Unraveling the Sweater

I love to shop at thrift stores. 

I love to find unique and one of a kind things. 

I love the idea of saving something from the landfill and re purposing it. 

 I am so down to up-cycle: taking something 'old' and making it 'new' again. 

Unraveling thrift store sweaters for yarn is an obvious no brainier for me, but I can't take credit for the idea. I am actually sure that people have been doing this for as long as there has been yarn to unravel from sweaters! For me the idea came when surfing the web one lazy afternoon last year around February. I stumbled, so to speak, across Ashley Martineau's blog. Then Neauveau Fiber Arts and now How to Spin Yarn. It was her How to Unravel a Sweater to Recycle Yarn article that got me started on unraveling sweaters, something I still do. 

I have even used unraveled yarn to corespin with!

 I created over 150 yards of core-spun yarn by spinning around my recycled sweater yarn with semi felted Alpaca (Semi Felted- a happy accident that took place during my first forays into washing my own fleece) and then wrapping it during plying with a wool single from Custom Woolen Mills in Alberta. I still had enough yarn left over for My latest use in:

 Day 19 Square for My Granny Could Knit That personal challenge 

I still have lots of this yarn left... my guess... over 150 yards still to be used!

Which Fibre is It? 

I love to scour my local thrift store for awesome yarn and fabric finds! Most of the time those finds don't come with a label. Even though my sense of touch is pretty good these days, sometimes it can be very hard to distinguish between the synthetic and natural fibres. So what do I do? There is touch, which I already mentioned and then there is smell. Most animal/protein fibres smell like wet dog if I dunk them in water. What about plant fibres though; cotten, hemp, flax? Most of the ways to determine the difference between natural and synthetic fibres are quite subjective. Without actually using a microscope to view the fibres structure, I may never know for sure, but one of the best subjective tests is the burn test. I found a great PDF Document by Pacific Fabrics outlining the Burn Test and what to expect from different fibres.

For my first square I used a beautifully soft pink yarn I found at the thrift store. I am not sure exactly what the fibres and so I am going to use the burn test to see if I can find out.

I split this yarn to do the burn test as it is plied. 

Each single is distinctly different.

When I burnt the thin single (upper strand) I smelt burnt hair and it shrunk from the flame. The bead was black. The strands are thin, smooth, even and shiny. Using the burn test, as well as my knowledge of fibre I think it is silk. The lower strand, which is fluffy and soft, burned quickly with a flame, a little bit of sputter and melt. The black bead at the end breaks and is crumbly. However some of the small beads are not, they are hard and irregular. The smell is chemical and burnt hair. I think this fibre is a blend of animal fibre (maybe mohair) and acrylic.

Remember always to use caution when dealing with open flame. I burnt my wool over the sink in the kitchen. Good ventilation is also important. Make sure you understand how to use a butane lighter and properly put out the flame. 

Happy Testing Everyone

My Granny Could Knit That

For the month of April I have undertaken a personal challenge to create an Art Blanket (Piece Work Quilt). This personal challenge is undertaken in support of the local Farmers Market.
Please support me in this challenge by clicking the link at the bottom of this post and donating on my challenge page.
All funds collected go directly to the Rossland Mountain Market Society. 

Throughout the month I will be posting updates (on my yodel challenge page), patterns, how to videos, and fun fibre world facts for everyone to enjoy. Happy April Everyone!

Not sure what this yodel thing is all about? Watch this short video.

Find Out More About My Challenge and How to Support Me.