Unpicking Jumper

pollyanna24

Last night I caught bf lil bro throwing away a jumper (it's kinda of chenille (think that's the right word) because our dog had caught his sleeve and it's a bit holey. The rest of it is fine, so I took it off him and said I would knit the dog a blanket. All tongue in cheek at the time, but thinking about it, I hate wastage and figured there must be something I can do with it.

Where do I start unpicking jumpers? Always just bought wool before.

Ishtar

Probably your best bet is to unpick all the seams first, then start at the top end of each piece. You'll probably have to sacrifice the first couple of rows worth of yarn, but once you've cut the cast off edge, you should be able to find the end of the yarn and the jumper should unravel quite easily.

You might also need to hang it in hanks in the bathroom to get the kinks out of it (steam seems to loosen it!).

This won't work on some shop-bought jumpers, as they are often cut from knitted fabric - you'll end up with lots of short threads.

You could cut the sleeves off, sew the gaps and make a cushion cover....

Hope that helps.

D.

casperlarue

This could be a difficult task if its a machine knitted jumper, but much easier if hand knitted. bascially you need to carefully undo all the seams so you have seperate pieces ie. front, back and sleeves.

Then, starting at the end of the piece (where you would cast off) carefully pick back the casting off edge and the rest of the knitting should follow easily. It's a good idea to wind around a metal coat hanger squeezed in the middle to stretch out the kinks before re-knitting.

Good luck with your doggie project, its ages since I knitted anything!

Casper x

mioliere

Whenever I've unpicked knitting, as casperlarue has said, I've separated the pieces and started to unpick at the cast-off edge. If there is no human being handy to hold their arms out while I unravel the wool, I've wound it onto a chairback which helps it stay unkinked. I've never tried the coathanger but will give that a go next time.

Dobie

Hi pollyanna
Like the others said but here's a link to a tutorial with pictures that might help.
http://www.neauveau.com/recycledyarn.html
Dobie

pollyanna24

Thanks everyone. It is a shop bought jumper, but "looks" like it could be unpicked as the wool is quite thick and chenilley like. Have to give this a go at the weekend.

belfastgirl23

Just don't forget when you're doing it that chenille tends to shed so wear old clothes just in case. i used to have a really cosy red chenille jumper but had to abandon it since it left a thick layer of dust everywhere, especially in kitchen and bathroom

pollyanna24

I'm thinking it might be easier to make a cushion out of it now.

Never done it before. How do I do it? And what can I do with the arms? How do I get rid of the neck part? Do I have to stuff it or can I buy ready made inside cushion bits? Teehee. Think it may be easier just to throw or give to dog as a play thing!

meanmarie

You could just cut two rectangles...one from front and one from back and stitch together to make the poor dog a blanket as you originally intended...or go for the cushion cover if the colour suits your decor and you want/need a new cushion

I have knitted chenille wool and it is a menace so wouldn't fancy unpicking it...but I'm lazy!

Marie

pollyanna24

meanmarie wrote: »

You could just cut two rectangles...one from front and one from back and stitch together to make the poor dog a blanket as you originally intended...or go for the cushion cover if the colour suits your decor and you want/need a new cushion

I have knitted chenille wool and it is a menace so wouldn't fancy unpicking it...but I'm lazy!

Marie

Poor dog! She shouldn't have been chewing on it in the first place! Teehee.

Although I'm guessing it had more to do with teasing the dog who got her teeth caught on it. That's what she told me anyway and I believe her over bf's little bro!