Friday, September 8

Why I love my scale

The multi-directional scarf pattern says you can make a 4 inch wide scarf with 200yds, 6 inch wide one with 300 yards. I have 100g = 250yds of Mountain Colors Twizzle. Rough interpolation says I could make a 5 inch wide scarf. Of course all is dependent on gauge and density. And nowhere does the pattern say how long it will be.

edit: well I am redfaced. Kathleen pointed out my reading comprehension error. The directions refer to making a four or six FOOT long scarf, not four or six inch wide scarf. I am still off according to her calculations. I ought to have a 5 foot scarf, but will only have half that. Is my fabric really that dense?

Ball band says use US4-6 and I happened to have a US5 needle handy.


Set up part took 7 grams. Assume the end part takes the same amount. That leaves 86 grams for the short-row triangle parts. Triangle took 16 grams. Therefore I can make 4 more triangles before having to decrease for the last bit. That means my finished scarf will only be 30 inches long.

I could/should probably frog this and go up to a size US6 or even US7 needle, for something a bit more drapey, but I think the existing density is also fine. Even if I redo it with larger needles, I am still going to need another hank to make a decent sized scarf.

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

Were you, like, a Math teacher in a former life? ;)

I just started to knit using the US6 needle required by the band on my Wool in the Woods, but it look too small. So I went up to an 8 and did one too many knit rows for each of the first four triangles, causing a pentagon formation to begin (I frogged after 4, so it didn't reach full pentagon shape!)

So, mine's been frogged twice, before settling in with the US8 circ, and now have triangles that measure 8" at the longest side and 6" at the shorter sides. I have approximately 400 yards of yarn and my scarf is 24" long. I'll probably have yarn left over.

My end looks different than yours, but the first triangle is only about 5" wide. I wonder if I started the triangle at the wrong place? Hmmmm, guess I'll just have pointy ends.