Whatever happened to unpicking jumpers?

[tikay]

I saw "knitting" mentioned on another thread, & it reminded me of when I was a kid. I used to dread going to see Grandma Angell, as she always made me help her "unpick" a jumper. Very tiresome work, holding out two arms for hours on end while she patiently "unpicked" some jumper. The "recycled" wool would then be used to knit a new jumper.

Imagine saying these days to a kid who wants a new sweater, "well unpick the old one & knit a new one from the wool"......But that's what used to happen, truly. It's almost impossible to believe, but it's true.

And in paper shops, the biggest selling Mags were knitting patterns!

"Woman", "Woman's Own", & "Women's Weekly" (the latter being naff, but it did have a Rupert the Bear Cartoon) sometimes had a big front cover banner headline - THIS WEEK, INSIDE, FREE KNITTING PATTERN.....

The times they are a-changing.

[Tonji]

reminds me I need my socks darning 

[iceman]

times certainly have changed but its not the kids,its the grannies. ever since monty pythons sketch on hells grannies showed female oaps what life could be like theres been no stopping them. runhotlagtard scandies? i dont think so.theyre mostly h.r.t. ship it with 23os grandmas.

[SuffolkPunch]

you are still wearing those jumpers, tiikay

[Rainbow]

AAAAHHHHH you must be older than me I can't remember those good ol days lol

[RED-DOG]

When I was a boy, we used to collect old rags, and it was my job to separate out the woolens, which, pound for pound, were worth about 10 times more than the rags (white woolens were worth even more)

In the early 70s almost all woolens were replaced by man-made fibres, that was the beginning of the end for the rag and bone man.

[Bainn]

Ah, my Grandmother, Doris, taught me to knit when i was a kid, it was fun and in the end quite relaxing, but i never had to unpick a jumper first.

The only problem was, all i could knit was scarves !

[RioRodent]

For me the unpicking sessions where usually preceded by a visit to a Jumble Sale... what a dangerous place that could be for a small boy! Wo betide anyone foolish enough to stand between some of those old women and the woollens table!