How many yards/meters of yarn does it take to knit a shawl?
It depends on a lot of factors, but my preference is at least 450-500 yards (411-457 meters) of yarn.
You can read about some knitting yardage rules of thumb in “Shawls to Play With.“
Can you knit a shawl with less yardage? Yes.
I have.
“Wafian” is knit with 420 yards (384 meters) of Tosh Merino Light – a fingering weight yarn – on a US 7 (4.5mm) needle.
However those shawls tend to end up on the smaller side. More scarf-like than shawl-like. But I like my shawls on the giant side of huge.
That being said, the sky is the limit with shawl yardage.
“Tumbling Deco” takes 980 yards (896 meters) of a lace weight yarn.
“Eirwen” takes about 1600 yards (1463 meters) of lace weight.
“Ingrid’s Baby Bridal Knot” (one of the first lace shawls I ever tried knitting – it didn’t go so well…) calls for 3825 yards (3498 meters) of lace weight yarn.
And “The Queen Susan Shawl” calls for 6562-7108 yards (6000-6500 meters) of yarn. I’ve never tried knitting this shawl, but it’s the largest I could find with a quick search in the Ravelry database.
“Modern Heirloom” is a close second with 5000-6000 yards (4572-5486 meters) of yarn.
So the sky really is the limit. You can knit a shawl as large as you want, with as much yardage as you can stand. What’s the largest shawl you’ve ever knit?
Three and a Half Things to Remember About Frogging
1. it sucks.
2. we all do it.
3. a stitch in time, and all that jazz.
3 1/2. ribbit. ribbit.
Ripping out your knitting is never fun.
It can sometimes feel freeing, but that doesn’t make it fun.
And most of the time watching all those stitches disappear just sucks.
(It stings less with experience, but I don’t think it ever totally stops sucking.)
It happens to everyone.
Sooner or later you’ll need to rip out a chunk of a project
Alternatively, you could completely detached yourself from the finished object.
(Frogging is generally easier than detaching. But then again, sometimes it’s not.)
A stitch in time. Rip off the band aid. Bite the bullet. Etc.
If you have that niggling feeling you need to rip out, just do it.
Frogging one inch of knitting is a lot less painful than frogging six inches.
(If you’re unsure, don’t frog. But stop knitting now, and check again tomorrow.)
And the half.
I can’t say frogging without mentally adding a deadpan “ribbit. ribbit.”
It always makes me giggle.
(ribbit. ribbit.)
6 reasons to swatch
We all know that we should swatch before every project. But most of us don’t. Myself included.
Swatching is a tool, just like needles, rulers and books, and not every tool needs to be in every project.
But if I have a question, swatching is usually one of the fastest ways to find the answer. (It’s certainly faster than finishing a whole project.)
I swatch…
- … to figure out how large a piece will be.
- … to see how the final fabric will feel.
- … to clarify a design.
- … to have a record of an idea I don’t have time for at the moment.
- … to try out a color combination.
- … to learn a new technique.
And maybe most importantly I swatch to play. I see swatching as a place to experiment and try new things out with no strings attached.
There are certainly “best practices” when it comes to swatching, but there’s no wrong way to swatch, just plenty of right ways.
This is a snip-it from a larger article in Shawls to Play With, which has 4 patterns and 5 articles all focused around playing and experimenting with your knitting.
