You have probably heard about women who recycle yarn by unravelling old handknit sweaters and knitting something new from it. But how exactly do you do it?

First, take your old sweater - or purchase old sweaters from yard sales or thrift shops that are made with a yarn you like. Then carefully take the garment apart at the seams. Normally, you will be left with the front and back and two sleeves. Starting at the neckline, look for where the end of the cast off is, snip it open, then begin unravelling.

When you unravel, you will want to unravel it into a skien, not into a ball. You can do this easily by winding it across something like the back of a chair. When one piece ands and you begin another, simply tie the pieces together as you would if you were knitting.

When done, take the last few feet of yarn, and tie the skien in four or six places, to keep it from unravelling. Then you will wash the yarn. This will unkink all the kinks left from the knitting, as well as clean it.

Once completely dry, wind it into a ball, and it is ready to use.