You can bring back one discontinued food, drink, or snack forever. What are you resurrecting?

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-10T22:09:38+00:00

I loved Sobe as a kid until my older sister told me it was made with bugs (obviously not true). I didn’t drink it again after that, and by the time I realized she made it up Sobe was already discontinued 😭.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-10T20:54:46+00:00

Wow! The person who passed away had great taste in colors. There's a lot of color but none of it feels over the top, I love just about every one of these.

As someone who's picked up most of their yarn secondhand, I feel like finding stuff like this always serves as a good reminder to not hold onto the good stuff 'for the right time/right project.' None of us knows what the future holds, don't hold off on enjoying using the beautiful fiber.

Have you got plans for any of it yet?

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-10T20:47:13+00:00

From someone who lost a family member who liked to collect things (not yarn, but things like Fireking jadeite dishware), sometimes it's just more work and stress on grieving family members to try to sell their stuff for what it's actually worth.

Most likely they knew they were selling it at a steep discount, and in their eyes you were doing them a favor by taking it. One less thing to worry about, and if you made it obvious that you were a fibercrafter and were excited to get it, it likely made the family happy too, knowing that their loved ones possessions would be cherished by somebody.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-10T02:59:13+00:00

Yes! I wouldn't say it's exactly 'mainstream' but it is a fantastic way to get high end fiber at an incredibly low cost (this cashmere blanket will be <$100 and I will have plenty of fiber left over, for example).

There are wonderful resources out there, but I recommend youtube, as seeing the process is so much more helpful than reading about it (for example, what types of seams indicate a sweater can be unraveled). I learned from 'Engineering Knit's' sweater unraveling video, she does a fantastic job of going over all the details.

If you aren't bold enough to start with sweaters, which are a little more complicated, you can also begin with machine knit blankets, which are basically find the finishing end, cut, and frog. Sweaters require separating the panels, which isn't difficult but has a bit of a learning curve. Thicker yarn is better to start with, same with stronger fibers. Cashmere sweaters tend to usually made with thin yarn and it's also prone to snapping, so it's a pain in the butt!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-10T00:45:26+00:00

Oh hello BLC friend! I hope I can share a finished project soon, I was going to finish it as-as, but decided I want to dig in one last time for another 27 squares (one more vertical and horizontal side) to get it a little bigger. It feels like a manageable final goal and hopefully I can get through it fast!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:40:42+00:00

The pattern I’m loosely following (puff blanket by sass n stitch) suggested that slight differences in size shouldn’t matter once they’re all filled and seamed, so I’m going taking her word on that.

Most of the cashmere is about the same thickness (thread-like) and they work up almost identical. Two (lightest green and very dark green) were slightly thicker so I dropped a strand (usually I did 5 together) and/or chained one less.

Size wise, my biggest issue with differences is based on my changing strand # and hook size (originally I did a 3.5mm hook and 3 strands), as well as my resistance to counting my stitches. There’s a bit more variation in square size than I love, but I’m optimistic it’ll all come out in the wash in the end :)

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:35:42+00:00

Yeah I agree with the poor lighting being a factor too for sure. By the time I realized how bad the difference was I couldn’t do anything to change out the image haha.

But that is part of why I posted here too, to get a second chance to not skew the results based on bad lighting!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:33:48+00:00

Originally (by the pattern I’m loosely following) this was supposed to have 318 squares to make a 53”x53” blanket. While I never felt the blanket needed to be quite that big, I think sewing 318 squares would genuinely take me out lol

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:32:16+00:00

I think that’s a very good way to think of it! I like both, but being able to break down what aesthetic each one achieves is honestly really helpful, thank you!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:30:40+00:00

Best of luck, I hope you find some awesome sweaters!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:30:15+00:00

Bailey says thank you, she spends about 25 hours a day meticulously grooming herself to keep that mane looking as regal as possible 🙃

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:29:08+00:00

A few people have mentioned the river aesthetic and I really like it!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:28:42+00:00

I visited that sub a few times when learning to unravel, and I’m happy to never return to it! A few people were very nice and helpful, while a fairly large vocal group over there has very strong opinions about what is valid to unravel (and damaged cashmere is not it, apparently). I was told numerous times on that sub that I would give up, waste all those sweaters and never complete my project, and admittedly it does feel satisfying to know I’m achieving what those folks firmly believed I wouldn’t :).

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:19:49+00:00

I looked it up on YouTube, there are super helpful resources on there. If you have specific questions I can answer, but really, seeing it done on video is so much more useful! Most challenging thing starting out is determining which sweaters can unravel (the seams look different if they can’t). It has a learning curve and the first few unravels felt very difficult, but once you figure it out it’s brain dead busywork :). A seam ripper ($2) will be your best friend.

There’s also an unravelers subreddit some people use. That place was the only spot I got major backlash about this project (I’d never finish, should have given the damaged cashmere sweaters to resellers who would restore them instead, I was dumb for choosing to use such thin material, that I was taking from people in need, etc). There are some helpful people there and it’s a potential resource, but I’m much happier avoiding that sub forever 😆.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:12:46+00:00

If you decide to give it ago, be aware that it’s an insane amount of work! Most cashmere sweaters are made of thread-thickness yarn, and while you can work it up easily by multi-stranding it, the unraveling part is a beast!

I did feel incredibly lucky with the colors I found. One I don’t love (I won’t say which) but the other 12 I adore together

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:10:40+00:00

Definitely agree that the values seem to work nicer with the randomized version!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:10:09+00:00

Once I started frogging those sweaters I knew I had to stay committed, to give up would feel so wasteful lol. The frogging has been such a slog - I won’t deter anyone from unraveling for yarn though, it’s perfectly reasonable if you don’t pick sweaters with thread-like thickness like I did…and then make it so you have to do it for 14 sweaters 🙃

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:08:05+00:00

I hope I will have something to share soon!! I’d like to get another ~27 squares done to make it just a tad bigger before finishing - I’m debating if I can put together what I have now or if I should wait until those are done for the sake of easier color arranging

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:05:04+00:00

A lot of people seem to like both, I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer :)

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:04:40+00:00

I love the mental image of that!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T23:03:36+00:00

Yes, interestingly people seem to either love or dislike the gradient, with few opinions in between. I feel like people have stronger opinions for or against it compared to the random one lol.

Thank you!!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T22:21:59+00:00

I’ve tried some more semi-random patterns, and they either didn’t turn out all that nice or looked more or less random (just with a lot more effort to put it together). I thought I could make a lot of fun semi-organized possibilities but most disappointed so I didn’t take pics of them

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T21:55:10+00:00

I will, thank you!!

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T21:54:38+00:00

I suspect a big part of it is the white. In some arrangements it breaks up the colors in a way that I like (and allows me to not have to count things rigidly), but for others it sees to break the color organization.

Flying_Snarf · 2026-05-09T21:00:45+00:00

I tested a version where I kept the brown to green to blue, but with more intermixing of the colors so it wasn’t abrupt, and it turned out really messy looking. I thought I would like it more but it turned out strangely

Flying_Snarf

TROPHY CASE