Search...
Home Subscribe
Pie
Home Subscribe
Recent topics Flagged topics Hot topics Best topics
Search...
Search within textile techniques Search permies
Advance search Google search
Register / Login
Energy efficient DIY wood stoves
  • Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
Better Wood Heat DIY Rocket Mass Heater DVD GMC website SKIP=SKills to Inherit Property PEP Permaculture Experience According to Paul IC.org Sepp Holzer Desert or Paradise Documentary
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

What do you do when you find a sign saying "free yarn"?

 
r ranson
steward & author
Posts: 38479
Location: Left Coast Canada
13719
8
I like...
books chicken cooking fiber arts sheep writing
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
What are your creative ideas for unexpected yarn?

Sometimes yarn just appears in our lives and I love the creativity that comes from figuring out what to make from found yarn.  


in my case



please pop over to see the Free yarn to treasure video and leave a thumbs up to help my channel grow.


And the applepoll you've all been waiting for:

how permies works
homegrown linen | crazy chicken lady grows yarn!

 
Jay Angler
steward
Posts: 12465
Location: Pacific Wet Coast
7021
I like...
duck books chicken cooking food preservation ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 13
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Sorry r ranson, I'm getting picky in my old age. The "free yarn" needs to be biodegradable - wool, cotton, alpaca, flax - they'd all come home by the armload.

But I'm really tired of the stuff that winds up in the land-fill. No thanks, I'll pass. Even for the garden - maybe especially for the garden - I'll disassemble one of the organic coffee sacks I get from a local fair trade company, before I'd accept artificial stuff.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

 
r ranson
steward & author
Posts: 38479
Location: Left Coast Canada
13719
8
I like...
books chicken cooking fiber arts sheep writing
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I definitely knew the source of this yarn was going to be wool or alpaca or goat.  It felt like wool (on the outside, there were sections of alpaca in it later on)

But you know what, not everyone is that lucky.  For a lot of my adult life, I had to make do with what little yarn I could get, with no choice of what fibre it would be.  Now I'm lucky enough to have a community and a spinning wheel, I can afford to be choosier.  

how permies works
homegrown linen | crazy chicken lady grows yarn!

 
James Alun
gardener
Posts: 470
Location: The North
229
I like...
cat purity gear tiny house books bike fiber arts bee solar woodworking ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm with Jay on this one. I'm getting picky about my dumpster diving!

I don't have infinite space and I'm kinda at the point of it had better be right or it's not worth the hassle.

That being said, if it was going free, I'll take a couple of kilos of this https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/products/york-stone-dk-yarn for my hoodie project.

Learning slowly...
How permies.com works

 
r ranson
steward & author
Posts: 38479
Location: Left Coast Canada
13719
8
I like...
books chicken cooking fiber arts sheep writing
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I added an option

how permies works
homegrown linen | crazy chicken lady grows yarn!

 
r ranson
steward & author
Posts: 38479
Location: Left Coast Canada
13719
8
I like...
books chicken cooking fiber arts sheep writing
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I also made it unlimited apples so those with more apples can influence the results (but a popular choice is still restricted to how many thumbs you have)

how permies works
homegrown linen | crazy chicken lady grows yarn!

 
Carla Burke
Rusticator
Posts: 8591
Location: Missouri Ozarks
4557
6
I like...
personal care gear foraging hunting rabbit chicken cooking food preservation fiber arts medical herbs homestead
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm in the picky group. I don't want to contaminate my graywater system, and I've come to hate the feeling of icky fibers against my skin. But, even before, when I didn't have to community & resources I have now - back when we were forced to live from the food pantries - I'd do without, instead of accepting even brand new stuff that felt icky.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Jay Angler
steward
Posts: 12465
Location: Pacific Wet Coast
7021
I like...
duck books chicken cooking food preservation ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

r ranson wrote:I added an option

Yeah! Thank you! After all, permies policy is "organic or better" for growies, so "at least biodegradable" seems like it deserves to be an option for those of us who are trying to be part of the solution.

