Nellie and Eve’s Christmas Blog
Today we are looking at the reasons why I am pondering the idea of frogging past projects to reuse the yarn for something new and special. There are many tutorials out there to show you how to rewind your sweaters and process the natural fibres of wool and cotton so that you can reknit with ease, but today I wanted to share with you some of the reasons why this may be an interesting way of reimagining our wardrobes.
Nature’s Time Of Reflection
Over the past year, together, we have looked at the big, unwielding subject of sustainable fashion here on the Nellie and Eve blog. We have reminded ourselves about the wonderful nature and qualities of wool, how shepherding in the UK has helped create world-wide reforms in animal husbandry, as well as having a lot of fun with plant dyes.
Looking back, I can see where this year’s winter knitting projects have sprung from; the strong knowledge I have in the fibre we enjoy on our needles, and the ecology it helps protect. In short, frogging past projects to re-knit and over-dye is the very natural culmination of a year where I have steeped myself in finding out more about where our clothes come from, and where I feel I need to be within that cycle.
If you watched my podcast on YouTube, you will have seen that I have chosen four sweater projects that I no longer reach for to be reborn as new creations! Some of them I no longer feel comfortable in, and others were (if I am truly honest with myself), knitted in colours that didn’t make me feel my best.
Why aren’t you donating your knitted sweaters?
This is a question that I was asked and my immediate answer resounded within me like a clear bell: I do, but not always!
The truth is that I love the wool that I have used in my past projects. I have spent hours of work and creativity to not only knit the sweaters, but also in raising the sheep, gathering and preparing the wool for dyeing, and choosing the highest quality plants to dye it with. My connection with this yarn is personal, and I would rather re-create with it than see it go through the fashion cycle that is commonly going to a charity shop to end up in landfill. Rather than seeing wool as a single use material, unravelling our knits allows us to see them as truly heritage garments, and closes the gap on the runaway train that can be fast-fashion.
Wool yarn is also a precious commodity, and with the world around us feeling a little rocky, reusing what we have and learning how to be more creative in our use of it can be a great way to express our creative spirits. Visible mending and darning have been a firm fixture of counter-culture fashion styles for the past couple of years, and I love seeing darned heels on socks peeking out from clogs. We are learning to care for our wool so much more than we have in a generation, and I see frogging and re-knitting part of this revival.
When you frog a whole sweater you will have some waste where seams are cut and what-not, and I was wondering what to do if somehow I end up with less yarn than I need for a full sweater re-knit. Then I realised there was so much opportunity! Yarns can be used for colour work and smaller projects (Hats, shawls, and even children’s sweaters). The sky is the limit once you have that yarn back in your stash as it can be anything you want it to be. We also don’t have to knit with it straight away; once it is frogged, washed, dried and balled up again it can just sit there for when we are ready for it again.
The great thing is that it will be there for you again, rather than sitting at the bottom of a pile in a dark drawer, not being used, which is such a waste of wool and your time.
The pure joy of wool is its comforting strength! Not only can it shield us from the cold and wet, but it can withstand a huge amount, which is why it is the perfect fibre to ‘frog’ with.
Gifting sweaters that we have knitted is obviously a lovely thing to do if we are not going to wear our finished projects, but that is not always possible; colours, sizes, styles… they are all personal and sometimes that finished sweater just won’t suit anyone we know. I have been in this situation a few times, and then passed them on for donation. But with these four projects, I just want to experiment and see what happens; play and enjoy the process!
My Christmas Cast-On
This Christmas Cast-On is yet to be chosen, but I love that there is a possibility that it will be with yarn that I am giving a second chance to. As I sit by the fire with my favourite candles flickering, with the Christmas tree lights twinkling, I will know that I am closing the year with a smaller impact on the earth than I had last year, and that means a huge amount.
Warmest wishes to you, happy holiday knitting xxx
View the latest podcast episode here.