Last night we had an interesting #knitchat on twitter about knitting on a budget. For those of you that may not be aware #knitchat is held on Thursday night for one hour 6:30 pm Pacific time/9:30 pm Eastern time. New topic every week and lively discussion all the time. Part of the question was about whether we had recycled projects, yarn or garments. Natalie, our moderator (@cloudynatknit on twitter) mentioned that Ravelry had groups dedicated to repurposing. So I visited Ravelry and found the following sites. Some of them seem to be active but you will have to check yourselves. I am curious about buying sweaters for instance at thrift stores and reusing the yarn. I will let you know if I do it. Anyway here are some Ravelry groups for you to visit. Let me know if you get any tips on this process or if you have done it already let me know.
- Unravelers
- bits and bobs
- recycle your yarn
- Raveler’s Recycled Knits & Crochets
- Alternative Knits
- From Trash to Treasures
- Restitch
- The Handknit Liberation Front
Thanks for sharing this information. I’m new to twitter and knitting; so I’ll have to check out (follow?) that chat. I’ve read about the recycling of sweaters, but to me what cost savings there is in the process, doesn’t calculate favorably when compared to my time, effort and enjoyment quotient. I would be hesitant to purchase a sweater from a thrift shop for that purpose; given the bedbug situation in NYC. As an alternative, I might try felting my old wool sweaters; using the resulting fabric for small sewing projects and embellishments (felt flowers on hats or a contrasting pocket on a sweater).
Never thought about the litter bed critters! LOL! Point well taken. The felting idea is a good one too. Hope you can make #knitchat it’s lots of fun.