Unraveling a sweater for the yarn...

[Lisa R.]

I would like to unravel a sweater to use the yarn for another project. I need advice for the best way to approach this. I have a swift that I thought I'd use to wind the yarn as I unravel.

Once I get to that point, what is the best way to unkink the yarn? I'm thinking of tying it in a couple of places like the skeins/hanks you buy. Would I just soak that skein and let it dry as is before winding it into balls?

Is there something I'm missing or something else I ought to do?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[salmonmac]

Here's one good article with some suggestions for unwinding and de-kinking yarn to repurpose it.

[dreamsherl]

Here's one good article with some suggestions for unwinding and de-kinking yarn to repurpose it.

Thanks for the link.

[fatoldladyinpjs]

I tried it and it's a big pain to unravel all the seams. If you want to go the reclaim route, my suggestion would be to look in the thrift stores for blankets that have already been knitted or crocheted by someone else. Unravel and rework them the way you want. You get a lot more yarn from those than you would a sweater, and it's easier to undo.

[suzeeq]

The blankets I've seen are usually are striped in different colors, so you may not get a lot of the same color. The one I found in a solid I liked so much I didn't unravel it.

[Lisa R.]

I tried it and it's a big pain to unravel all the seams. If you want to go the reclaim route, my suggestion would be to look in the thrift stores for blankets that have already been knitted or crocheted by someone else. Unravel and rework them the way you want. You get a lot more yarn from those than you would a sweater, and it's easier to undo.

It's my own sweater, knitted in the round, so there aren't any seams. Shouldn't be too bad. I would NOT want to unravel any sort of non-handmade sort of seamed thing! I was just debating about sending the sweater that I really don't like to the thrift store...and decided I could just re-use the yarn myself.

[suzeeq]

It's actually pretty easy to unravel a sweater from the thrift store. You have to make sure the seams look like they do when you knit one yourself, and not cut ones or you'll get a bajillion strands of yarn 2 yards long.