Stitchboard Admin message #2
Re: How much yarn do I need?
December 28, 2016 at 5:43:31 AM  (in response to bgwatkins message #1)
 
bgwatkins,

Welcome! 

First, kudos on doing a gauge swatch!

Second, here's a chart I found for figuring out yarn from a swatch:
http://freshstitches.com/how-much-yarn-do-i-need/

Hope that helps! 

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Mysticmorgana message #3
Re: How much yarn do I need?
May 13, 2017 at 8:54:16 AM  (in response to Stitchboard Admin message #2)
 
Hi.. I'm new here and am trying to figure out how much yarn I need for a pattern I generated last night.  BTW: Thank you for this service, this is wonderful!!

I have my stitch count from the pattern, and followed Melanie's link.  However this makes no sense.  The author of the calculator is saying a sc takes 1.8 inches.. that seems huge to me.  I did a swatch of 10x10 in US dc, and my guage is 3 inches across and 6.5 inches tall.

According to the calculator.. taking that 1 stitch is .3 inches, I'd only need 57 yards of white for 6,922 stitches...

I'm confused!! lol

Stitchboard Admin message #4
Re: How much yarn do I need?
May 14, 2017 at 1:42:54 AM  (in response to Mysticmorgana message #3)
 
Mysticmorgana,

Welcome! Thank you for your kind words...so happy you like the freePatternWizard!

Okay, I'm a bit slow here, so please excuse me.

Are you saying you made a swatch of 10 stitches x 10 rows, and you got 3 inches across x 6.5 inches down?

The proper way to do a gauge swatch is to make at least a 4 inch x 4 inch swatch. Any less and you run the risk of a gauge swatch that is much too small, unfortunately. I know, most people despise making them, so if you don't like swatching, you're not alone!

To swatch, I usually eyeball things. If I'm chaining and it looks like it's around 4 inches or thereabouts, I stop there and then make the swatch. If it turns out too small, I rip it out and start again. If it's too big, unless it's waaaay too big, I'll just keep working it. 5 or 6 inches certainly isn't too much for a swatch. If it goes to 8 or 9 inches, I'll rip out and start with fewer chains, and thus, fewer stitches.

Next, if you're working in single crochet, I'm not sure why you'd swatch in double crochet...? You should be swatching in single crochet. If you work a crochet pattern that calls for single crochet stitches in double crochet, your work will turn out very elongated and probably won't be eye pleasing.

To work a proper gauge swatch, let's say you're working in single crochet. You'll chain something that looks to be about 4 inches, give or take. Then you'll work in single crochet across and across for each row, until your piece measures at least 4 inches long.

Once your swatch is finished, you'll start measuring. Your number of stitches in 4 inches, divided by 4 inches, gives you the number of stitches per inch (and number of rows in 4 inches, divided by 4 inches, gives you the number of rows per inch). This measurement is less important for something like a scarf, but if you were to make a garment, you'd want to swatch properly. In this case, you'll need an accurate measurement if you want to calculate yardage.

If you've generated a pattern for regular single crochet, your stitches will be wider than they are tall. The freePatternWizard gives you a basic rectangular stitch shape for this.

Hope that helps! There are few things as irritating and yet important as swatching, LOL. Sometimes it just seems evil!

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