I just started my first adult sweater, it is a really basic sweater. I started this sweater at about 1:00 this afternoon and from the amount I got done today this sweater is going to take me a month. So I’m just asking on the average how long does it take everyone to finish a sweater? Maybe I’m just a really slow knitter :??
How long does is take to knit a sweater
what weight yarn and size needles are you using? took me a week to make a hoodie, but it was wool ease thick and quick, and I think size 15 needles.
Lots of variables in that question. It all depends on the gauge of the yarn, size of needles, and – of course – the size and complexity of the sweater. Add to that how much time you make available for knitting, and…well, you get the idea. Who knows?
My first sweater was a basic v-neck pullover out of pretty chunky yarn. If memory serves, it probably took me about a month of pretty part-time knitting to finish it up.
My second sweater, which is basically as basic, but made from a finer gauge yarn is taking me forever. I think I started it in September, and I’m finally working on the last sleeve. Though, because of the pattern on this one, sometimes I’ve felt like I’ve done more ripping than knitting.
My advice is relax and enjoy. You’ll finish when you finish. And, it’ll be perfect!
No pressure!
- Mary
I find that I knit a lot slower when I start a new project. It’s like I have to get used to the yarn and pattern and then I can fly along. I knitted a fisherman sweater (my second sweater ever) for my dh in about a month, but that was because I had quit my job and was able to listen to audiobooks and knit all day if I wanted to. :oops:
I agree with Mary, no pressure, just enjoy the experience. I know I did!
Ive been working on and off on my basic, worsted weight sweater since the beginning of the year… No worries!
I just finished my first sweater, and it took ages! I started in August. But that was with very sporadic work - I kept putting it aside to make mittens for birthdays and what-have-you. I figure if it were all I’d worked on and I’d worked a couple hours a day rain or shine, it would have taken a couple months.
The first question people ask when they see me in a handmade sweater is “How long did it take you?” I never have a definite answer. It really depends on how much time I’m willing to put into it, how many other things I get distracted by, and of course the size of the yarn and needles.
I generally answer that I started knitting it one day and finished when it was done. I’ve never worked on one thing exclusively, so I’d have to say from a few weeks to a few months.
Takes me about 6 weeks, but I work full time and can only grab 10-30 minutes on a weekday and maybe a couple hours on the weekend.
It takes me no time at all… because I don’t knit sweaters. :roflhard: Seriously, that should have been my Olympic challenge was to make a sweater, but I get SO bored with large projects. I am thinking of knitting a sweater this summer so it will be done by next winter. I used to think that I was a slow knitter, but have recently discovered that I’m fairly quick when I put my mind to it.
I really can’t say for sure, since I’m like Ingrid, and never work on just one project at a time… even with the KO on, I’ve got a pullover for DS that I’m working on back and forth.
The top I made out of RH Casual Cot’n took around a week of knitting… the crocheting and seaming wasn’t done until about 6 months later! My Skacel pinwheel sweater probably has around 30-40 hours or so of knitting in it, but I still have to do the seaming on that.
Well… I can knit 20 stitches per minute if it’s not lace.
So assuming a 40" sweater at 5 to the inch… 
that’s 10 minutes per round… :?? Six rows an hour…
Twenty hours? If you count don’t time for
- frogging
- answering DH’s and DS’s questions
- rescuing the yarn from the cat
- forgetting what I’m doing
“Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to reach the center of a totsie roll totsie pop?”
Much like knitting a sweater - to me! The world may never know - for that matter, I may never know! I loose track.
My problem is that I start out seriously excited the first time that I make a pattern and I work on it exclusively. If I make the same thing again (usually done at someone’s request) I’m not quite so excited. That’s when I’ll switch back and forth between a couple of projects and loose track of how long I’ve been working on that sweater.
Another factor is size and pattern. My nephew’s hoodie just flew on the needles. The cable patterned sweater-type thing that I’m doing now is much slower - I have to pay attention to the spacing of the cables and front and back and all that plus it’s much bigger.
Don’t stress about the time factor - try to enjoy the process! The only reason that I ever worry about how long something is taking is the deadline - birthday gift, Christmas gift, whatever gift! I do sometimes complain… “this is taking me forever! Will I ever finish it?” :doh: But I don’t worry that I’m knitting slower that I “should” be.
Plus… my DH said something to me once that really helped put it all into perspective: “You started knitting because it was fun, right? If you start stressing, it takes all the fun out of it so why do it?” He was right. I knit because I love to knit! :XX: I’ll pick something else to stress over. Like finding a new place to hide my yarn stash! That’s stressful! :rofling:
Angela
nods or in my case, a few years! :oops:
I really think that it doesn’t matter how long it takes! The important thing is that you finish it and proudly wear it, isn’t it?? :happydance: 
It always takes me several months for a sweater cause I work full time and I also am a stitcher… but I knit anyway, even only 20 to 30 minutes a day! :XX:
It took me about 6 weeks to finish my first sweater, which was a pretty basic pattern. I spend a lot of time knitting, too!! I have decided that unless I have a pattern that I LOVE, and a yarn that I LOVE, knitting a sweater is probably not the best project for me- As soon as I start a project, I want to work and work and work until it is done. Smaller things work for me!!
Well… I can knit 20 stitches per minute if it’s not lace
I am not sure my heart even beats that fast!
Well it took me 20 years to learn to knit - I suppose it will take me 20 years more to knit a sweater. If I start now I might have just enough time to knit my own funeral gear! :roflhard: