How to Work With Recycled Yarn

The recycled yarn is made from reclaimed textile waste such as old t-shirts, fabric remnants, or even plastic shopping bags. It’s a sustainable yarn choice that helps reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfill and oceans and it saves the resources like water, energy and raw materials needed to make new textile yarn.

The main advantages of using recycled yarn are that it’s affordable, environmentally friendly and often very soft. It also has a unique texture and is ideal for textured projects such as blankets, scarves or hats. There are a wide variety of colors to choose from too.

Depending on where it comes from, recycled yarn can either be fabric-based or spun plied. Fabric-based recycled yarns are strips of old t-shirts or other fabrics that are cut into thicker or thinner stripes and then joined together to create the yarn. These types of yarns are usually quite strong and durable, although they may not feel as smooth as non-recycled fibres. Spun plied recycled yarns are a bit more tricky to work with, but they behave similar to non-recycled cotton and have the advantage of being much more cost-effective and available in lots of colours.

Look for this type of recycled yarn at jumble sales, charity shops and online. When you are working with it, carefully unpick any sewing that holds the fabric together and remove any borders or edgings. If you are using the recycled yarn in garments or blankets, it’s best to use smooth yarns rather than those with a lot of stitching.

Whether you buy a pre-made ball of recycled yarn or make your own, it’s worth weighing each skein to get an idea of the total yardage before buying any more. This can be done by placing the skein on a kitchen scale and then dividing the total weight by the number of yards per gram. For example, if a skein measures 80 yds and it weighs 35 g, then you know there are 2.286 yards in each gram of the yarn.

If you are knitting with secondhand yarn then it’s a good idea to soak it in warm water overnight before you start. This will relax the kinks in the yarn and make it easier to work with. Once it’s dried, try adding some weight to the skein as this will help it keep its shape and stop it from tangled up too much.

Whenever possible, try to choose 100% recycled cotton yarns, as these will be a more eco-friendly choice. This does not matter too much for clothing and accessories, but it does really matter for items that will be washed frequently, such as rugs and cushions. Look for the words “recycled” or “respun from recycled material” on the yarn label.