Wrist warmers/fingerless gloves

[Iminei]

This December I bought three pairs of fingerless gloves from Turtle Doves who take old cashmere jumpers and make new items from them.

I thought I would gift a pair to my A Gell, my secret Santa and then another good cause came up and snaffled the final pair.

Today on faceache I saw a promo for Turtle Doves with a small vid showing how the take the old jumpers and recycle them ....

Now I thought they would've unravelled the jumpers and reknitted the gloves ... apparently not ... the Vid shows how they wash, dry and then CUT the cashmere and SEW the gloves

Do you see where Im going here?????

Can you cut into knitted garments and sew them into new???

Of course you can, even I know you can cut into anything ... but I mean successfully without just having an unravelled mess ...

and more importantly, much more than this (I diiiiid it myyyyyyyyyy wayyyyyy)

Do you think I can cut apart a cashmere jumper and make myself a pair of fingerless gloves ????

[Acorn]

Probably!  Some knitwear will unravel, some won't.  I would say that the clearer the original lines of the yarn are, the more likely it is to unravel, and also, the finer it is the less likely it is to unravel.

You could always stitch around just inside the lines where you want to cut before cutting it if you're unsure - and if you're definitely cutting it up, try a bit and see first.

[Iminei]

Here, I hope, is a link to the vid which Ive posted in TSP's group on faceache

[BrendaP]

I *think* that the cashmere jumpers which Turtle Doves use have been felted - machine washed on a highish temperature with plenty of agitation.  A knitted garment that has felted won't unravel in a month of Sundays; it will also be considerably smaller than it was before which is why they make small things like mittens from them.  It's effectively a thick jersey fabric  by then and all that's needed is an overlocker.

A few years ago I came across a magazine article (Threads magazine I think) showing three nondescript jumpers franken-morphed into one garment.  For a long time I've hankered after doing that but somehow I've never managed to find suitable jumpers that go together colourwise to have a try.

[BrendaP]

I've just watched the video - they use squares of the fabric to make patchwork jumpers too!   

[Celia]

Yes @Iminei you can do it quite successfully especially with a fine cashmere jumper, cashmere and some other fibres Shetland and fine lambs wool jump to mind, mat together in a nice way and make this easier.

If you are going to try it make sure you use an old fine weight jumper and give it a really good wash and press it well before you cut, also use a smallish stitch on your sewing machine.  When I have sewn this sort of stuff I have used a very small zig zag stitch but that does depend on your machine.

Love to hear how it goes if you try this, I have also seen a quilt made like this :thinking:

[Renegade Sewist]

On their website they say to machine wash them in a short cold wash. They also say that is how they prepare the old sweaters before they repurpose them. The photos clearly look not felted. Most modern cashmere doesn't felt up that easily except for your own handknits.

@Iminei this is where an overlocker is a very nice thing to have. You get a neat seam and a stabilized cut edge on knitwear at the same time. I'd suggest a test garment using an old t-shirt. Try out the stitching Acorn suggested as well as the pattern you are going to draft up. If they can do it, you can do it!

I'm hoping my old cashmere sweaters will turn up in a box when I clean out the closets  "soon".

[Iminei]

@BrendaP ... Ive seen the gloves and they are not felted ...
and I know what this means ... just ask me how??????

They are beautiful soft cashmere gloves!

[Greybird]

Most machine knitters use cut and sew all the time, most often to avoid shaping necklines. They use a zig-zag stitch and then cut off the part they don't want or use an overlocker before enclosing the edge in a neckband. For other areas, as long as the piece of knitting has been steamed or pressed it will be reluctant to unravel and, handled with care, it can be managed. If I was going to make something out of a commercial garment I'd use the overlocker to "cut it out"

[Ohsewsimple]

My mum used to use cut and sew a lot.  I’ve never had problems with cutting knitwear.  Always had to shorten sleeves on bought cardigans etc.  nowadays I prefer to sew my own if I can get hold of the fabric.   

[Missie]

So long as you are gentle with the knitted fabric before it is sewn and the seams finished (ie, don't pull it around too much), it should be ok.  If you cut it, chuck it in a pile for months before coming back to it, you will probably find the stitches will have run then.

[Lachica]

As the lucky recipient of gloves from @Iminei I can say they are most definitely not felted. They are beautifully soft, lovely to wear & I too looked at them & wondered whether I could make some. If I had an old cashmere jumper.