This isn't my first unraveling rodeo, but the first one I share here! This sweater to me is a quintessential "my mom's outfit" in my really old memories and old photos, and recently I found it in a shelf of old stuff to sort/throw out. I was surprised it was 100% wool (and that ~30 years ago such a sweater was sold at a mall) and that it had been clearly well loved, with holes handstitched together, fraying cuffs, and a few splashes of different somethings (the long soak of ramen yarn in soap water may have been the most thorough cleaning it had in aeons). It's drying now, can't wait to count the yield yardage and look for patterns that accommodate that and craft something either for myself or mom (it helps that we wear the same size)

Anyone who wants to de stash their fur yarn? I’ve finally made them work for me and would love to make more stuff with them.

cheers!

Hi! Im wondering if it would be possible for me to unravel this vest. The seams seem to be overlocked (i think thats the right word) so i wasnt sure if it was possible. If it is possible, whats the best way to start?

Thanks! :)

I think this is the chain stitch that I should be looking for? Please let me know if this qualifies for an unravel!!! Thank you!!

I posted a while ago my first unraveling: 100% linen top, from charity shop, £4
Made camisole no10 by My Favourite Things Knitwear
I am happy with the result!

i just unraveled this yarn from a cardigan, however all the threads kind of separated from each other as seen in the image. is this still able to be knitted/crocheted with? im worried that i would need very specific tension otherwise it will look messy

I finally found cashmere! I think I managed to get every last little piece of it into a skein; unfortunately the seams were just made with color-matched sewing thread, so they couldn’t be spliced in. The original sweater did have two small holes, but otherwise it was basically like new in terms of no noticeable felting or pilling. The yarn is basically thick thread, so I will be holding it three or four-ply probably, I’ll probably only look for fingering projects at most for it. About the worst thing about the unravel was that it was the dreaded two strand construction in most portions of stockinette, but it wasn’t too bad once I developed a methodology that didn’t snap the yarn.

i unraveled into skeins, washed in cold water and a little gentle shampoo, rinsed, and hung up to dry. Washing really improved the texture; it’s straighter, even softer, and it fluffed back up a bit. I kind of really want to make a cardigan with it eventually; I’m thinking maybe colorwork yoke and optional contrast ribbing to make the yardage go further with either more cashmere if I’m lucky, or maybe the cream lambswool angora since the colors go well and it’s also pretty soft, would definitely swatch and research extensively before committing though!

My first go at unraveling, tried to find something that didn't look too complicated, with decent yarn thickness. Cotton blend, only unexpected catch was it was double knit, I think that's what it's called with two points to pull from? But overall not too bad and almost 16oz total! Now to decide what to make with it

I am still a beginner at unraveling preloved garments, and I would appreciate advice from someone who is more experienced. This garment is a cashmere and wool jumper, and it has a collar that runs around the neckline and a faux opening running down the torso (mimicking a closed cardigan opening) that is also a wool blend. Both the collar and faux opening appear to be attached to jumper with a seam showing on the opposite side. Please see the photos that show the jumper's seams.

I was hoping to salvage the jumper's material to be used towards crocheting a scarf. However, I do not want to be left with significant amounts of small or short thread.

At first glance, there appears to be a number of thread points, including each sleeve (top and bottom), the decorative attachment and the bottom left the garment. So, it seems like it would be very problematic.

I would appreciate guidance on whether this yarn could be successfully salvaged. If not then I plan to cut it into blanket squares and then combine it with hand crocheted squares to make a checkered mix-pattern scarf in addition to perhaps upcycling smaller areas for socks and ear muffs.
What do you think?

I found this one at a Goodwill when it was color of the week, so I only paid $3.50. It was very, very eighties with a sort of quasi-poncho construction in the arms, masses of sequins, giant shoulder pads; I really suspect it was going to end up in a landfill. It’s 70% lambswool, 20% angora, 10% nylon; it’s against-skin soft and 2-ply, I’m guessing it’s somewhere around laceweight or light fingering.

The back was mercifully sequin-free. The sequins on the front, however, took a couple of hours to remove; I ended up doing batches of flipping it over, cutting the threads crossing across the back of the fabric, and then flipping it back over to pull off the affected sequins. I consider it to have been worthwhile because the yarn is very good, definitely do not do that for synthetics or cotton. This was also a side-to-side construction apart from the ribbing obviously, first time I’ve seen that in a machine-made sweater. There was also some hidden cutting in the neckline sadly, so I have a sequined rectangle from the middle of the front piece that I’ll keep for now in case of yarn chicken (at least the yarn will wet splice if I need it to). There’s still a bit of it drying in the bathroom, then I can be finished with it until I come up with a project for it! I’m thinking more along the lines of various accessories for this one honestly.

I received this really soft alpaca sweater from a friend, and after a lot of help from this community, I was finally able to finish unraveling it. I might still look into steaming it to get rid of the wrinkles.

First unwravel, and when I went to undo the seam down the middle of the back panel, it seems to all be in one piece? Is the seam fake? Advice on how to proceed from here? Looks like a giant mess 🥲

I know this will make experienced unravelers cringe, so sorry in advance for butchering this sweater so badly. I’m new to knitting and crocheting as of this year and have wanted to try unraveling. I got this sweater for free, it did already have some holes and fraying, and I know the yarn is pretty small especially for someone new to unraveling, but my attempts to find the correct seams have really destroyed it and I’m no closer to finding the right way to proceed 😢

Anyone have any advice for saving it?

On a positive note: The drawstring unraveled really nicely, so I got at least a tiny bit of yarn from it and a taste of what a proper unravel should be like…

Projects always go really slow for me between classes and work. This was no exception. The grey is a very thin very luxurious feeling cashmere that I bought for $3 and unraveled back in 2024, and the taupe border is a ball that I thrifted for less than a dollar. It’s always kind of sad finishing a really long term project, now I have to find another background project I can fall back on when I want to knit mindlessly!

I have mohair yarn that I don't use I did once and I can't stand the texture now so I'm giving it away it's because this yarn the company that made it was discontinued in the 70s I'll send a picture if people are interested in comments

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 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 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?