Recycle yarn: Rip out a sweater and reuse it

By Ronnie Citron-Fink

Posted Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:39am PST

 

Have you ever had a thread of yarn dangle off a sweater and start to unravel the garment? If you have a perfectly good sweater in your closet that hasn't seen the light of day for a while, why not grab a tread and start to pull?
I've been going through my closets to free up precious storage space. My closet weeding dug up a pile of old wool sweaters and unfinished knitting projects. One of the sweaters had a hole peeking off the cuff. I started to pull, and soon found it immensely satisfying to keep ripping.
As I watched the yarn mount up, I realized I could reuse the yarn to knit a new sweater! Once the sweater was transformed back to its original material -- a skein of yarn -- I've been reusing the yarn to make small knitted projects like hats, socks, scarves, and bags.
How to rip out a sweater and reuse the yarn:
1. Unravel
Snip the bottom of the sweater. It will unravel as you pull. When you rip out a knitted garment, the yarn may be stretched out and kinky. The yarn will need to be wound around something. The easiest way to do this is to use a yarn swift or a wool winder. If you don't have either of those, tie an end to the side of a chair and wind the yarn around the chair as it unravels.
2. Wash
After you've enjoyed the liberating feeling of pulling apart a sweater, soak the sweater in cool water (don't agitate in washing machine or the yarn will felt) with a small amount of mild eco-detergent.
3. Dry
Hang the hank of yarn to drip-dry on a towel or clothes rack, or even place it over a showerhead (keep your floors dry). If the yarn is still kinky, when it is almost dry, wrap the yarn around a chair with a little tension.
4. Rewind
Wind yarn into balls, grab your needles, and start knitting!
Check this out: Here is one of the most incredible videos I have ever seen on the subject of unraveling yarn!
Ronnie Citron-Fink is a writer and educator. Ronnie regularly writes about sustainable living for online sites and magazines. Along with being the creator of http://www.econesting.com/, Ronnie has contributed to numerous books about green home design, DIY, children, and humor. Ronnie lives in the Hudson Valley of New York with her family.