How to re-use yarn from a knitted garment.

How-to Questions
1

I want to unpick a knitted top and re-knit something new. Of course when I unpick it it’s no longer straight. Is there a way to smooth out the yarn before re-knitting?

2

I just did this recently for the first time and it worked very neatly. The yarn was reused for a sweater.

You can do this without a swift and ball winder by winding by hand into a ball and then into a hank the same way you wind a garden hose or elecrical cord (around your hand and bent elbow). I loosely tied the new hank in 4 places just to be sure it wouldn’t tangle.

1 Like
3

Another way is to soak it overnight, then the next day squeeze the water out, hang to dry with a weight on the bottom to gently pull the crimp out of the yarn

1 Like
4

I usually make skeins, wash them and hang them until they dry, them wind them again.

5

Thanks for that. Fascinating!

6

Thank you, I thought of doing that. Problem is I know the yarn will stretch if I rinse it. The first time I used it I rinsed the knitted garment them ironed it with a cool iron. The garment stretched enough to ruin the intended length.

7

Thank you. I might try that with one skein and see how it turns out. This yarn will stretch with rinsing though.