How To Care For Your Lovely Cashmere And Other Yarns

Some of us have an old sweater we just cannot throw out...yet it is too dreadful to wear as is.  Or some of us are really good at finding some great old sweaters at the op-shop or thrift store.  So how do we "jazz" these old garments up to make them something great?

To revamp that old sweater you can do the following:

• You could change the buttons
• You could add buttons or embellishments to your sweater
• You could cut your sweater down the front and add a zipper to make it into a great cardigan

• You could embroider a design onto the sweater
• You could add some ribbons or cords to make a tie around the waist or around your arms (if it is a short sleeve sweater)
• You could add a new colour or cuffs to the sweater using fabric or knitted/crocheted pieces you can sew on
• You can felt it to use in other projects (See the next few ideas!)
• You could cut out parts of the sweater and sew it into things like mittens, leg warmers, squares for a blanket or even use as part of your pet's bed (they will love you for it in winter!)
• You could use the sweater to cover an old cushion or pillow (this is great felted)

• You can use it to create some soft toys
• You can create a handbag or a great hat from the felted sweater pieces
• Or you can always unravel the old sweater and re-knit the cashmere into a new project.  If the fibers are wearing thin you could multi-strand it with more cashmere or another yarn when knitting which opens you to a whole range of possibilities with colours and designs!

Anyone have anymore ideas?   We would love to hear about them on our Knitter’s Addiction forum thread “Odds and Ends.”