This is my first post and am hoping for sage advice from the collective brains. I recently scored an original Artwork sweater off eBay and was delighted to find it was indeed hand knit in denim yarn. The intent is to rework the yarn into another Rowan sweater (perhaps a Whitby!). But have many questions before I deconstruct - believe there is plenty of yarn since it is appears to be a men’s L sweater (however, I am NOT a bauble girl so reknitting the yarn is the only way to go).
Any suggestions for best way to deconstruct the sweater? Remove sleeves, then side/shoulder seams?
What is the best way to dekink the yarn, assuming this is necessary?
Would appreciate direction to any helpful posts / articles…
Excited for this adventure!!
Whatever you do, I would rest your unwound yarn to let it relax before you soak, mist or steam. And a little testing will go a long way. There is also a cosmic truth that yarn seems to use more when you are ‘ravelling up’ and yield less when unravelling The knitting in the original is superb, isn’t it? If that jumper/sweater could talk!
So appreciate all the sage advice, excited concern and wonderful insights! The collective brain power here is amazing. First I have to acknowledge the original knitter of the sweater - the technique was wondrous and the construction flawless - it was a hard decision to deconstruct. But the design was not suited to me so hence the decision to reuse that beautiful yarn. The baubles I must say are a true work of art - they were actually 1 X 4 inch strips that were tied in an overhand knot and then the live stitches worked back into the cable. Quite phenomenal really.
As for your posts, it was nice to hear others confirm my thoughts - how to manage the yarn into skeins, relax it with cool water (I did briefly entertain steaming it but with the temp in Dallas in the 100s, the thought of taxing an already consta-running AC does not really appeal. However, the skeins should dry in a nanosecond outside…lol), maybe weight it down while drying. So too grateful for the reminder/confirmation that shrinkage will not be an issue since already been washed and to watch for any fragile spots once I get things under control. And no blue hands! (I do have some black Elann Den-M-Nit for that experience though.)
So I am moving on to Phase 2 of the process - skeining and relaxing. I see this as a long term project so I am not in any really big hurry to complete. Taking it slow to make sure its done to the best of my ability (but am secretly aiming to wear it next “winter” here in Texas!).
Consider finding a thin but strong yarn to tandem knit it when you use the recovered yarn. A harder finished lace weight or even sewing thread, perhaps, in cotton, linen or silk. This will help support the reclaimed yarn’s worn areas and provide a skeleton for thread work repairs in the future. Have fun experimenting.
The knitting in the original is superb, isn’t it? If that jumper/sweater could talk!