DIY Niddy Noddy

wool yarn reclaimed from thrift shop sweaters
before washing
2007

Since I'm presenting a program at the March Fiber Guild meeting on reclaiming yarn from wool sweaters, I thought it would be a good idea to start gathering the items I'd need and deconstruct a sweater to refresh my mind.

I started reclaiming the wool in 2007 from wool sweaters that were purchased (some shown in this earlier post) in Denver thrift shops.

Once washed, the reclaimed wool could not be distinguished from that purchased in a yarn shop. Some of the wool I reclaimed can be seen in this post. The reclaimed wool has been used in a variety of projects for charities and for gifts.

Projects I made using reclaimed wool: 

    Vests for children in cold climates - here, here, here, here

    Cowls - here and here

    Hats and helmet liners for the military - here, here and here

    Mittens

    Gift hat and mittens

    Baby hats and socks

    Christmas stockings   here and here

   
When I first started reclaiming wool, I tried every possible way to wind the wool into hanks so it could be washed. My first attempts were time-consuming, and I've since discovered that a niddy noddy can reduce the time investment considerably. What? You've never heard of a niddy noddy?

.5 inch PVC pipe
(4) 4.5 inch sections, (1) 12" section
(4) caps and (2) "T" sections

A wooden niddy noddy can be expense, so I made my niddy noddy for less than $5, and it took less time to assemble it than it took to purchase the components. The gentleman at ACE Hardware even cut the pipe to the specifications I found on this post.

three assembled sections of the niddy noddy

The center section is the one that determines the length of the hank and is interchangeable. I measured my swift and determined that I needed no larger than a 60" hank, so the center section of pipe is 12" in length.

forming a hank on a niddy noddy
note that one end is turned 90 degrees

The yarn will be crinkly and curly when it is raveled from the sweater. The niddy noddy provides just enough tension to create the hank length desired. At the four "legs" of the niddy noddy, the yarn will be secured with a figure-eight tie. This keeps the yarn from tangling when it is washed.

Directions on how to use the niddy noddy can be found here.

four-ounce hank of wool, reclaimed from one sweater sleeve.

The hank of yarn shown in this photo has been washed and the kinks have been removed. All of the yarn in the hank was reclaimed from one sleeve of the sweater. The yarn on the niddy noddy is from the sweater front and will be more than 4 ounces. The strand of yarn shows how kinky/curly it is after raveling. Soaking the wool in soapy, warm water for about 40 minutes removes most of the kinks. Do not agitate the wool while washing, rinse and gently squeeze the excess water from the wool. It can be spun in the washer (inside a mesh bag) to remove more water and to speed up drying time. Hand Wash and Line Dry only.

gauge can be determined before reclaiming yarn

It's a good idea to determine the gauge of the sweater before raveling all the pieces. From the gauge, I can also determine the approximate needle size - this knit was probably done with size 7 or 8 needles.