"Frogging" - Quality Stash Yarn Dead Cheap

I used to purchase ALL of my yarns & fibers at full retail price from my local yarn shop. The day that I fell in love with a gorgeous skein of yarn & had to put it back because I couldn't afford it (it was $42 & I needed 6!), I decided I HAD to find a more economical way to acquire those delicious yarns. I'd heard of women who purchased quality sweaters from thrift shops & rummage sales, unraveled them (called "frogging"), & reused the yarn. So, I Googled to get more information on it. Eureka!

That was 3 years ago. Now, before I begin a new project, I go shopping at my local thrift shops & clothing resale stores FIRST to see if I can find a high quality, designer label sweater that can be frogged for the bulk of my yarn needs. By & large, they are wonderful merino wools, cottons, silks, & blends that would easily cost $15++ for 100 yards at my yarn shop. The average woman's sweater will yield 600 yards or more of good usable fiber. Not bad for an average cost of $5.00. I still support my local yarn shop through my purchases of embellishing or accent fibers, but I am no longer priced out of creating that gorgeous silk or cashmere sweater I want. It's the best of both worlds, I think. Oh, I'll admit that I still do splurge & pay retail from time to time on some super expensive yarns, but since I'm economizing when I can (through frogging), I can do so without guilt.

My only problem is....too many sweaters, so little time! I can't seem to leave a beautiful, high quality sweater on the rack. I never come home with just the one for my current project - I bring home six! My yarn stash now overfloweth! Since I can't possibly use all this gorgeous fiber myself, I've decided to share my bargains with my fellow fiber artists who are also feeling a bit of sticker shock at their local yarn shop & don't want to "frog" for themselves. Thus, "Froggy Recycled Yarn" was born as a small sideline business to sell my excess stash on Etsy.

I you'd like to try your hand at frogging, there's some excellent tutorials on the Net. You might want to start here: http://www.neauveau.com/recycledyarn.html or try searching "frogging yarn" or "recycled yarn." Should you decide that the whole process is just too labor intensive or mind-numbingly dull than you can stand, you can check out FroggyYarn.etsy.com to see what I am offering - & still at a bargain compared to retail. And, if you're not familiar with Etsy, you should be. It's a wonderful community of independent artists selling their wares - a terrific source of great stuff often at bargain prices. Check it out.