Kathryn Ivy

May 31, 2007 - Posted by Alice Schnebly

Addicted to the Scale

Ever since I got this handy little scale, I have been using it quite often with my knitting. It works wonders for figuring out yardage for patterns, and it really could have been helpful when I tried to get a pair of Fetching out of a single ball of Cashmerino (as per the original pattern, I just looked at it again and they have since changed it to 1-2 balls :-p). It’s also been really fun to play around with when figuring out the numbers for my Clapotis.

Weighing in.  My previous measurements showed that I used 67g for the increase sections of my Clapotis.  If I start decreasing now I should have just enough yarn, with very little leftovers.I am not sure if it has saved me much grief though. The first thing I figured out is that seven 50g balls of Noro Silk Garden do not necessarily add up to 350. Nope. After I wound mine all into center pull balls, they weighed in at 327 grams. Isn’t that kind of annoying? I guess I always trusted the labels, and I’ve weighed Cascade 220 and Knitpicks yarns and everything has always added up. Anyways, I am right at the point now when I have to make a decision…

If I do the pattern exactly as written by working the straight section rows a total of 13 times, I’ll basically use up the rest of the yarn I currently have. To be honest, I was hoping that 7 skeins would be enough to eke out a few more straight repeats than the pattern called for but it seems that I got a group of short balls of Silk Garden. Now I am thinking that I might want to buy 1 or 2 more balls to do a few more repeats of the straight section. Each straight section has been weighing in at about 13-15g, so I should be able to get atleast 3 out of a ball. Ahh, what a dilemma.

So, while I contemplate, I’ve been cleaning the house to get ready for a visit from my mother-in-law. She’s coming in about a week so I’ve been trying to get a few projects done around the house before she comes. Normally, I do a mad dash of last minute cleaning the night or day before people arrive but this time I’ve actually started early. I’m quite proud of myself though it is a lot of work, especially with Camdyn around it’s kinda two steps forward and one step back.

Anyways, wish me luck! If you have any advice on the Clapotis-length issue please, chime in! How long did yours end up if you’ve made one? Do you wish it was longer (or shorter)?