Needlework Monday: Reusing Yarn
Once I finished my cardigan I almost immediately wanted to start another project 😂. I’m almost finished with another baby cardigan but I put that on hold for something else..
This is a Find Your Fade shawl I made last year and goooooood gracious it was somewhat of a pain in the butt to make. Now, some (most) of that was my own fault, I had accidentally ordered two of the skeins in DK weight. I liked the colors though, so I ended up splitting the yarn and re-twisting it.
Here’s the thing though, I don’t really wear this shawl. Sure I’ve wrapped up in it a few times but I mean... eh. So I decided to unravel it. Completely.
Bye, honey, it was nice knowing ya.
I found where I had woven in the very end and started unraveling there. You want to wind the yarn into a ball as you go, otherwise it’ll get very tangled. Not fun.
Then I wrapped the unraveled yarn around a chair, tied it with extra yarn in several places, and put it in a bowl of cold water.
Lol it looks like purple ramen noodles.
I hung the yarn over the shower curtain pole to dry. Once it’s completely dry you can wind it back into a ball.
So my plan for all this yarn is to make several smaller shawls and hopefulllllly sell them.
Have you ever reused yarn?
Thanks for following along! ❤️
The photos with the shawl are beautiful, but I can understand that such a big piece may not be convenient to wear. Nevertheless, you looked beautiful with the shawl.
I often reuse yarn, but after my last two post everybody perhaps by now knows, that I am a bit lazy sometimes... so I always thought " why soaking... the yarn will become smooth again on its own, if I knit it up" But as you perhaps guess - it does not. My last sweater has clearly visible parts, where the yarn is kinky. So next time I will follow your method and will not omit the soaking.
Thank you! And yeah, sometimesss skipping steps works out okay but then there’s the other times.. 😆
Hi @lizgore, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Fiber Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Join us on Mondays for Coffee Hour at 3pm EDT in the Steemit Fiberartists on Discord.
Not yet reused any, but have thought about it quite a bit. Good to know a good method!
Google is a big help!
I like the photos from your original shawl--that first one is dramatic! I've reused yarn. I had Red Heart yarn, the scratchy kind (bought at Walmart, don't judge because I was 12 haha) in "Tutti Frutti" and embarked on a lap afghan using triple crochet. It was the saddest, saggiest, most lopsided and uneven thing. Somewhere later in my teen years I unraveled it and redid it properly, and put a fringe on it and everything. I just wound the yarn tightly into balls when I unraveled it, and it smoothed out all right.
As someone who used to ignore needle sizes and used acrylic yarn, I can’t judge 😂
this is a really good idea - I've got a couple of things knitted that just sits there never being used. :)
Thank you! It’s especially nice not spending more money on new yarn when you can just reuse it lol
I thought I was the only nut that did this! LOL! After all that work, when it's just not right, the only thing to do is FROG! Thanks for sharing.
Definitely not the only nut around here! 😂
I LOVE your shawl pictures! They look like the start of a movie and so dreamy!! Did your brother take these too?
Wow that shawl was really roomy, how long did it take you to make it? I probably would have gotten confused along the way and stopped.
Thanks for sharing your process of frogging and preserving the yarn. I have never reused yarn like this. Haaa I thought they looked like purple ramen noodles in a bowl too!
Thank you! I actually set my camera on a timer for these pictures. It took me maybe 3ish months? I frogged it several times before it was done 😂
You’re welcome!! Wow well you did really great on those photos! Lol we’ve all been there! 😄