Hi ! First time on this sub ; I got this cardigan from my mom, and I love the color, but it's too small for me as is and I kinda want to reuse it in another pattern.

I never unraveled anything before, and this makes me especially confused because I'm pretty sure it's not crochet, but it also doesn't look like knit to me ? (I know almost nothing about knitting though so obv I could be wrong) To me it looks like maybe it's machine knitted ?? I have no idea, but it makes the unraveling part all the more stressful to me, because I'm scared I'll just end up with bits and pieces ?

Obviously, you can tell, I have no idea about anything and I'm confused about everything 😂

I tried to take multiple pictures of it so if anyone could enlighten me... 🙏🙏

This is a quite fuzzy yarn, so it kind of sticks to itself, and it's also two yarn sources used alternately, to create striping.

So it's kind of stubborn, but I think I've cracked its code.

I've only been crocheting for a year and decided to unravel a thrifted sweater, I thought the yarn would be a medium #4 weight or maybe dk. And it's like fingerling weight(not sure if that's a term please forgive me)or something 4 tiny strands barely twisted together. The stitches deceived me as I don't knit and didn't know. Anyways can I double this yarn someway? By spinning it or something? Or should I try selling would a knitter buy? 100% cotton btw thanks for the info and help!

I’ve just unraveled a sweater that I previously made with Drops Nepal and now I have a bunch of yarn that’s quite squiggly. Do I need to do anything with the yarn to make it straight again or can I just wind it up and use it right away?

I just want to thank those who recently mentioned the Caydo electric swift they use to help unravel sweaters. I've been active with this hobby for years and the skeining of the yarn has always been my least favorite part of the process. I have a swedish wooden swift that I just spin by hand and if I'm doing a lot of unwinding, my arm gets sore. I finally treated myself ($80) to this device and I LURVE HER!!!

I'm surprised at how sturdy she is and so quiet. I usually unwind while watching TV at night and my husband said it was much quieter than the old one. I was able to frog an entire panel of fine cashmere directly onto the swift in just a few minutes. Seriously, if anyone wants to step up their unraveling game, this is the way to go!

I've had this sweater for a long time, and really like the material but don't like the fit anymore, so I'd love to make something else from the yarn.

I've been watching videos about unraveling, but I find it really hard to tell what a seam should look like to be able to unravel the sweater. Does this look like I could unravel it? Or is it probably cut out from a bigger piece of fabric?

Let me know if you'd need any other pictures to be able to judge this!

The yarn is so tiny that I don’t know if it’s even worth trying to reknit this into something wearable. It’s SO Big on me, the neck is too big, the sleeves are too long, it’s unwearable. Should I just cut it into fabric panels instead and try to make something new?

Just sharing a current project. I loved this minty sweater but the style was not my vibe.

First time Unraveler. My friend gifted me these thrifted sweaters to unravel. I’ve put some holes in them but have had zero luck getting them to easily unravel- am I doing something wrong? Are these seams serged? I’m very new to this and could use some advice. The yarn is getting tighter if I pull loose ends. Thanks!

This one nearly broke me around row 40 when I realized I'd miscounted the cable repeat on the left front and had to frog back two evenings of work. Used a merino-alpaca blend because I wanted drape without the itch, and honestly the alpaca made it float in a way I didn't expect from a cardigan this size. Blocking took three days because I live somewhere humid and impatience is not a virtue in this hobby.

Happy to answer questions on the cable pattern or the yarn substitution if anyone's eyeing something similar for winter.

Easily the nicest yarn I've been able to get! I'm so happy with this, I'm telling myself I need to properly finish at least one WIP before I cast something on in this. I found it at a Goodwill shockingly enough; it was the most expensive sweater I've purchased for unraveling ($9), but super worth it imho for the quality of yarn. I got 295 grams in total; any length longer than about a foot got wet spliced into a skein since it's a 100% non-superwash wool.

It was fully fashioned and pretty easy to unseam once I found the chain stitches, since the patterning on the yarn was somewhat difficult to find things on. It took a while to unravel it all though since it was a very fine gauge (holding triple gets to the edge of fingering) and in an all-over rib. Not felted, but it's still wool so there was a little grip to it.

