Unkinking yarn before reuse--why it is a good idea

A whole lot of test knitting goes on around chezTECH--for every idea which pans out, there are many (many.many.many) which don't.  As a consequence, a whole lot of yarn gets recycled--unraveled, unkinked and reknit.  TECHknitting blog has already shown HOW to unkink yarn, but I thought these photos might show WHY it's such a good idea.

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A hank of unraveled yarn before unkinking

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Before unkinking, closeup

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The same hank after unkinking

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After, closeup

The final step: the unkinked hank wound into a cake on a mechanical ball-winder:

Unkinked yarn in a cake

I believe you can see that this unkinked yarn will knit up so much better than the "before" ramen-noodle yarn.

Unkinking does add delay to the schedule, to allow the yarn to dry. However, wrapping the wet yarn in a thick towel and stomping on it removes an amazing amount of water. Cunningly spreading the hank on drying rack positioned over a radiator or hot-air heating vent can reduce the delay to an overnight, rather than 24 hours. In the summertime, spreading the hank on a drying rack in the shade on a breezy day has a similar speeding effect. (Don't dry yarn directly in the sun--it can become both coarse and faded.)

Best, TK
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