OpenTube

I Bought 4 Thrifted Sweaters for Yarn… One Wasn’t What I Expected

Lisa Makes

3,803 views

I thrifted four sweaters to unravel for yarn… three were wins, one was an epic fail (and it was 100% my fault 😅).
I broke two of my own thrifting rules and ended up with a felted/shrunken cashmere sweater that I can’t use for yarn.
In this video I show you all four sweaters, the exact listings I bought from, what the tags said, how I check seams and construction, and the red flags I ignored on the fail.

Sweaters featured: • Massimo Dutti petrol blue tweed – 95% wool / 5% cashmere (€5) • Muji wool + yak (€5) • Club Monaco 100% cashmere vest (€10) • The felted cashmere fail (€4 + shipping)
If you thrift for yarn (or want to start), this one will save you money and frustration.
Have you ever thrifted a sweater that turned out to be a disaster? Tell me your worst (or best) thrift-for-yarn story in the comments — I read every one!
#thriftedyarn #unraveling #yarnhaul #frogging #cashmere #wool #thriftflip #knitting #sustainableknitting #lisamakes

16 Comments

@Lisamakes Creator 2 months ago Pinned

I broke my own thrifting rules on one of these and paid the price!
Have you ever thrifted something for yarn that completely disappointed you?
Tell me your worst (or best) thrift-for-yarn story below — I read every comment!

@christineshemranifar3218 2 months ago

So nice to see you back Lisa.

@conniebuchner4715 2 months ago

Glad to see you back on, Lisa. I’m happy you explained what hype is, I didn’t have a clue. I was able to hype 3 times.😍 I loved the blue flecked yarn. I can’t wait to see what you make. Longtime viewer.🥰

@dallasjames9381 2 months ago

can't wait to see what you make!

@patriciatufts4969 2 months ago

Hi Lisa. I miss seeing you on YouTube and am so happy to have you back. You did get some great deals, and at least the last one you can gift to your daughter. That is not a fail. My favorite one is the first one, the blue with tweedy bits. Looking forward to seeing what you make with all of them.

@Heyreneesews 2 months ago

I love the idea of frogging and I have a box of old sweaters waiting for me to reknit them

@Goodknits_ 1 month ago

Club Monaco! I was obsessed with them in Canada.

@lindayoung7303 2 months ago

Hi Lisa, it is nice to see you back. I am a cashmere freak and started up cycle cashmere since 2006. The price was around $5-7 back then at thrift stores. I have made a lot of garments. I am glad to see more and more people value it.

@CamijoKnitDesign 2 months ago

Good to see you, Lisa. I love this idea of thrifting sweaters for yarn, so clever and fun!

@celiaberdes 2 months ago (edited)

SO interesting! I have always wanted to recycle yarn (enthusiastic knitter) but had no idea not to buy sweaters that have been serged together! It makes enormous sense when you think about what serging is, and a serged seam is certainly recognizable, but I never thought about the impact of serging on frogging. Lovely choices on your part…I like the deep blue-green tweed best. I wonder about the pitfalls of recycling cashmere yarn…it is so fragile. Hyped your video (didn’t know what that meant) and hope to see more content soon!!