How to Calculate the Amount of Cashmere for a Knitting Project Part III: Sweater

Before reading today's post, I recommend you read this (it's the first part of the topic I'll discuss below).

In Part II I gave some indications on how to calculate the amount of cashmere needed to make scarves and stoles.

Today I will talk about sweaters.

Our starting point (the basis for calculating the amount of cashmere) will be a classic, simple sweater, made with stockinette stitch. If you want to enrich it with fancy stitches, cables, slipped stitches, crossed stitches, etc., you need to increase the amount of yarn.

As I already pointed out in my previous posts, the yarn count is more important than the weight.

If the yarn is thin, it weighs less and goes further, and conversely, if the yarn is thick, it weighs more and goes less far. Knowing how many meters of cashmere or wool you need to make a sweater, you will be able to accurately calculate its weight.

The tables below approximately indicate how many stitches are in a 10 cm stockinette stitch swatch and how many meters of yarn will be needed to make a sweater.

I remind you that these numbers represent an average: those who knit tightly will have more stitches, those who knit loosely may have fewer.

Children: chest circumference (finished sweater)

Adults: chest circumference (finished sweater)

Needle size	Approximate number of stitches / 10 cm swatch (stockinette stitch)
2.25 – 3.25	31 – 26
3.25 – 3.75	25 – 28
3.75 – 4.5	28 – 20
4.5 – 5.5	20 – 16
5.5 – 8	15 – 12

Here's a practical example:

Step 1: I take one of my sweaters and measure its width (at chest height) – it's 49 cm. I multiply that by 2 to get the full chest circumference: 49 cm x 2 = 98 cm. Since the table doesn't have a chest circumference of 98 cm, I have to choose between 96.5 and 101.5. I choose 101.5, better to have a few extra meters of yarn :-).

Step 2: I choose a needle size. I will look for a yarn to work with size 4/4.5 needles (my favorites, because the fabric is neither too thin nor too thick).

Step 3: I check how many meters of yarn I will need.

Step 4: I open the Hircus Filati website and browse through Cashmere and Precious Yarns. In the description of each yarn, I find all the necessary information, i.e., count, needle size to use, weight, and meterage.

Step 5: I place the order :-).

I hope this post helps you calculate the amount of cashmere needed to make a beautiful sweater, even if it's always an approximate calculation.

I recommend you visit the Hircus Filati website often if you don't want to miss out on some exceptional deals.

In addition to yarns, you can also purchase classic and elegant cashmere clothing and accessories and precious yarns at truly affordable prices.

Happy knitting and… see you next time!

Alicja Kwartnik for Hircus Filati