As I have probably mentioned before, I’m the only member of my family who willingly puts wool next to my skin. So I wanted to make my mom something wonderfully luxurious, ‘cause that’s what she deserves, and I bought some recycled cashmere from Etsy seller jolieparisienne. Recycled cashmere is rescued from unwanted (generally machine-knit) cashmere items, washed, and plied into new yarn. This was a great way to obtain cashmere yarn for several reasons: It keeps old things from going to waste and supports an independent seller. There are environmental concerns related to how new cashmere is produced. (Obviously the demand for new cashmere from knitters is practically nonexistent compared to commercial clothing manufacturers, but still, it’s a plus.) There isn’t really a huge selection of worsted-weight cashmere out there. I bought two generous skeins of recycled cashmere for less money than one would have cost me new. The color! Oh my gosh, I love the color. There are plies of various pinks, purples, and blues in there, and I love imagining the garments they all originated in. The pattern I used is called Ridged Lace Cowl. The only adjustment I made was to knit only five pattern repeats instead of the recommended seven. I love how it turned out (and I think it goes without saying that it’s insanely soft). Remember how I said I bought two skeins? You’d better believe I’m keeping the next one of these for myself.

As I have probably mentioned before, I’m the only member of my family who willingly puts wool next to my skin. So I wanted to make my mom something wonderfully luxurious, ‘cause that’s what she deserves, and I bought some recycled cashmere from Etsy seller jolieparisienne. Recycled cashmere is rescued from unwanted (generally machine-knit) cashmere items, washed, and plied into new yarn.

This was a great way to obtain cashmere yarn for several reasons:

  • It keeps old things from going to waste and supports an independent seller.
  • There are environmental concerns related to how new cashmere is produced. (Obviously the demand for new cashmere from knitters is practically nonexistent compared to commercial clothing manufacturers, but still, it’s a plus.)
  • There isn’t really a huge selection of worsted-weight cashmere out there.
  • I bought two generous skeins of recycled cashmere for less money than one would have cost me new.
  • The color! Oh my gosh, I love the color. There are plies of various pinks, purples, and blues in there, and I love imagining the garments they all originated in.

The pattern I used is called Ridged Lace Cowl. The only adjustment I made was to knit only five pattern repeats instead of the recommended seven. I love how it turned out (and I think it goes without saying that it’s insanely soft).

Remember how I said I bought two skeins? You’d better believe I’m keeping the next one of these for myself.