I have, so far, managed to avoid the siren song of cheap yarn from secondhand sweaters. For one, I use secondhand sweaters for other things (longies, shorties, pants, and skirts). For two, I inherited so much yarn from my mom, I really don’t have room for more. For three, it seems problematic from a “once I get started, I won’t be able to stop” perspective.

But I was at the thrift store for another purpose, and this sweater leaped off the rack and into my cart. Literally. And it was whatever color was $1.99 that week. It had good seams and a loose weave, so I bought it to try this unraveling thing. It was oddly pleasing to rip the sweater apart, but by the end, I was bored and my forearm muscles were tired.

I have a few ideas for the yarn - it’s 100% cotton, and somewhat thinner than I’m used to cotton yarn being, but I think it’ll work nicely for the projects I have in mind…

There is an excellent tutorial on unraveling sweaters here. As long as you get one with good seams, it’s pretty easy!