Sable Stasher: The Sad Tale of Berroco ReMix Yarn

05/16/2012

The Sad Tale of Berroco ReMix Yarn

I like recycling. So much so, I was willing to pay $10.50 a ball for several balls of Berroco Remix. I believe I spent $75 bucks and spent a couple of months knitting stocking stitch.

I made 2 more out of various yarns. I am wearing one in a previous blog post - I did that one in left over cottons and some really cheap Elann leftovers that was a cotton/microfiber stuff. Hey, it wears like iron and washes in the machine.

I am going to let you see what the sweater I knitted with it, looks after laundering, (I bought a darker greenish/blue and it bled dye through 4 separate hand washings.

The sweatshirt-type pullover I made was my first top down, simple and free pattern. The yarn was wonderfully soft & my stocking stitches were even and smooth. As I knitted, my fingers dried out. I noticed I was developing hangnails. I had no idea why.

I wore the sweater a couple of times and noticed that it was developing pills everywhere.

Then, like some sort of alien life form creeping from the yarn, thin, white fibers started working their way out of the yarn. I laundered it according to directions. I had gently laundered it by hand. The gentle machine cycle in cool water. The pictures are the result. Completely unwearable.

I Googled recycled yarns and found out how the recycling was done. And I will let readers do the same. It is an interesting processing into a liquid by using horrendous chemicals! Here are the pictures I took today.

This is the only sweater I have ever made that ended up where this one did. I was surprised the Internet yarn store I purchased the yarn from, has given it a 5 star rating. Don't you believe it. Of course, I asked myself, "Did I get a bad batch? Should I have told the yarn company?" Maybe you would have, I didn't. I would have had to send the sweater. Homeland Security was a possiblity.

I have not included the name of the store. This merchant has always been honest with great customer service. If I had realized what the processing of junk sweaters and other trash involved the chemical combinations, I wouldn't have bought it at all. Here are the NAMED list of ingredients: 30% Nylon/27% Cotton/24% Acrylic/10% Silk/9% Linen, Care: Machine Wash Gentle Cold, Dry Flat;Weight/Yardage: 100g/216yd.Gauge: 4.25 sts = 1" MADE IN FRANCE

To appreciate what I am saying, please double click on pictures to see the pilling and white fibers. This wasn't a thick/thin yarn. The stuff you see sticking out, is the fibers pilling apart.

You might want to reconsider before purchasing this yarn. It is possible I just got a bad batch. The color was OCEAN. It WAS lovely in those big, soft balls with the labels.

THE END