recycled wool longies

I’m totally into recycled wool crafts lately. I can’t stop thinking of great things to make with old wool sweaters, jackets, and pants. Problem: finding time to go thrifting for sweaters, come home and felt them, and try making stuff! I finally made a trip to a local Goodwill store and scored eight sweaters at 50% off, making them $2/each. I brought them home, washed them on a hot/cold cycle and dried them on hot. (Keep in mind, I wanted to felt them. If you don’t want to turn your new sweater into something fit for a newborn layette, don’t wash them like this.)

Here’s the first pair of wool longies, sewed up this afternoon:

Another view, without the cutie:

I made them from the sleeves of a sweater. I made the rise extra long to accomodate large nighttime cloth diapers with ease. Maya got a pair, too, even though she’s not in diapers. My ultimate goal is to make a quilt from squares of felted wool from these sweaters, in an attempt to stay warmer this winter. I’m thinking of cutting the squares around 6″ so I can get more squares from each sweater. This means more sewing…

Lessons Learned:

• Cut off the sleeves, body side seams, and necklines/waistlines before felting. The pieces felt more evenly when not constricted by seams or ribbing.
• Do not felt sleeves until you’ve decided to use them for quilting instead of longies or other projects. Most of my sleeves were too small for longies after felting, though a couple didn’t shrink well, so I used those.
• Clean washer and lint trap often.
• Save wool lint for stuffing little recycled wool toys and dolls.
• Save neckbands and (especially) waistbands for longie waistbands and/or ankle cuffs. Elly’s red pair above has a waistband fashioned from the original sweater’s bottom edge.

Recycled Wool Longies Instructions:
Sweaterpants Instructions
Butt Sweater Longies Pattern
Joy’s Wool Longies Sewing Pattern
Sleeve Pants – This is my favorite one; just use a pair of your child’s pants folded in half for the pattern.

Recycled Wool Blanket Instructions:
Felted Wooly Throw
Felted Wool Sweater Blanket

Other Recycled Wool Projects:
Recycling Yarn
Recycled Yarn Tutorial
Felted Hat & Mittens
Warm & Wooly (recycled hats & mittens)
Sweater Mittens