. If you get one that is just cut up as you said, it would not be worth the time. On the other hand, if you find sweaters that have been knit or crocheted by the panel and then sewn together...they are so worth it! If you check that link, the lady shows a close up of a seam.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

You must have better quality thrift stores where you are than where I am. 

There IS a thrift store down in Mpls that a friend of mine used to go to that had really high quality stuff. I bought an ankle length black wool coat there (which is still my go-to Winter coat when things are nasty out) that looks really sharp. It's much higher quality than I could afford. I paid 8.00 for it. 

I might have to consider stopping in there and peeking at their sweaters.


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

I like this idea too. I've seen some videos on it and I actually tried it one time on an old sweater, but I think I got the wrong kind of sweater. I couldn't find that 'one thread'. Tis is great for folks who knit and know these garments inside and out. But it is a great way to increase stash for cheap!


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## susang (Sep 28, 2014)

Never thought of thrift stores for fiber hunting. I have found some great yarn.

Years ago I ran in to a woman whose name I recognized after a brief discussion, we concluded I went to school with her daughter on a military base. Her hubby was high ranking officer. She bought a couple skeins of yarn for accent on a new project. Her outfit was beautiful all hand knit. After she left, I was told she was very poor and loved to knit. She unraveled old projects and donated projects to have something to knit. It was so sad, but she found a way to keep knitting.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

When you are shopping for sweaters you need to look at the seams.]
If they are 'knit' seams, it will be very obvious. The seam will be thick and you can see the yarn and the stitches that were used.

If it was cut up and sewn (how do they even do that without it unraveling everywhere?) the seam will be small with no yarn or visible stitches.

I look at the arms, near the wrists, and at the underarm area to check for felting up from friction. If it is too natty in those areas, I pass..unless the yarn is just too good to let go by. 
I have even been known to buy a sewn sweater because it was just too divine.
I have been working on a mohair, silk, cotton and wool sweater for ages. Gonna be worth it though. Feels like a cloud and the soft grey color is amazing.

I like doing it because it is an excellent project for a good movie or binging on tv show episodes that are too good to not pay complete attention to.
It is easy and mindless. Makes me happy.


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## libertygirl (Jul 18, 2011)

Oh how I hope I can find a sweater or two at the thrift store to do this with!


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

my closely guarded secret is church garage sales. Lots of Scandahoovian grandmas apparently put a lot of time and effort into knitting wool sweaters for lots of loved ones - and they all end up in church garage sales! 

(that's where I find them)


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