How to turn fabric back into yarn?
Is there no solution, or have we just been searching in the wrong place?
There are a million ways to create fabric. From synthetics, plants, animal fibres, with the right techniques, it semes anything can be turned into a piece of cloth. But once that piece exists, there seem to be way less methods to recycle it back into its original form; a whole piece of fabric or yarn.
Could that be the simple excuse, why we have so much textile waste on this planet? Because there are no ways to recycle fabric?
From time to time, I like to ask myself those questions. One part of me just wants to give up. Who cares anyways? And another part of me gets very excited about trying to find ways to reuse that fabric waste.
I like to work with Silk fabric. On one side because it is beautiful to touch, wear or look at and on the other side because it is such a delicate and expensive fabric, that it deserves any reuse, upcycle or recycled before it would land in the waste.
Silk is also a very fragile and ephemeral material. The more you would expose silk to the sunlight, the sooner it will start to break and rip. Until a piece of old silk fabric would just dissolve in your hands at some stage.
Therefore, I am not willing to upcycle an old silk garment, where I can already tell, that it would only last a few more weeks until every corner will start to rip apart.
Could I recycle the fabric?
A while ago I made some experiments of reusing silk-scraps, sewing them into little puffy clouds. Rectangles of fabric.
Which other shape could I give to that cloth?
Yarn.
I start to cut the arms of my old silk shirt into one long strip.
Then I attach that strip, folded in two, to a pole and start spinning it.
Until it curls.
Now I fold the strip in the middle.
A cord is forming.
Shortly after my disappointment is showing up.
The result I got wasn’t what I had imagined. In my thoughts I was spinning the whole shirt into a shiny and delicate purple silk cord. Pleasurable to touch, soft and elegant.
What I get is an uneven cord that screams “recycling” at me.
I am dedicated enough for a second try.
Reopened everything.
Spun again, this time shorter and only one layer.
Maybe it would hide the uneven parts better?
No, it didn’t.
Third try is to use a crochet needle.
What should I crochet with that silk-recycling-strip?
Nevertheless, I obtained some silk yarn. But maybe silk needs to flow and can’t be spun into stiff cords? It needs to float in the wind, around a body or through the air. And maybe the ephemeral quality of it is just what makes the charm of silk. Perishable and beautiful, no need to try and make it last forever.
How would you recycle a falling-apart-silk-shirt? Or what kind of recycling yarn would you use for your projects?
Luckily, in the meantime, I came around 
Thank you all for stopping by and have a lovely week!
All photos and words are my own, taken and written by me.