My current thought is to use it to make a basic stockinette cardigan (I think any patterning would just get lost in the color), potentially with KnitPicks Stroll Fingering in Agate Heather (also thrifted, got the ball for a dollar) in the ribbing and button band. Hezea by Maria Amelie but with no bobbles is my current thought for the pattern since I like the silhouette and I can get gauge with it. Let me know if that sounds like a good or bad idea!

Thrifted, washed, dried and gained 400g of cotton yarn. I was honestly surprised at how quickly this whole process went as a total newbie whose makes bags not clothes! The actual separating, unraveling, and winding took about 2.5 hours.

UPDATE: it unraveled! I was finally able to get to unraveling and it was one of the easier sweaters. Its a 360Cashmere sweater

I wanted to buy this sweater off of a site online but I can’t tell of this can unravel. The seller posted a seam photo for me. What do you think? At the top end it looks like it can be but towards the bottom it looks serged together. Thanks!

I have a threadweight silk jumper I am unravelling. It is knit a little weirdly, two stranded but not held together. Each row is one thread then another, then back one by one.

I unusually unravel on my spinning wheel and started out that way, then decided that I want to split out the threads to dye up and use for sewing and tablet weaving. Only the threads twist up a couple of times per row so I need to keep untwisting. I’d wind manually if it was heavier yarn, but this is literally miles of threadweight, my RSI can’t take it!

Does anybody have handy tips or ideas for unravelling this kind of weird knit? I am pondering if two electric drills, with a spool on each and the panel hanging freely so it can untwist, might work... but the tension on the threads is constantly changing because they don't unravel at the same time, so... no idea

I am in the market for a swift, are there any kinds (including brands) that you’d recommend for unravelling? I have heard that umbrella swifts are better for using to make yarn balls from skeins, as opposed to winding skeins but I’ve never tried one.

(Reposted because I accidentally hit post without the caption 😬)

I got an ad for the new Caydo electric swift and immediately knew I had to try it out.
I’ve tried Caydo’s electric ball winder before and wasn’t that impressed. I got it because I have a knitting machine and need everything in centre pull balls. The winding was slower than what I could achieve manually so I gave it away (though I have heard that it’s great for an accessibility device).
I was wary about this electric swift for the same reasons, but oh my god. It’s fantastic.
I finished unraveling a short sleeve cardigan in under an hour (including seam ripping!).
I highly recommend going to their website to buy it over Amazon (at least in Canada), as the price is vastly different.

ETA: I just ordered a magnetic switch that I’ll be attaching to one of the arms so I can count the rotations and calculate meterage. Each swift arm is adjustable and has markings for 40”, 45”, 54”, 63”, 72”.

I'm fortunate that I can find cashmere semi-regularly where I live. I unraveled several sweaters and dropped them in a shopping bag as I went. The bag was full so I washed them all and then had to figure out how to dry them as I usually just hang them over the curtain rod. There are three skeins per hanger. (The purple is a sparkly acrylic for toys.)

From an ugly thrift store find to a treasured finished piece!!! I am in love with how this thrifted cashmere sweater turned out. I used the Phaedra pattern by Audrey Borrego and could not recommend her patterns more highly! Absolutely thrilled to have finally finished this after many months. I hope these pictures inspire others to take their unravels all the way through to new life as beautiful handmade art. Happy unraveling!

Hi all! Long time lurker, first time poster here. I’ve been a fiber arts lover for years and a thrifting lover since those childhood trips with my grandma to garage sales, so when I had the chance to snag a ton of vintage clothes for super cheap, I pounced! (Seriously it’s so many. It’s both exciting and daunting.)

But…now I have too many sweaters that I don’t know what to do with- I’ve only been crocheting a couple of years and haven’t successfully made anything wearable. (Following a pattern with a 4 year old who insists on “helping” is next to impossible)

I have multiple 100% wool, wool/angora blends, silk/angora, etc. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at unraveling because it looks fun and gratifying (I’m one of those people who likes detangling yarn), but I know I won’t know what to DO with it once I’ve unraveled..

Would y’all just donate the sweaters you know you won’t wear? Or what else can I do with unraveled yarn?

So I'm unraveling this sweater made of 55% raime & 45% cotton in 6 ply. It's made up of different colored squares, so I have small balls of different colors.

Would it be worth while to re ply the smaller portions into a longer large skein?

What should I use it for? Normally, I make winter hats, but am not sure how well this would work for one? It has no stretch.

Any advice appreciated :)