Well, if you’ve seen my stash, apparently there is never enough yarn. And because the store I’ve worked at part-time for a number of years is moving to a web-based only operation, I’ve been picking up some bargains and increasing my already embarrassingly large stash.
But that’s not what I’m talking about today. I’m talking about how much yarn is enough for whatever project it is you have in mind. I thought about that today because I stopped by Ye Olde And Soon To Be No More Yarn Shoppe. It was my day off, but they were very busy and so I offered to help a couple of customers. One of them was trying to figure out how much yarn she needed for a project. She didn’t have a pattern in mind. I gave her a rough idea and advised her (especially since the yarn was 40% off) to pick up one or two extra skeins to be on the safe side. She gave me the look I give to cashiers at electronics stores who are trying to persuade me to buy the extended warranty. I felt like explaining that I don’t work on commission. But I didn’t.
The thing is — it’s cheaper to end up with an extra skein of yarn than it is to knit 90% of a garment and run out. If you are following a pattern, you are trying to match the gauge of whoever designed or test knitted it. It’s an inexact science at best. You may want to knit a gauge swatch. Was that accounted for in the yarn amount given? Probably not. Maybe your stitch gauge matches but your row gauge is tighter. If you need to knit extra rows to get the same length, you’ll use more yarn. Maybe you’ll decide to make a small change to the pattern that uses more yarn (e.g., lengthening the sleeves or changing the collar). Maybe you hold or throw your yarn differently. Maybe the designer counted wrong. Maybe there was a typo.
If you don’t have a pattern in mind, then it’s even trickier. Patterns with lots of cables or textured stitches require more yarn. Small changes in imagined style or size can greatly affect how much yardage you need to get a particular result.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ll just tell you: buy extra yarn. It’s worth every penny.
It’s horrible knitting along constantly thinking you’re going to run out of yarn. Who needs the stress of the ‘I don’t have enough to finish, I don’t have enough to finish, Why am I knitting this if I don’t have enough to finish!?’ mantra on constant repeat while you’re suppose to be relaxing and enjoying the process?
Never again.
(I might need to buy that little One Skein project book I saw somewhere. Or maybe just a pretty basket.)
Comment by Wendy in VA — June 11, 2006 @ 6:57 am
I am tall and used to have a very compressed row gauge (I think it is better now — but don’t ask me why!), because it would take me up to 1/3 more yarn to finish a project. I buy a large surplus on every project. I can’t stand the suspense! The Mermaid Jacket (Hanne Falkenberg) comes as a kit with a finite amount of yarn. I have a ball of yarn left over the size of a walnut. I lengthened the jacket and the sleeves a little bit and worried the entire time I was knitting it. I could have made it to the pattern specs, but I also do not think it is worth knitting if it is not going to fit.
Comment by lv2knit — June 11, 2006 @ 9:22 am