I've been keeping myself occupied recently by reading way too much stuff on Ravelry and adding to my already crippling list of hobbies. Thanks to the "Thrifty Knitters" group on Ravelry, I've been having a blast recently unraveling sweaters picked up for next to nothing at my local thrift shops. With some careful deconstruction, a sweater can be quickly reduced to 4 panels of knitted fabric awaiting the gentle tugging pressure of a 3 year old cranking the handle of my antique skein winder. In a matter of moments, the fabric is reduced to a skein of interesting yarn ready for a soak in scalding hot water and then hanging to dry while the kinks of its previous life surrender to gravity.Right now, there are pieces of 2 sweaters folded neatly beside me. My first successful unraveling experiment is in the process of being crocheted up into a lap blanket for Sprout because she became oddly attached to the yarn during the unraveling process.
I spend a lot of time in thrift shops. I love finding cool things and giving them a renewed lease on life. Looking at sweaters as raw materials or future fiber projects has really expanded the range of yarns that I can work with. I currently have a cashmere sweater awaiting the attentions of my seam ripper, and I have almost 1/2 pound of 75% silk, 15%wool, 10% nylon fingering-weight yarn waiting to be washed and hung. What I'll do with 1300 yards of this beautiful brown yarn, I'm not sure, but the list of possibilities suggesting themselves have provided me with more entertainment than I would have thought possible from a $1.00 thrift shop find.
Once unraveled, I usually have 4-6 skeins of yarn to add to my stash. Usually, in spite of my best efforts, there's a little skein that works out to about 15-25 yards. I hate to throw it away but couldn't figure out a real use for it. Then I had a brainstorm. The small skein becomes a swatch skein, perfect for swatching the project before winding the skeins on the ball winder. I staple the original sweater label to paper wrapped around the mini skein with the information about the total yardage and weight available.
One disadvantage to all these skeins of reclaimed yarn is that they don't come with ball bands or care instructions. I think that I've found the perfect solution. (opens as PDF) I sat down and designed a ball band with blanks to fill in for the weight, yardage, fiber content, and care instructions for my "new" yarns. Basically, a generic ball band with all the information that I'd like to keep with each skein. Feel free to print and use the PDF for your own recycling efforts.
12 comments:
great idea with the recycle ball band :) it makes you think a lot more about the yarn you 'reclaim' or recycle!
Thank you for the blank ball bands! Now my recycled yarns can have the same kind of respect and identification as all my 'spensive ones!
From a fellow yarn recycler and ravele,r (id same as blog) thanks for making my mess neater... gonna print some off and put it on my recycle stash... and print a few extra for the future skeins
Fabulous ball bands!!!!
I cant wait to work with my new "yarns". Thanks again.
I LOVE IT!!!
Thanks SO MUCH for the band!!!!
It's really going to cut down my my stress and work and keep my organized :D
Knit on girl!
~Jess
PS Know how you feel about Ravelry (it's completely addicting!)
I am hesitant to admit this, but the ball bands can only do so much to help with organizing the stash... I have a bad habit of waiting "just 'til I wash the yarn and de-kink it" to put the bands on... hopefully, others won't fall into that trap.
Thank you for the labels! I got here through Craftzine.
I recycle sweaters a lot, this will save me a ton of time!
Abril, I'm glad you found the post and the ball bands. They have found a wide and enthusiastic audience. I really love the idea of all those hanks of reclaimed yarn out there labeled and awaiting just the right projects.
I like the instructions to "print on the other side of misprinted paper."
The instructions were initially intended as a reminder to my DH when he printed the labels for me. When I decided to post them for use by anyone who might find them useful, I didn't see any point in remaking the PDF to remove it since most people reclaiming yarn from sweaters probably print on the backs of their misprints anyway.
Thanks for publishing the skein bands. I've been trying to come up with a design myself and still may, but your will give me a template to follow. This new world of unraveling sweaters is so exciting! Can't wait to find a cashmere sweater in great condition to unravel!
Thanks for the printable ball bands! My husband is especially grateful that my "new" yarn isn't disorganized. :)
That's a great tip about the tiny hank(s) *and* stapling the original tag to the ball band. I hadn't thought of either one.
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