That said, I am paying much more attention to labels in thrift shops. If I get to the point where I need some quality yarn, I'd consider buying a damaged, but natural fiber garment for disassembly. I understand there are thrift shops with large selections of wool garments, but I haven't noticed many near me.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

 
Nancy Reading
steward and tree herder
Posts: 8457
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
4000
4
I like...
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I love that you were able to make something beautiful with your freebie! That cloth you ended up with has a lot of character. I like the idea of a Japanese style with the weave too, although maybe a kimono jacket with smaller 'wings' - I think they'd get in the way a bit and be annoying.
It's difficult when the free yarn isn't necessarily what you would choose yourself. I've got some 'chunky' yarn I'm considering at the moment that I was given - it's the edges cut off woven scarfs to give them the fringes, so it's sort of woven wool, but only about 1/2 inch wide and also fringed. A whole mix of dark colours in it. I'll try and get a photo later so people can give me inspiration....So many projects, so little time...

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 16081
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4274
I like...
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 11
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
When I was a kid, I like to make these yarn dolls which is a creative way to use free yarn.  Since I no long have any yarn dolls I found these on Pinterest:


source



source



source


I had a friend who made Macrame plant hangers like this one I found on Pinterest:


source

I still have several crochet squares to set hot dishes on, similar to this:


source

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Carla Burke
Rusticator
Posts: 8591
Location: Missouri Ozarks
4557
6
I like...
personal care gear foraging hunting rabbit chicken cooking food preservation fiber arts medical herbs homestead
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
r ranson, I love your cardigan - especially your weaving creativity! I know you weren't sure, at first, about wearing it in permies, because of the newness of the style. Have you become more comfortable with it, yet? Seriously, you are an inspiration!

This July, in Lebanon Missouri, I'll be attending Fiber-U, and one of the classes I'll be taking is on finger weaving, Northern Indigenous American style. I think that would be a way uneven, yet lovely yarn like that could be put to good and beautiful use, too. I'm looking forward to the class, and in particular, to learning a very portable weaving style. Maybe someday, I'll graduate to a beautiful floor loom similar to yours.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
Tereza Okava
gardener
Posts: 4002
Location: South of Capricorn
2130
I like...
dog rabbit urban cooking writing homestead ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
for me, it's everything, everywhere, all at once, YES!!!
I make a lot of stuff, and gift a lot of stuff, and I can guarantee a bit more utility for that yarn beyond getting landfilled..... There have been plenty of international trips where I have half a pound of baggage weight allowance left and I fill it with yarn from the thrift store.....
No, I'm not a yarn hoarder, but pay no mind to all these storage boxes and bags behind the curtain!! Mwuahahaha!!!

More seriously, many years ago I got a few cones of wool and cotton/silk from old mills in Massachusetts, not sure where they came from but one had a price tag that was so low I figure they must have been decades old. I used every centimeter of that yarn and it was glorious.

I like the weave and the sweater. I'm not a fan of the flap-open kind of cardigans, but I'll bet you have some brooches that can resolve that. As for the sleeves being baggy, mentioned above, when you wear traditional Japanese clothing (kimono, yutaka, happi) and work there is a way of tying back the baggy sleeves to keep them out of your way using a sash called a tasuki, you can find various videos online and it would solve this problem in a flash.
It is a beautiful sweater, overall.
 
Jennifer Pearson
Posts: 39
12
4
I like...
duck fiber arts woodworking ungarbage
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I originally voted "everything", but then I watched your video and remembered how much I dislike working with thick & thin yarns. (This is a little bit inconvenient for me, since as a beginning handspinner I haven't yet achieved the consistency I want.) I noticed that you have a vintage sewing machine and cabinet. Are you planning to make any videos about the care and feeding of your machine in the future?
 
