Reduce, Reuse, ReSweater
A couple of years ago I knit my first “real” sweater. I agonized over what pattern to choose and then I agonized over what yarn to buy. A sweater is such a big commitment of time and money! Well, I didn’t make the right choice with the pattern. It’s a pieced sweater, and I couldn’t try it on until it was all finished and sewn together. If I knew then what I know now, I could have done a better job of measuring and altering, but the fact is it just never fit right. It sat in my drawer and I felt guilty about hardly ever wearing it. The other problem was it wasn’t very practical. It was a wrap-around cardigan with a very deep V neck, and while it was very warm around my hips with double layers in front, it left my neck out in the cold. But I love the yarn. I wanted it back.
So I unraveled it. (First I had to un-sew it.) The first section I unraveled got tangled into a terrible mess but I worked through that and was more careful later – First I wrapped the yarn into long hanks, which I gently dipped in water to clean and de-ramen-noodle-ize them… Once they were dry I wrapped them into balls.
The re-knitting is well underway. I’m starting in on the second ball and I’m SO EXCITED about this project! People wince in horror when I talk about it but I am seriously having a good time. I learned a lot from knitting that sweater, and its second life is going to be awesome. I’m knitting a bottom-up raglan cardigan, keeping my trusty copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop handy. If I have enough yarn it will have a hood. I’m hopeful that it will become my super-practical, wear-every-day sweater.
Well, I have to run – I have knitting to do before the weather gets any colder!
That’s so funny that this came up on my Google alerts! My slogan for my shop (I sell used wool sweaters for recycling) is “Reuse, recycle, Resweater”. Many of my customers buy the chunkier knit sweaters to do what you did… reclaim the yarn. I call them “froggables” because they call this “frogging” when you unravel a sweater for the yarn. Great post!
Kris 🙂
Resweater
Wow, Kris, that sounds like a very fun shop. This project was by far my biggest “frogging” session! Rip it, rip it…
The unravel process sounds as complicated as the knitting process. Did you take pictures of its first life? Later you can compare the photos side by side with its second life. I can’t wait to see it.
I am knitting my first sock! So excited!
Yes, I have pictures of the first sweater. I will do a side-by-side when it’s done. 🙂 Good luck on your first sock, tungtung!
Good for you Katie! That sounds awesome!
I truely believe that most first sweaters never fit right. There is just too much to learn for the first one. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out.
Sometimes starting again is the very best move. Sounds like this was one of those cases. I’ve found it’s the “unsewing” that’s the hardest bit–having to be so careful not to cut the knitting! Good luck on your new project!
What an amazing project. I’m sure it will be a wonderful sweater, and think of all the character-building side benefits like patience, endurance, long-suffering, thriftiness…you go girl!