Sweater Bowl

Since I am waiting for our Fiber Guild Olympics to start, I am trying very hard not to cast on anything new. So I decided to indulge in a current minor obsession (I blame Jess). I went to Goodwill this weekend and picked up 4 sweaters. Three of them will be taken apart for yarn. The other will be used to make a felted bag for the Olympics. I just finished taking apart one sweater and I have two more I bought a while ago that need dismantled.

So I spent yesterday evening watching the Superbowl and taking apart sweaters. Yay, SweaterBowl! Now, you might ask why a knitter would take apart a perfectly good sweater to get yarn. Can't I buy or spin my own? Yes, yes I can. But where can I get 900 yards of 100% sick yarn for $2.50 (well I actually traded for this but I know sweaters at Goodwill cost $2.50)?

And can't I knit my own bag to felt? Yes, but then I would have to actually do the fair isle myself. And something that might take me months will only take a few days. So this sweater is becoming a bag.
Beyond checking to make sure if I can take the sweater apart, I just require that the sweater be a natural fiber. Acrylic yarn is pretty cheap, but wool can be expensive. Especially when you are looking at a blend of merino wool, silk and cashmere. Nom nom nom. And also, if you don't like the colors, if it is a natural fiber you can dye it.

But basically I do this because it is fun, and I can get nice yarn and save a bunch of money. If you are interested, I have a couple of links for you.

Soulful Hues Knits has some great information.

Chaotic Crafter has some very good pictures of the process and how to wash and finish the yarn. The only thing I disagree with is hanging weights on the yarn when it is drying. It will stretch out the yarn, which tends to make it more limp and lifeless than it actually is. This could affect your gauge if the yarn springs back to life after you wash the finished object.

Dyet Yarns has great pictures and critera for picking a sweater. I don't mind if the yarn is scratchy (good for felting) or that it be thicker. I work mostly with lighter weight yarns and I'm not going to get something I won't use. But light fingering is about the thinnest weight I will go with, it just gets harder to see the stitches if they are too small.

Oh and as a note and to emphasize this point. The seams of the sweater are very important. It makes the difference between useable yarn or short pieces that make good stuffing. Don't get so excited about finding a cream sweater in a worsted weight, tweed wool that you fail to look at the seams. At least I can felt it. I need to get some brown wool and backstitch around the cables to make them pop.