Carla Burke
Rusticator
Posts: 8591
Location: Missouri Ozarks
4557
6
I like...
personal care gear foraging hunting rabbit chicken cooking food preservation fiber arts medical herbs homestead
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Tereza Okava wrote:  As for the sleeves being baggy, mentioned above, when you wear traditional Japanese clothing (kimono, yutaka, happi) and work there is a way of tying back the baggy sleeves to keep them out of your way using a sash called a tasuki, you can find various videos online and it would solve this problem in a flash.
It is a beautiful sweater, overall.



I've also had a couple tops with buttonholed tabs sewn to the inside of the sleeves, and buttons on top of the sleeves, so you could roll/ fold/gather the sleeves, then button the tabs, to keep them up, out of the way. I miss having that option, and might add some to some of my existing tops, now that I'm thinking about it. I wonder if there is some of the fabric left over, that could be used similarly...

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
james cox
Posts: 100
Location: north okanagan
21
2
I like...
trees chicken cooking medical herbs woodworking composting
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
not being a yarn person, (my wife fits that bill) but definitely on the picky side if i have a choice, i would only go for natural fibers. as that is my preference of clothing to wear when i can afford it. so free would definitely fall into that category.

i like the poll. it helps to see what others are thinking about stuff that i know very little about, really. other than the fact that i prefer wool, and cotton and linen clothing. just wish there is more of it in my wardrobe. so some of the ideas on where to look will come in handy.

thanks for the lesson

I'm not lost because where ever I go there I am and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

 
Helen Butt
Posts: 163
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom
13
I like...
forest garden books food preservation
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Jennifer Pearson wrote:I originally voted "everything", but then I watched your video and remembered how much I dislike working with thick & thin yarns. (This is a little bit inconvenient for me, since as a beginning handspinner I haven't yet achieved the consistency I want.) I noticed that you have a vintage sewing machine and cabinet. Are you planning to make any videos about the care and feeding of your machine in the future?



Good luck with your consistency. Not sure I'm there yet but 1) it depends on the fibre and 2) 3 ply is more consistent.
 
Helen Butt
Posts: 163
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom
13
I like...
forest garden books food preservation
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I was going to vote for the never take option as I spin my own. However, I did recently pick up a couple of cones of manmade fibre to use as warp thread. As the thread would potentially have gone to landfill if not used, it seemed a good idea to take what I needed for a specific project with a ramie weft.
 
Julia Winter
steward
Posts: 3720
Location: Moved from south central WI to Portland, OR
985
12
I like...
hugelkultur urban chicken food preservation bike bee
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think the new sweater is lovely and definitely appropriate for public wearing.

Ask me about food.
How Permies.com Works (lots of useful links)

 
Dc Stewart
pollinator
Posts: 439
174
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
When I see a sign saying "free yarn", I immediately go on the lookout for an elderly bewhiskered fellow in a rocking chair who will rock, gaze at the sky and sip lemonade while regaling me with a convoluted tale involving a schnauzer, a pumpkin and a jumping frog.

Devoured by giant spiders without benefit of legal counsel isn't called "justice" where I come from!
-Amazon Women On The Moon

 
Bryn Wilder
Posts: 6
Location: Texas
3
I like...
forest garden fiber arts homestead
posted 10 months ago
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Like many, I try not to take anything home that isn't natural anymore. Not only does the texture make for sensory hell, but its just bad for the environment. A project is better than the landfill though, so there is that. I was lucky and got (basically free) an entire tote of wool cones, cakes, and skeins. It was a steal. So I taught myself some basic knitting and I'm making a huge comforter for myself.

Going mad while working to go Feral.

 
gir bot
software bot
Posts: 1327984
1662
I like...
cooking pig
posted 10 months ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Last vote in apple poll was on July 30, 2024

There are 10 types of people:
Those that understand binary, and those who don't.

 
Danger, 10,000 volts, very electric .... tiny ad:
rocket mass heater risers: materials and design eBook
https://permies.com/w/risers-ebook
reply
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
Boost this thread!
Similar Threads
More...