Repurposing your Wool

Ever wonder just what do do with a woolen garment that you perhaps have grown out of (or perhaps it met an untimely demise in an encounter with the washing machine)? Or perhaps you don't care to knit something only to turn around and felt it down, and would rather opt for thrift store finds to run your felting experiments on?


If so, this book may well be for you - Sweater Renewal: Felting Knits into New Sweaters and Accessories. After a very brief primer on fibers and felting, this book jumps quickly into its 25 projects. The projects are broken down into 4 chapters - from quick and simple beginners projects (small ornaments/accessories/cases), to intermediate projects (hats, scarves, purses and a softie), to advanced projects (sweaters, cardis and a skirt), finishing with three projects that you knit and felt back down to size.

The projects in the book incorporate a variety of skills including felting, sewing, applique, crochet and even knitting. Many of the projects do include quite a bit of embellishment, all of which could be customized or omitted as you wish. I personally found the most inspiration in the advanced section, where felted sweaters are either cut and reshaped into other sweaters or cardigans, or even a skirt. I'll definitely be keeping some of these projects in mind the next time I find myself thrifting...or if I happen to have a mishap with any of my own wool sweaters!

Interested in also becoming an advance reader and receiving review copies of books? Looks like Random House might be looking for more bloggers to add to their ranks - you can read about it and contact them here to express your interest!