Yarn Recycling
Recycing old sweaters
I’ve been wanting to add to my yarn stash so I can weave shawls and more scarves on my rigid heddle loom. There are several discount yarn stores on the internet, but it occured to me that there’s plenty of yarn to be had right here in Marquette–at the thrift stores, in the form of old sweaters.
So off I went, up to the St Vincent De Paul thrift store on Saturday afternoon. This is a fantastic thrift store. For the princely sum of $26, I got five sweaters, two sets of sheets to weave into rag rugs, and even a much-needed pair of pajamas! Not bad. There were a couple more sweaters I think I may go back to get today, if they’re still there.
There’s a Goodwill in town, but their prices just keep going up. Hey people, it’s USED CLOTHING! Unless they have a sale, they’re not worth it. I do need to check out the Salvation Army store though. They have good prices, but they’re a little harder to get to. St. Vincent’s is just a bike ride away on a nice day (unless I come out of there with a trash bag full, like I did the other day!)
The purple yarn in the picture is mostly acrylic, with a little wool, but I couldn’t resist the color. It’s much better than what’s pictured. The sweater was a bear to take apart, but it yielded probably a pound of yarn (I’ll weigh it after it’s dry–I soaked it in hot water for a while to try to relax some of the curly-cues from being knitted).
I picked up a burgundy sweater for the cotton/ramie yarn. It’s fine, about the weight of sock yarn, but I’ll double it to weave with. I got home and wondered why I had bought it because the color is kinda non-descript. But then I remembed my stash of dyes down in the basement. I only have one piece of this sweater left to unravel and skein. They I’m going to overdye it with some Boysenberry and Fuschia (Pro MX Fiber Reactive Dyes). That should pep up the color a bit!
One thing to keep in mind about recycling yarn is that it’s a time-intensive project. It probably takes about four-five hours to take apart a sweater carefully so you don’t wind up with lots of little short pieces of yarn, unravel it, and to skein it on the yarn winder. And that doesn’t count time and materials to dye it, if I want to, and to wind it into balls so the yarn is in a usable form.
Unraveling sweaters is a great job for in front of the tv at night. It’s an easy job that keeps my hands busy, and I’m doing something useful with the time other than just sitting there. But it’s important to keep in mind that even though I didn’t pay much for the sweater, there is some time invested in it. So my materials cost is no lower than it would be if I bought new yarn. However, I’m reusing a perfectly good resource that’s available right here in town, and the price is definitely right! (Hmmm, do I sense a business opportunity here, selling recycled yarn?)
On a different note, I can’t figure out what the deal is with my camera. It works just fine outside, but when I try to take pictures of yarn or whatever, the colors are totally messed up. I dinked around with the colors with a photo editor on my picture above, but they’re still not right. Do I need a different camera, or is there a simple solution I’m missing? Anybody who has any suggestions, please jump in with a response!
Tagged with: Dyeing yarn • recycled yarn • thrift stores • Weaving • yarn recycling
Filed under: Weaving
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Are you copying me??? haha! I do this all the time. I’ve found that the acrylic yarns are hard to get to relax. They hold the crimpies alot more. The natural materials relax very nicely. I’ve been paying 1.99 at most for the sweaters I’ve brought home. I’m weaving rabbit angora and lambswool I harvested from a sweater right now. No way I would have bought virgin yarn for that price! One thing to always check for when you go this route — make sure there hasn’t been any felting taking place. You’ll never get the yarn out of those!
As for the photos. Indoor photos are tough. I try to take pics during the day without a flash. That seems to work the best. If I had some indirect lighting to use it might be better. On my ‘to do’ list is to put together a photography set to take pics of my rugs and things. I’ve got a friend who does photography – I’m going to get some tips from her.
Hee, hee, you probably did inspire me a little! I seem to remember a picture of a hot pink scarf on your blog that was originally a thrift store sweater. I’ve started weaving the purple yarn up into a shawl. It’s really looking pretty good, especially considering how sad that poor old sweater was. Oh yeah, I know to avoid felted sweaters for yarn recycling. Just cut those into strips for rugs.
Tossed the burgundy yarn into the dyebath today; I left it overnight, so I’ll see how it came out tomorrow. It already looked better. Can’t wait to start weaving it up.
I took a bunch of pictures outside today, and the color was great. I think it has something to do with the inside lighting. I discovered there’s a way to select which kind of lighting you’re using, so I’m going to play around with that tomorrow and see if I can get a half-way decent picture. I did invest in a lightbox, but it still didn’t help with the color issue. Sigh. I guess between the two of us, we’ll figure it out eventually! If you get any good tips, put them up your blog! We can pick each other’s brains.
Hi – thanks for leaving the nice note about my yarn – yes, I have loved that “Figgy Pudding” roving – Sometimes I would just go into the “guest room” (which has too much wool and yarn in it now for a guest – ha ha) and look at the colors and think of what I might make with it.
I have tried Navajo plying, I’m not very good at it though and haven’t been willing to sacrifice any yarns for the chance to practice.. I can see why people spin for weaving – I’m not a knitter and it takes an awfully long time to crochet anything of substance.
Sorry to read about your kitty – I wonder if she had a stroke or something – its a relief that it wasn’t rabies! My Sinda is 21 1/2 years old (older than some of my co-workers!) and pretty much into kidney failure – I’ve been getting sub-Q infusions for her every two weeks – but soon that’s going to start getting more frequent and I don’t know if I want to put her through that – but she still purrs, stretches, uses the “litter girls room” exclusively (thank god) and is demanding as an old part Siamese lady can be. Since I’ve never had children, she is pretty much my baby girl – even though I’m trying to prepare myself for life without her – it’s going to be a hard one…
Anyhow, thanks for stopping by – hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New years. – Take Care – T.
Hi Tina,
I used to do lots of spinning, but I’ve gotten away from it over the years. Hard to believe my old Ashford wheel is now considered a “vintage wheel”! Wonder what that says about me?
Navajo plying does take a little practice. But once you get it, it’s a fast and easy way to ply yarns without having to mess with lazy kates and multiple bobbins.
We’ll never know what happened with Molly. It’s one of those sad things in life we’re not meant to understand in this world. I hope your Sinda kitty can stay with you a while longer. It’s so hard to give them up, even when you know it’s coming. All you can do is love them and be grateful for each day.
Thanks for your comment! Christmas blessings to you and yours!