What to do with Old Yarn: How to Wash Old Yarn 

So glad it was helpful!

I hope you are able to make good use of that loving gift! I made a table runner with some pieces that my husband's grandmother made. It was such a sweet and connecting thing for my spirit after she passed 🙂

You're so welcome! Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

GREAT IDEA!

I hope it works out the way you are hoping!

I'm so glad it was helpful!

HURRAY! Hazzah! 📣

I hope it helps make your yarn usable again!

You are welcome! I hope it works for you!

You are so welcome! I'm glad to help!

That's awesome! What did you have to buy to clean your yarn that you didn't already have on hand?

@@PerfectlyKnotty i needed a swifter and a yarn roller so it was a push to get both! now i cannot stop using them!

You're welcome 😊

You are very welcome! :)

I check for critter damage unless I'm SURE where it has been stored

I'm so glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

I'm glad it is helpful!

I'm glad this was helpful for you! THANK YOU for the super thanks! That helps me create more content.

I hope it works for you! :) It may take multiple treatments! The smell has been in a long time, it can take a long time to dissipate :) Be patient :)

Hope it helps! Do be careful with animal fibers that can felt. Be sure to use cool water and less motion :) Hope it all comes clean enough to use!

If you have good ventilation and air flow, SURE! Air dry inside! :)

TRUE! And if you drink it, you might not care if your yarn still smells a little 😂 I use vodka in my herbal tinctures and syrups 🧪

Technically you CAN stitch with dirty yarn ... but WHY would you? Your stitching enjoyment will multiply if you are working with clean yarn :) PLUS, I personally think that you will get a cleaner result by washing the yarn before trying to use it.

Only a guess, but this method is for cleaning and removing odors. I highly doubt it will remove lint from your yarn. The most effective way I have found for removing lint, or animal hair, is to wrap a piece of packaging tape, sticky side out, around my hand and repeatedly press it onto the yarn. Packaging tape works well because it’s nice and wide, I always have some on hand and it’s not as heavily adhesive as duct tape. I had a skein of dark burgundy yarn that my pup ran off with and it was covered in dog hair by the time I was able to retrieve it. The tape worked great at removing all the hair. If your yarn has lint throughout, I would recommend skeining it as the video shows and then use the packaging tape on the lint BEFORE washing, if you even need to wash it. Hope this helps.

@@TinaSpencer-mr1cp Thank you so much! i actually had the same exact problem. My dog thought my new skein was her brand new chew toy lol. she dragged the skein under the couch and it was covered in lint and dog hair and god knows what else (I probably should vacuum under the couch soon). I ended up knitting a small swatch and tested to see if tape worked on the knitted piece. I first tried a regular lint remover tape and it did not work well, so I tried a packaging tape as you suggested and it did the trick. The yarn I have is very lose spin, so I found that using the tape on the skein before knitting it ended up tearing the yarn apart. thanks again!

@@kgaclash You’re so welcome. I’m happy to know it worked for you!

I think @TinaSpencer-mr1cp has the right idea there! Try to remove as much as the lint and hair as possible before washing, as the very nature of yarn, and the link, the 2 can essentially felt together and it will become a permanent part of the fiber! The inside out tape trick works good. Giving the yarn a vigorous shaking outside can help. Maybe a link brush?

It might depend on how much hair there is! You certainly don't want to felt the cat hair into the yarn, so I'd be careful. Perhaps getting the yarn into hanks, and using a loop of inside out tape on your hand, like a sticky lint roller, and as you are wrapping the yarn onto the hank winder, and it's running through your hand, it's going across the sticky tape and that's picking up the cat hair? You'll likely have to change tape a lot, but that might work! Let me know if you try it, and how it works!

This depends on the type of fiber. But, in general, before you use or wear a year with color bleed, it is a good idea to soak and rinse it in cold water. Some recommend adding salt or vinegar to that rinse to help set the dye.

Since I am allergic to those fibers, I don't have the experience to be able to address that.