My husband wants a wide scarf. How many stitches should I cast on? I’m thinking 40. Is that way to much? Even for a big, cozy scarf?
that seems like a lot to me but maybe not. what kind of pattern are you doing? you could try casting on to see what you get. I find that my knitting gets wider after the cast on too so you could cast on and see how wide it is stretched out a bit across the needles to get an idea.
any idea how wide he thinks he wants it?
1 Like
My knitting gets a tad wider after CO, too. So you could CO some stitches and see about how wide it is. 40 does seem like a lot, but maybe he wants more of a wrap?
You didn’t mention what weight of yarn you were using. If you’re using worsted or DK, 40 probably wouldn’t be too much… but remember, the more you cast on, the longer it’ll take to finish! Oh, and if you choose a rib pattern, that’ll pull the scarf in so that it looks narrower, so remember to account for that too.
It’s just a garter stitch. All knitting, no purling. (beginner). I think it may be too much. Maybe I’ll go for 30 as see what happens. Thanks!
30 should be about right if you’re using about size 8-10 needles and worsted weight yarn. That would make it around 7" wide when finished.
sue
Hmm. It’s 100% wool. The tag doesn’t say what the weight is. When I bought it the woman at the store said it would be fine for the project I was doing. Maybe this helps - it says “50 grams at net standard condition”. Does that mean anything?
nope… there should be a place where it says how many stitches per inch and the suggested needle size. What kind of yarn is it? Brand and all that ya know.
No, gram weight doesn’t really mean anything without a yardage length. If you’ve got about 200 yards that’s probably worsted.
sue
It’s Zara brand. I’ll write out everything, don’t know what most of it means. 100% wool.
e (european?) g 50 cond. - 1,75 oz
ca. 125m/mt - 136,5 yds
10x10 cm
31 R
23 M
Oh - also using size 8 needles.
If 23 is the stitch count (I’m assuming 31 is the row count, but I could be wrong), that looks like a DK, bordering on sports weight. I’d probably shy away from a garter stitch scarf using that yarn. It’ll take forever. If you can, see if you can get a chunkier yarn.
is it this yarn?
I think that link is the yarn I have. It is thin. Now I’m mad I got talked into buying it.
i would say that is probably a DK then. and you can do that but you will probably want to hang yourself with the scarf when you are done with it. you can go up to about a size 10 needle and double the yarn for a thicker stitch. of course you would have to go get more yarn for that. How much did you buy? at 137 yards i would think you would need a few skeins of it to make it long enough, even for a not too wide scarf.
i bet it has to be super soft…looks like great yarn!
It is very soft. I bought 4 skeins. Probably not enough to double up and make the scarf?
Oops - let me try this again.
yes, it’s very soft. I bought 4 skeins. Probably not enough to double up and make the scarf though?
I don’t think 4 skeins would be enough to make a scarf if you used the yarn double-stranded.* If it were me, I think I’d take back the yarn and exchange it for something in a bulky weight – it’ll knit up a lot faster. Also consider doing something besides garter. Garter stitch is very compact lengthwise, so it’ll take you more yarn and time to get the same amount of scarf compared to most other stitch patterns.
*If you’re wondering how I got this, I multiplied the given gauge by .7 to get the approximate new gauge when double stranded – this comes out to about 4 stitches per inch. Worsted weight. According to this chart, you’ll need about 380 yards for a 8x54 scarf.
I see the difference now b/w this yarn and the cheap-o acrylic worsted weight yarn I was using to practice with. I have about 4 stitches/inch with the worsted weight and this one I’m getting like 10. (with size 8 needles). I got screwed on advice at the store. I guess I’ll go back. But the problem is I’ve already used one to start the project with. I’m assuming they won’t take that one back. So I’m stuck with it. Otherwise I’ll have to come up with another project to use up this yarn.
eh you will find something to use it for and they are correct, you can do it…it just probably isn’t the best choice as a single strand. and if you keep it for a later project you will have the beginnings of a yarn stash! 