Do I need to unkink yarn

ctmax · 02-16-2006, 09:13 PM

I bought a sweater at a thrift shop, it's made out of baby alpaca and when I unraveled the sweater the yarn is really kinked. Do I need to unkink the yarn before I use it, or can I just go ahead and knit? :thinking:

Ingrid · 02-17-2006, 02:15 AM

I'd try knitting with it as it is first and see if you need to--just a small swatch.

knitqueen · 02-17-2006, 02:35 AM

You would want to unkink it if you were doing some kind of lace work. The kinks would show through. Otherwise, if you are knitting to a similar gauge to the original item, you should not need to.

feministmama · 02-17-2006, 03:05 AM

Well any yarn I get from thrift store sweaters I would want to wash. And when you wash it, the kinks tend to soften a bit anyway. But in terms of kinkyness in general, if I have something knitted up and its been sitting there for a long time and I decide to unravel it and its kinky, Ijust go ahead and use it anyway.

Celine · 02-17-2006, 03:06 AM

I was wondering...how do you "unkink" yarn?? :XX: Get it wet? I have no idea. :rollseyes:

Ingrid · 02-17-2006, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by Celine

I was wondering...how do you "unkink" yarn?? :XX: Get it wet? I have no idea. :rollseyes:

I haven't done it, but I've read that you can wind it into hanks and either wet it, or put it in a steamy bathroom for a while.

ctmax · 02-17-2006, 03:10 AM

when you wash the yarn do you hang it to dry? I was going to throw it in the dryer just on the air cycle. Do you wash the sweater first and then unravel when dry or do you wash the wool once it's unraveled?

Sorry for all the questions this is the first time I have done this.

knitqueen · 02-17-2006, 04:22 AM

This is a good website that talks about recycling thrift store sweaters and goes into how to wash the yarn as well.

http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/thrifty.html

I have followed these 'washing' instructions and had very good results from
VERY kinked yarn.