Hints for renovating knitted clothes
Purchased knitwear is usually machine knit, consequently it may not be easy to unpick and renovate. You might find it better to cut the fabric up and sew it to make play garments for children’s. The sleeves of a raglan sweater is a soft knit could make a pair of long crawlers for baby. Alternatively, cut the good pieces of knitted fabric up and machine stitch them together to make warm interlinings for bed covers.
Planning ahead
When you are knitting for a growing family think about possible changes to the garment and buy extra yarns for future alterations to waist and sleeve length.
Experienced knitters find the best way of knitting sleeves is to start at the shoulder crown and knit down to the cuffs. In these way, worn or out grown sleeves can be easily unravelled from the cuff edge and re-knitted introducing new yarn to make them longer. Use the some yarn for new cuffs and welt or change to look of the garment entirely with a different colour.
Re-knitting for extra length
This technique works best with stocking stitch, garter stitch and patterns worked on plain and purl ribs. It is diffcult to do on fancy knit patterns.
Note where you will be adding new knitting and work tacking stitch and patterns worked on plain and purl ribs. It is diffcult to do on fancy knit patterns.
Note where you will be adding new knitting and work tacking stitches across the garment. Unpick the seams carefully, enough for you to be able to work easily. Make a note now of any shaping so that you can reproduce the stitches. A good way to do this uses squared graph paper. Count the number of stitches in row, one square will represent each stitch. Every line of squares will be a row of knitting. Mark crosses in the squares where you will be decreasing and diagonal lines where you will be casting off to shape. Number the rows on the graph and use the graph as a re-knitting pattern.
Unpicking
Insert a knitting needle into the loop of the third stitch from the edge. Pull on the stitch until it becomes a loop. Cut the loop and very gently pull the knitting apart along the row. Unravel until you have a row of complete loops on the main section.
Pick up the stitches, checking with your graph pattern to make sure you have picked them all up.
Recycling yarn
Unravel the lower section and wind it into a loose ball. It will have kinks in it and must be steamed or washed to remove them.
Wind the yarn between your thumb and index finger and round your elbow to make a skein. Tie the skien twice. Hang the skein in the steam from a boiling kettle or swish tit in warm, fresh water. Fold the skein in a dry towel to remove excess water. Hang to dry naturally away from feat. Wind into balls for re-knitting.
Re-knitting
If you are not certain of the needle size originally used to knit the garment, knit a test piece first using a similar yarn. You will need to knit a square of at least 10 cm (4 in). Count the number of rows in 5 cm (2 in) and then the number of stitches across 5 cm (2 in). If the re are more than you need, use smaller needles. If less, use a larger size.
Start re-knitting on the picked up stitches, using the recycled yarn. In fact, the new knitting will be upside down but it will not be easily detectable. Introduce the new yarn for the cuff or welt.
For a different look to the garment, you could introduce strips of colour using new yarn immediately, keeping the recycled yarn for the cuff or welt.
xoxo
Purchased knitwear is usually machine knit, consequently it may not be easy to unpick and renovate. You might find it better to cut the fabric up and sew it to make play garments for children’s. The sleeves of a raglan sweater is a soft knit could make a pair of long crawlers for baby. Alternatively, cut the good pieces of knitted fabric up and machine stitch them together to make warm interlinings for bed covers.
Planning ahead
When you are knitting for a growing family think about possible changes to the garment and buy extra yarns for future alterations to waist and sleeve length.
Experienced knitters find the best way of knitting sleeves is to start at the shoulder crown and knit down to the cuffs. In these way, worn or out grown sleeves can be easily unravelled from the cuff edge and re-knitted introducing new yarn to make them longer. Use the some yarn for new cuffs and welt or change to look of the garment entirely with a different colour.
Re-knitting for extra length
This technique works best with stocking stitch, garter stitch and patterns worked on plain and purl ribs. It is diffcult to do on fancy knit patterns.
Note where you will be adding new knitting and work tacking stitch and patterns worked on plain and purl ribs. It is diffcult to do on fancy knit patterns.
Note where you will be adding new knitting and work tacking stitches across the garment. Unpick the seams carefully, enough for you to be able to work easily. Make a note now of any shaping so that you can reproduce the stitches. A good way to do this uses squared graph paper. Count the number of stitches in row, one square will represent each stitch. Every line of squares will be a row of knitting. Mark crosses in the squares where you will be decreasing and diagonal lines where you will be casting off to shape. Number the rows on the graph and use the graph as a re-knitting pattern.
Unpicking
Insert a knitting needle into the loop of the third stitch from the edge. Pull on the stitch until it becomes a loop. Cut the loop and very gently pull the knitting apart along the row. Unravel until you have a row of complete loops on the main section.
Pick up the stitches, checking with your graph pattern to make sure you have picked them all up.
Recycling yarn
Unravel the lower section and wind it into a loose ball. It will have kinks in it and must be steamed or washed to remove them.
Wind the yarn between your thumb and index finger and round your elbow to make a skein. Tie the skien twice. Hang the skein in the steam from a boiling kettle or swish tit in warm, fresh water. Fold the skein in a dry towel to remove excess water. Hang to dry naturally away from feat. Wind into balls for re-knitting.
Re-knitting
If you are not certain of the needle size originally used to knit the garment, knit a test piece first using a similar yarn. You will need to knit a square of at least 10 cm (4 in). Count the number of rows in 5 cm (2 in) and then the number of stitches across 5 cm (2 in). If the re are more than you need, use smaller needles. If less, use a larger size.
Start re-knitting on the picked up stitches, using the recycled yarn. In fact, the new knitting will be upside down but it will not be easily detectable. Introduce the new yarn for the cuff or welt.
For a different look to the garment, you could introduce strips of colour using new yarn immediately, keeping the recycled yarn for the cuff or welt.
xoxo
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