How to Thrift Sweaters to Unravel and Reclaim Yarn #thrifting

Start here first! These are my best tips on how to choose the right sweaters to get the most beautiful and luxurious fibres for your knitting projects.
Subscribe for more, as I will be frogging several sweaters in upcoming videos!

If you would like to support the channel by buying me a virtual “coffee”, I would so appreciate it! Here is the link:

Instagram

My skin care, make up and nutrition can be found here:

[purplewave]

This was so helpful. I just inherited a large tote full of cashmere sweaters that don't fit me. Now I know which ones I can unravel.

[ksykes]

Looking forward to watching. Good way to save yarn from a landfill and save money on good quality yarn.

[zsnider]

I love that you're documenting this stuff. I've been knitting for only two years, and love thrifting and love cashmere. Like you, I started by felting the cashmere sweaters and sewing things (throws and blankets) from the pieces. then I learned to knit and learned to frog sweaters for my yarn. I have no problem holding several strands together to make a thicker yarn, and find that if I frog two or even three sweaters in similar colors I can make a pleasing marled yarn to use that gives me enough for a whole sweater. If I;m feeling really adventurous I also use acid dyes to unify the color more. To get rid of the kinks I started out by winding the yarn on a swift, soaking the hank and hanging it to dry. This got old really fast. Now I take the hank from the swift and steam iron it on a wool setting while stretching it around my ironing board. This not only makes it much straighter, but it kills any pesky moth eggs and larvae too. Good luck in your thrifty recycling creative adventures! Oh and yes - unzipping a seam is satisfying.

[alisoneichler]

Yes! Please show us how to frog a sweater.

[judyhansen]

Omgoodness! This is amazing information! Please show us how to frog! Would love to learn this !! 🫶🏻🤗🥰

[Sarah_Naomi]

This is such an interesting technique! Thank you for sharing your experience and I can't wait for part 2! ❤

[michele]

Thank you so much for this series. The tutorials are great! I was able to correctly identify a good sweater and reclaim almost 500g of yarn for a few dollars. It wasn’t perfect, but definitely a good start.

[thecreativecove]

Very cool! Love recycling such a great idea.

[kristinekinigson]

Very interesting and I learned some things, too. Yes, I want to see the whole unraveling process. Thanks!

[susanconnolly]

Thanks Lisa for the inspiration and yes to the next installment, very inspiring

[katharinatrub]

Oh my Gosh I wanna see how the unravelling is done! Thanks for the fun watching you!

[gillmiller]

Fabulous inspiration for an amazing approach to yarn ‘purchase’. Love the idea and youhave done some amazing research. Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to see your final red sweater, it looks great so far. X

[itsgoindown]

Its sad you ordered 3 sweaters & didn't get the truth about the yarn..but in a way you learned some valuable lessons..and after you ordered some beautiful sweaters🎉

[marybarker]

Yes! I would love to see you frog it. I’m doing one right now that has the folded over collar and it’s really got me stumped for getting that collar off intact.

[sarahel]

Soooo interesting. Will be fascinated to see more.

[sharonmerton]

Incredibly interesting and useful crafting knowledge thanks Lisa. Will be diving into the thrifting arena too now thanks to you. 🥰

[patriciatufts]

❤ I can't wait to see you frog a sweater. I have done this with 2 sweaters from Value Village, one was mess that I could not find the sweet spot to start and ended up cut up too much to keep. The other one was better and the yarn felt lovely but I had no idea what the Fibre content was. Looking forward to your next video on your process. Thanks.

[knittysong]

I do this a lot and it's awesome! I recently discovered that if I wind the yarn on my swift and steam it on the swift, it gets much straighter which I like because it feels softer and nicer to knit with, even though it's not necessary to do that!

[rebecca-]

I had an unexpected reaction to this: these sweaters (particularly the one you are about to frog!) look too nice to take apart 😮. I think this is because when you first mentioned the idea last video, I had in mind some thrift store buys with perhaps a moth hole or two, a stain, a rip on the hem…. But I think thrift stores have changed a lot the last few decades. While I was thrilled as a student to find a cashmere cardigan with a thin elbow for a dollar and be able to cheaply fix it, now I think second hand shops have gotten pretty posh and sell things only a few seasons old and in mint condition.
So yes, I’ll be curious to see how you do it!!

[mymothersstash]

i just found you, and love your channel. I have been so frustrated with living in Spain (Malaga) bc of the lack of good yarn stores - but you have unlocked a treasure trove! I have been flipping out over the amount of cashmere sweaters on Facebook Marketplace and Wallapop! Thank you 🙂