Wool clothing on a budget

bluebag

Last year primani had some cashmire cardigans and sweaters for £25, I don't know if they did them this year or not.

[Deleted User]

I also rate woolovers. I have had a lot of items from them for me and for dh and they wear and wash well. I use a wool wash and silk/wool liquid detergent

luxor4t

George/Asda & Tesco have had woollen jumpers, not sure about the situation right now. Don't overlook silk scarves for keeping your neck warm - I'm wearing one under a polo-neck today, I'm at home so nobody is going to notice!

valk_scot

Desperate_Housewife wrote: »

I agree with valk, knitting is not for thrift these days! I would keep trying the charity shops, even if the stuff is out of fashion you can wear it underneath as an extra layer.

You can also unravel pure wool sweaters (if they don't have cut seams), wind the yarn into hanks, soak and dry it to get the kinks out and reknit it into something that fits and suits better. That really is a cheap source of knitting wool. I used to do this with jumble sale sweaters when I was a skint student. I knitted an entire Kaffe Fassett cardigan out of reclaimed shetland wool sweaters back in the early eighties...I think I was probably trying to avoid studying for an exam though.

bluebag

valk_scot wrote: »

You think hand knitting a pure wool sweater would be cheaper? Pure wool DK starts at around £3 a ball for the absolute cheapest and goes up to as high as you like. You'd need 10-12 x 50g balls for an average size sweater. Plus your time, of course. Knitting is not a cheap alternative to buying from the shops when it comes to clothing!

Good grief, I had no idea knitting wool had become so expensive, there was a time knitting your own was considerably cheaper, it would seem those days are gone.

Quite shocked to be honest as I haven't knitted for years.

suki1964

valk_scot wrote: »

You think hand knitting a pure wool sweater would be cheaper? Pure wool DK starts at around £3 a ball for the absolute cheapest and goes up to as high as you like. You'd need 10-12 x 50g balls for an average size sweater. Plus your time, of course. Knitting is not a cheap alternative to buying from the shops when it comes to clothing!

Back when we were kids and me mum had to knit our clothes, she used to go to jumble sales and pick through for the mens wool jumpers, bring them home, wash and un pick them and use the wool

I have memories of winding wool around the back of the dining room chairs into hanks to be washed then dried and then winding into balls ready for use

Also all the left over bits me auntie used to make into rugs

suki1964

valk_scot wrote: »

You can also unravel pure wool sweaters (if they don't have cut seams), wind the yarn into hanks, soak and dry it to get the kinks out and reknit it into something that fits and suits better. That really is a cheap source of knitting wool. I used to do this with jumble sale sweaters when I was a skint student. I knitted an entire Kaffe Fassett cardigan out of reclaimed shetland wool sweaters back in the early eighties...I think I was probably trying to avoid studying for an exam though.

Snap

I just posted the same - didnt see this

Bronnie

Going back to the sixties childhood, did anyone else have a rainbow striped jumper knitted from all the leftover bits of wool?

rachbc

valk_scot wrote: »

You think hand knitting a pure wool sweater would be cheaper? Pure wool DK starts at around £3 a ball for the absolute cheapest and goes up to as high as you like. You'd need 10-12 x 50g balls for an average size sweater. Plus your time, of course. Knitting is not a cheap alternative to buying from the shops when it comes to clothing!

I know - as someone with ever such a slight Rowan/ kaffe fasett obsession I am aware how expensive it is - but at least you can get exactly what you want in terms of firbes, style and colour!

Jacey53

People are buying up the wool jumpers from CS for felting too.