Have you ever accidentally washed and dried a wool sweater and been astounded at the results? Well, nail tech and salon owner Kathy Dent of Salon Glow in Reno, Nev., shrinks 100% wool sweaters and skirts on purpose to make adorable purses and hats she sells in her salon’s retail section. “I have always loved doing all kinds of crafty, creative things in my spare time,” says Dent. ”I first saw some purses I liked at a craft fair and I struck up a conversation with the lady who made them. She did different kinds of felted wool projects and I thought ‘I can do that!’ So I immediately went to a thrift store and found wool sweaters, took them home, and shrunk them.”

Once the items shrink the fibers mat together so you can cut them apart without any fraying. “So I just started fooling around with the pieces that I had cut apart and made them into purses,” she says. “Since some of the sweaters shrunk down quite a bit, I decided to try making hats because they required smaller pieces of fabric.” As a salon owner (she owns Salon Glow with her daughter), Dent has the perfect outlet for selling her various creations. “I also make jewelry and last winter I crocheted lots of infinity scarves to sell. I don’t make a ton of money on my crafts but what I do make goes into my vacation fund,” she says. 

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