This is a lovely thread! Yay for clothes that are loved and treasured, and well made!
Something I think is definitely worth thinking about is repair. Repair can be made beautiful and durable, and so many things that people think can't be repaired actually can be.
I think you could spruce your jumper up with some careful repair work and keep it functioning well for more years to come. You could pack your ebay find away somewhere safe until you have really really worn out your current one even after repairs.
1. get a de-bobbling device (I'm not sure what' it's called but you'll find it by googling how to get rid of bobbles on knitted garments) and whizz any bobbles off. it takes a while if the whole garment has bobbling (I'm now thinking it might be called 'pilling') but I have carefully done a whole jacket once and it looked much much better after and bobbling is one of those things that gets progressively worse the more there is so it's worth keeping on top of. Also, start washing it inside-out to reduce future bobbling.
2. google 'Visible Mending' - there are HEAPs of techniques for mending holes, tears, seams etc etc while embracing the look repair creates. In japan the visual signs of repair are considered a wonderful thing (the word Wabi Sabi captures this beauty of imperfection).
3. Don't try to mend it yourself if you're not an experienced sewer. You can do it, I'm sure, and it's a great skill to learn, but if you want it to stand the test of time take it (or send it) to someone knowledgeable who can do a high-quality durable repair. It's also a nice way to support someone who has invested time and energy in developing the skills needed to keep clothes out of land fill. I think if you search for 'visible mending [location]' or something like that, you'll find people in your region who offer that service or at least people who do it who you could approach about doing it as a one off service for you. Or even just 'clothing repair [local area]' but TBH I find people who just do normal (ie not visible) repairs tend to say things are unrepairable if the damage is bad because they can't repair it discretely and they are less creative about how to approach the problem.
4. Practice your mending skills on less precious clothes first so you learn how to do them and how durable the methods work out to be for you
Good luck and have fun!
