How to calculate the amount of yarn for a knitted cashmere sweater
How to calculate the yarn quantity for a knitted cashmere sweater
Let’s say you’ve browsed the Hircus Filati page with many offers of fine yarns and decided to knit yourself a beautiful cashmere sweater. You’ve found the yarn you like, the price is good, and you even have a design in mind. As you’re about to order, you wonder: how much cashmere will I need? When buying yarn in skeins, it’s simpler: many manufacturers provide important information on the labels. They indicate the yardage of a skein (for example, 50g = 120m), the needle size to use, and the number of stitches and rows in a 10cm x 10cm swatch. Some even include the number of skeins needed for a sweater depending on the size and style (long or short sleeves).
It’s not easy to calculate the yarn quantity for a knitting project, but the explanations and suggestions below will certainly be useful.
The Cashmere and Fine Yarns sold on the Hircus Filati website come with the information you’ll need to calculate the quantity of yarn required: the count and consequently the yardage (already approximately calculated).
To better understand what this entails, I recommend reading this post, where Federico Scatizzi explains it very simply. I assure you that this information is very useful and will allow you to calculate the yardage of any yarn and, consequently, the quantity.
In this article, I’ll give you a concrete example of how to calculate the approximate quantity of cashmere needed for a knitted garment. I’ll try to delve deeper into the topic in one of my next posts.
Let’s start with a pattern. I’ve chosen the V-neck sweater designed by Heidi Kirrmaier and published on Ravelry. It’s simple and unisex. Simplicity pairs very well with cashmere.
You can download the free pattern (in English) for various sizes by clicking here.
Let’s look at the information the author provides.
Stockinette stitch gauge: 16 stitches and 23 rows = 10cm x 10cm swatch
Needle size to use: 4.5 – 5.0
Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL (chest circumference from 80 to 140 cm)
Total yardage: 872m – 1427m
This information, i.e., how many meters are needed to make the sweater, is very important, more important than the yarn’s weight.
To calculate the quantity of cashmere needed for this pattern, I chose the smallest size, XS (chest circumference 80 cm). According to the author’s instructions, for sizes S and M, 8 skeins of 109m each (total 872m of yarn) are sufficient.
Now it’s time to choose the yarn I’ll use for the sweater. I’ll take, as an example, Eco Cashmere in 250g skeins = approximately 575m (to be worked, of course, with 4.5/5mm needles, as indicated in the project).
Let’s do the math: (872 x 250) : 575 = 380. So I will need about 380g of the yarn I’ve chosen.
One skein won’t be enough; I’ll need to buy two: 500g = 1150m.
I can use the leftover for a neck warmer or a scarf :-). Having two cashmere garments at such a low price will truly be a bargain :-).
Or… I’ll buy even more and instead of making one sweater, I’ll make two: one for me and one for my partner.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/WoolinHand/simple-summer-tweed-top-down-v-neck
If you choose a pattern published in a magazine, you won’t find information about the total yardage for the garment. You’ll have to calculate it yourself, taking into account the necessary quantity of yarn X suggested for that pattern.
For example: if 600g are needed, i.e., 12 skeins of 50g = 70m (12 skeins x 70m = 840m). So, to make the pattern, you will need approximately 840m of yarn.
I hope I’ve been clear enough… happy knitting.
Alicja Kwartnik for Hircus Filati
