Off the hook
Issue #34
A guide to hand-me-up knitwear
By Laura Grutzeck
Published: December 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
Upcycling knitwear is a perfect way to be environmentally friendly, crafty, economical, and warm this winter. Here are a few techniques to get you started.
Up-ravel Your Sweater
Turn an unwanted sweater back into yarn.
1. Find a sweater. Check the seams. Sweaters that are knit in pieces and sewn together can be unraveled. Sweaters that are cut out of large bolts of knit fabric and serged together cannot be unraveled. (You can tell if a seam has been serged when it has one edge with stitching along the top. A “good” seam will have two edges, usually without any stitching along the sides.)
2. Pull the seam apart at the edges until you can see the thread that was used to sew it together. Carefully cut this thread (do not cut the seams). Separate the side seams, then remove the sleeves from the body. Separate the sleeve seams, and remove the neckband or collar of the sweater.
3. When the sweater is separated into pieces, start at the top of each piece and begin unraveling. If there is stitching along the top edges, carefully cut it (do not to cut the loops of the sweater yarn.) Wind the yarn into balls as you unravel.
4. Next, wind the yarn into skeins — use the back of a chair, a large book, or even some kind person’s arms. Tie the skein in several places when you are done winding, to keep it from tangling.
5. Wash the yarn by soaking it in warm water (until fully saturated) with a gentle cleanser. Rinse the yarn in water of the same temperature, then roll in a towel to remove some of the water. Hang the skeins up until dry. Then they can be wound up into balls again. Happy knitting!
Cut up your bags
Plastic bags are great for knitting and crocheting with; however, plastic-bag yarn does not have much stretch or drape, so it’s best used for accessories like shopping bags.
1. Gather a big bunch of plastic bags.
2. Flatten the bags.
3. Fold a bag lengthwise, into a one-inch strip.
4. Cut off the handles and the bottom seam.
5. Cut the remaining strip into segments about a half-inch wide.
6. Unfold the segments into loops.
7. Connect the loops by looping one around the other and pulling up snug.
8. Wind plastic bag yarn into balls and start knitting or crocheting!.
Get felt up
The easiest way to felt is to use old sweaters made of animal fibers like alpaca, angora, and wool (cotton and acrylic won’t felt). Check the label: If the sweater can be machine-washed, it is “superwash” wool, which is specially treated to avoid felting. If the label says “Hand wash or dry-clean only,” you’re golden.
HINT: Keep in mind that sweater fabric shrinks and becomes heavier after felting. Lightweight sweaters work best for wearable items, heavier sweaters can be used for bags, slippers etc.
1. Machine wash the sweater on hot with detergent. Feel free to felt more than one sweater at a time, just make sure they have enough room to move around. Sweaters release a ton of fibers when washed this way, so don’t wash other clothing with them, unless you don’t mind picking wool balls off of your clothes.
2. When the wash is done, the individual stitches of the sweater should be difficult to see, and it should feel dense and cushy. If not, the sweater may need two or three cycles before it is well felted. Keep putting the sweater through the wash until it looks right. When it is felted to your liking, let it air dry.
3. Go crazy! Once the sweater is dry, you can cut it up and treat it like fabric. It will not run or fall apart.
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Project: A Heart-Felt Jumper for Janis
Materials
• at least one lightweight wool sweater for felting
• two buttons
1. Find a sweater. If your dog is small, you will only need one large adult sweater. Larger dogs will require two or more.
2. Follow the directions for sweater felting, and felt your sweater.
3. When your sweater is dry, cut it apart at the seams into flat pieces.
4. Use a copy machine or scanner to increase the pattern to the size you need to fit your dog. The length of the coat should match your dog’s back length from collar to tail, and it should be wide enough to cover your dog’s back from leg to leg. The pattern in the photo has been altered to fit Janis.
5. Cut out the paper pattern. Pin the pattern on the felted sweater fabric and cut it out. If your sweater isn’t large enough to fit the entire pattern, you can cut out the neck and waistband separately, and sew them to the body.
6. Cut buttonholes about three-quarters of an inch from the ends of the neck and chest strap. Make the buttonholes about one-eighth-inch smaller than your buttons.
7. Try the coat on your dog, and mark where the buttons should go. The fit should be snug enough to stay on securely, but not tight enough to cut off circulation.
8. Sew the buttons on the coat.
9. Embellish the coat if you desire. I finished the edges of Janis’ coat with blanket stitch and used scraps from another felted sweater to make the appliquéd arrows. That’s it. You’re done! Now go take your super stylish and environmentally savvy pooch out for a walk.
Resources
• neauveau.com
• Second-Time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater by Anna-Stina Linden Ivarsson, Katarina Brieditis, and Katarina Evans (Annick Press, 2005)
• knitty.com
• marloscrochetcorner.com
• magknits.com
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