Are you a yarn addict? I know I am. When you can’t afford high-priced yarn, there is another alternative. You can recycle yarn from used sweaters from your local thrift store. I learned about this at a time when I was really broke. Good quality yarns can run $4 to $15 per skein!  100% wool is especially dear.  So I went to our local thrift store and bought a few 100% wool sweaters that appeared to have been hand knitted.  Hand-knitted sweaters are best because they are usually sewn together by hand instead of by machine.

1. Start at the cuff of one sleeve and find the seam.

2. Use very sharp scissors or a seam ripper to cut the thread or yarn that was used to sew up the seam. Be careful not to cut the knitted yarn if possible.

3. When you get to the armpit, continue to rip the seam down toward the bottom of the sweater.

4. Do the same for the other sleeve and side seam.

5. Now it is time to separate the 2 sleeves from the front and back of the sweater.

6. Now you have a back and front, or a back and left/right front panels if it was a cardigan. These are joined at 2 shoulder seams. Separate them also.

7. The back is usually the biggest piece, so start unraveling it from the top down. This is because most sweaters are knitted from the bottom up. The neck edge may cause some problems, but when you get below the neck, it should go very quickly.

8. Wind the yarn into balls as you unravel.

9. Now unravel the front or 2 front panels; and the sleeves if you want to.

10. You now have yarn to use for your projects that cost next to nothing!

Here are 2 LINKS related to this subject:

http://rekal.zibibboisgood.com

http://www.craftleftovers.com/blog/archives/401

Here is a good book on this subject - Available at Amazon.com

Second-time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater (Paperback)

by Anna-Stina Linden Ivarsson, Katarina Brieditis, Katarina Evans,

Anna-stina Linden Ivarsson, Maria Lundin (Translator)

Paperback: 92 pages Publisher: Annick Press (October 2005)

Language: English ISBN: 1550379100