KnitWit: Rantings of a Rabid Knitter

Totally knitting episode. I talk about how to calculate how much yarn is needed to knit a sweater.

It involves some work in that you will have to knit a swatch but you were going to do that anyway. Right?

You will need access to a scale that weights very small amounts. I use a postal scale.

Formula 1 : TA = C * L * 3 / 2

where:

• TA: total area of sweater
• C: circumference of the sweater
• L: length of the sweater

In words, the approximation of the total area of sweater is the circumference of your sweater times the length of your sweater time 3/2.

You need to relate the area to a weight. So weight the swatch and calculate the area of your swatch length* width

Formula 2: SA = k ozs, SA: swatch area.

Formula 3: Y = TA * k / SA

where:

• Y: weight of yarn needed
• TA: total area of sweater
• k: weight of swatch
• SA: area of swatch

Yarn needed in oz is total area times weight of swatch divided by area of swatch.

I hope you find this information helpful and not overly technical.

If you have comments or questions please contact me:

website: autumnbreezedesigns.com

email: carry.autumnbreeze@gmail.com

voice-mail: 206 666 5775

Thanks. Carry

approx. 9 minutes

 

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