Recycle an old sweater into toasty wool long johns.
By Nikol Lohr
Cotton thermals and space age synthetic long underwear are all well and good, but nothing kills the winter chills like a pair of old fashioned, toasty wool long johns. Trouble is, despite improvements in softness well known to knitters, wool still has a bad rap among the general population for itchiness. So despite the prevalence of cottony-soft merino, wool long johns have fallen out of favor. Not only are they hard to find, but at around 50 bucks a pop, they're hard to justify. But fret not! Real wool long johns can be yours for the price of a thrift store wool sweater and about an hour at the sewing machine. If you get lucky and score a cashmere sweater, you're really in for a treat!
Recycled long johns are cheap, eco-friendly, community-conscious (supporting local thrift stores), and can be made in interesting colors or stitch patterns, depending on what you find on the sweater rack. You can make them thicker (read: warmer) than the typical off-the-shelf counterpart, and you can get a custom fit. While they're not as streamlined as their store-bought brethren, you're probably wearing them to bed or under layers, so what's a few extra seams between friends?
If you've got kids to dress, the recycled long johns are especially fun, because you're more likely to find Fair Isle options in the smaller sizes on the thrift store rack.
Read this article | Comment on this article
