How to unravel a knitted garment (tutorial # 4)

Step by step instructions on how to get more yarn in your stash.

Step 1. Find an old knitted garment, made by you or store bought, that you don’t like or don’t wear anymore. You will also need a tapestry needle and a pair of scissors.

Step 2. Find the part that was made last when you were finishing your knit (usually, it is a neckline). Find the place where you hid the yarn ends after binding off stitches. Start unraveling. Avoid using the scissors as much as possible. Be patient.

Step 3. Undo all the seams and divide your garment into separate parts.

Step 4. Unravel each part into a ball.

Step 5. Using a yarn swift make skeins or hanks from the balls. Tie each skein firmly on the opposite sides with two pieces of cord or string leaving rather longish tails (it will help you later to find and untie the strings).

Step 6. Put all the skeins in lukewarm water with Eucalan or Soak wash for about 30 min.

Step 7. Rinse the skeins and hang them to dry. The drying goes much faster in Florida, where I put the skeins outside. In Pennsylvania the process would take a couple of days.

Step 8. When all skeins are completely dry, put them one by one back on a yarn swift, untie the cords, and wind each skein into a ball.

Step 9. Start a new project from your recycled yarn.