I found a mohair sweater at the swap shed last night. It’s a pretty color, right up my alley. I checked the size – 2x. I am not a 2X woman anymore.
It’s been felted. People who work with wool on a regular basis know what happens when will gets around hot water or agitation, or both. Maybe this person didn’t know. Maybe somebody else did the laundry that day. Regardless, it’s impossible to unfelt wool (like turning a pickle back into a cucumber), and now there’s a sweater that has shrunk it regularly, and it’s useless to the original owner.
This is classic upcycled art raw material.
I will save the sleeves, possibly to make more coats for my little dog who is too small to maintain body heat in the winter.
I would like to make my own version of a Katwise coat, and I’m saving wool to that end. However, I know what many people who buy Katwise’s patterns do not know. I know the enormous amount of energy and space that goes into maintaining enough material to create the fabulous coats she makes. She talks about going on buying trips throughout New England (she lives in Canada), but I have not seen her talk about how and where she stores her fabrics. I have a 200 square foot room full to the rafters of abandoned clothing, waiting to be upcycled into new art.
When I bought Katwise’s instruction book, I started saving wool sweaters, and now I have a basket of them. It sits on a chair in the kitchen. This is risky. I really can’t have my fiber move into the kitchen, except on those rare occasions when I am dying something.
Stay tuned. I love the felted fabric in the sweater, and I love the color, and my Chihuahua has plenty of sleeves waiting to be turned into sweaters, in colors that actually look better with a blonde dog. He looks great in navy and olive and tan. Purple is not really his color.
