Crafty people, can I get some advice please?

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

Good morning all. I'm hoping you can help me with a project I'm considering. I'm not really at all crafty, but I have a large collection of cashmere clothes that very sadly got decimated by moths whilst up in the loft over the summer.

I've repaired as much as I can, but some items are so full of quite large holes that they're beyond hope. However, I don't want to just bin them! I am wondering, would it be possible to cut them in squares, and then sew them into either some of sort of patchwork quilt, or a blanket scarf, depending on how much useable fabric I have once I cut it all up?

I can hand sew reasonably well, but I don't own a machine and don't really want to learn to use one. I'm not in any hurry, so quite happy to spend my evenings sewing the pieces together.

Does this sound possible? If it is, what do I need to know before getting started? Any does/don'ts? I figure I've nothing to lose, as the pieces I'd be cutting up are now unwearable anyway, but I'd prefer to make some nice with them if I can.

Thanks in advance!

It's knitwear, so would start unravelling quite quickly.

You could try felting it (hot wash, shrink it & make a denser fabric less likely to unravel) first. That's probably the best option.

Handsewing to hem it is possible but would take ages - i think you'd need to do two rows of parallel stitches and cut between them (to prevent either side unravelling) & I think you'd need to be quite careful about what stitch and tension to prevent bunching or it still unravelling.

Using an overlocker would be easier than by hand, there's plenty of YouTube videos & modern machines are pretty user friendly. Hobbycraft sometimes run classes, if you have one near you?

I quite like felting. Could I felt the pieces together?

The company'Turtle Doves' do exactly that. They take old cashmere and turn it into wrist warmers etc.
I would overlock the edge first and then carry on.

I think I would felt first then cut and sew the pieces together.

I think you'd need a machine to stop them unravelling if they weren't felts although you could possibly needle felt the edges of squares together to prevent fraying and then sew for strength.

Ignore me if you've already done this, but make sure you treat the clothes first, either by using chemicals or the repeating freezing process or you could end up with a lovely blanket with lots more holes - it's not the moths that munch, it's the larvae when they hatch.

Not good for patchwork but I wonder if the left over cashmere could be used to make baby nappy wraps (cloth nappy users).

Instructions here.

Not sure about 2nd hand fabric, but there is scope to sell them.

How to Lanolise.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal

I quite like felting. Could I felt the pieces together?

You run the risk that some pieces will shrink more than others when they're felted. Better to felt first. Felting doesn't have to go all the way; just a little will stabilise a knit. If you have a top loading washing machine it's easy to keep fishing them out to check if they've felted enough. If you have a front loader you can wash them on cool then put them in the tumble dryer, which will felt them and is easy to stop, check and re-start.

You could overlap the seam allowances and do decorative hand embroidery to stitch them together.

Have you looked at visible mending techniques to repair the big holes - felting, embroidery, appliqué? I do think it can look a bit rubbish if you just mend the holes, you need to incorporate the holes into a bigger decorative design IYSWIM?

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/924234518/moth-mending-water-soluble-visible?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_b-craft_supplies_and_tools-patterns_and_how_to-kits&utm_custom1=k_EAIaIQobChMIh7-5gZj69QIVRurtCh1htQaNEAQYBCABEgLKhPD_BwE_k&utm_content=go_12603393992_120069549739_508814305190_pla-297994408538_c__924234518engb_102858184&utm_custom2=12603393992&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh7-5gZj69QIVRurtCh1htQaNEAQYBCABEgLKhPD_BwE

The other option if you don't want to felt is to use a fabric stabiliser that washes out after your done. That will help to slow down unravelling while you see the parts together.

I also wanted to mention the visible mending trend. If you search on Instagram you’ll find lots of different techniques but I do like the woven effect from small hand looms that can look colourful and intentional. I’ll try and add some pictures.

As you want to make a blanket I think that felting the cashmere would be best as it also gives a firmer surface for hand sewing than normal knit. It also deals with the fraying issue. (Felting is less suitable for clothes as it makes the fabric stiffer.)

Have a look at the Turtle Doves website for patchwork inspiration.

Joining felted squares can create quite bulky seams so I suggest you play around with placing one square so it slightly overlaps the next and joining with a decorative stitch rather than traditional seaming - perhaps a bold chain stitch? Otherwise you could just butt the edges together and join with feather stitch. FInally if you blanket stitch the edges of squares together you can then open them out and press flat.

Some random examples of visible mending.

Very pretty! Might be worth a shot, rather than felting half my wardrobe.

It's very frustrating. Just got one of my favourite dresses out to wear tonight (Valentines meal with DH) and the damn thing's full of holes! It was expensive, too.

Had a go at a visible mend. Wasn't sure really sure what I was doing, but I had a small hole next to a larger one; started sewing, and eventually came up with this. I'm quite pleased with this as a first effort!

Pretty - I like that - I have a fabulous seersucker shirt from Toast that is falling apart but I keep doing sashiko patching on it - it won't be long before it is all patch and no shirt!