sweater eulogies

i found this sweater a while back at the thrift store. it is lovely. i adore the colorwork. however, can you see what’s wrong with it? it a giant square with ribbing on the bottom that makes the bottom come in, with arms attached. this is an issue for several reasons, not the least of which is that this sort of neck treatment should be outlawed (i.e there is naught but a hole for your head to poke out).

i keep putting it on hoping that i’ll like it better, but no. i originally bought it thinking that i could talk myself into liking it. but i don’t.

and that brings up an interesting issue. do i feel bad ripping handknit sweaters? that is the question that my friend susan, one of the new sweater recyclers from the other day, asked me. and the answer is yes.

that said, i generally pass on handknit sweaters at the thrift store if i think that someone will buy them. but, as brenda of the Cast-On podcast pointed out in one of her podcasts, sometimes sweaters just don’t last the test of time, despite our best wishes and dreams when we make them.

take the panda picture from the post before this. that sweater was just too late 80’s, early 90’s to sell at the thrift store. i saw it there twice before i finally bought it. and the wool is lovely and i am thankful. although harder to rip (better finished!), thrifted handknit sweaters made of wool are generally made of really nice yarn. i guess if i had knit it, i would rather it be in the hands of another knitter who can reincarnate it than in the landfill.

i have been told by people that they feel bad ripping apart even mass produced sweaters because someone could be wearing them. yea, cause you know we don’t over-produce everything in existence or anything. excuse the sarcasm, but mostly, i think that if you don’t bother to buy sweaters and take them to people who need them, recycling is a good alternative. have you read the information on textiles in landfills? according to this british site, wool textiles are also a problem, which surprised me (let’s get on that thrifting people!).  over-production and bad stewardship can make even natural fibers bad.

but that brings me back to this woolie sweater. do you think anyone could wear this and pull it off? if all else fails i will recycle it, but this one is killing me. i’ll probably just keep it around for a half a year and see if i can find someone. then rip it.

maybe all i can do for these discarded lovely handknits is to give them a proper funeral and eulogy on the blog… you know - this sweater has beautiful even stitches. it was lovingly handknit over many hours once and now it will be a new garment, incarnated into new life by another loving knitter. long live the lovely woolie fiber that will always remember its first garment (get it?  wool has memory?  tee hee).

on another note, a thrift store that susan found recently actually has someone who recycles their sweaters for them (which is insane). she bought two melon sized balls of pink cotton for $4!!