More fun with my Sew What! Skirts book. This is the basic wrap skirt, but I didn't round the edges, just left them angular. It's a different look, I like it!

Having more fun with my Sew What! Skirts book - this is the basic a-line skirt, I made it with some cotton fabric I got in a barter. I made it a wee bit bigger than I need, but that's okay. It's got a drawstring waist so it's still perfectly wearable, and I'll know to cut down the hip measurments a bit next time.

Recycling and dyeing yarn, part 2 - thanks to Cassie (and to my faster internet connection today...I'd wanted to post more dyeing links but the interwebz were too slow).
THIS is the original picture that inspired me to start yanking apart cheapo sweaters - isn't that wrap pretty? Here's the free pattern! And THIS is the original tutorial I read about how to do it.

Knitty has another fantastic tutorial about how to create gorgeous handpainted yarns using plain old food coloring. I love the idea of saving yourself literally hundreds of dollars (if you think I'm joking, check out the prices of, say, a hank of handpainted 100% cahsmere or merino yarn) by spending maybe $10, MAX, on a sweater and several bottles of food coloring. I have found MANY cashmere sweaters at Goodwill - if they aren't my size or style, I simply tear them apart, dye the yarn, and then have loads of gorgeous cashmere yarn to knit with.

You can also dye yarn with easter egg dyes. This is extremely economical if you stalk the local grocery stores the day after Easter. You'll find all their excess dye on sale for as low as 10 cents per package ( no joke). Stock up and have fun dyeing!

This post is for 2 of my awesome friends, who are brand new knitters. I love knitting, and I love recycling/upcycling/repurposing. Which is why I think taking a $1.99 Goodwill sweater and turning it into hanks and hanks and hanks of yarn is TOO fun.


When I started knitting, this was a GREAT way to build stash without spending money. (Wait...it still is!). IT's especially freeing if you're playing with DYEING. I have had some fairly disastrous natural dyeing attempts, and it is very comforting to know I didn't ruin/felt/uglify some expensive nice yarn. Just an old sweater that needed a new purpose.

So, here is an excellent blog post about how to take apart a sweater and turn it into an intergalactic megaton of yarn. I personally find Gap sweaters to be great to tear apart. They tend to have awesome fun yarns, and are easy to take apart.


and here is a great Knitty article about how to use koolaid to dye yarn! I never drink Kool Aid, but I DO enjoy Kool-Aid dyeing. So you can turn a solid colored sweater into MANY colored skeins of yarn!