For all the posts in this series, you can go HERE!
Grany Stripe Blanket
I am very pleased to let you know that my sock yarn stashbusting granny stripe blanket is coming along swimmingly! Now that I’ve worked a few rows I’ve gleaned more insights ….
How Much Yarn?
If you don’t want to run out of yarn part-way through a row, you are going to need to know how much each row uses. I measured mine at around 9g of sock weight yarn, but everyone is different and this may not be the amount you use. You can glean this very useful knowledge fairly easily (I would wait until after you’ve worked a few rows and fall into a flow with the stitch):
- With your digital kitchen scale, weigh the ball of yarn you are about to use.
- Work a row, break yarn.
- Weigh the ball of yarn again.
- Subtract the second weight from the first weight – this is the amount of yarn you used.
Project Notes
I ALWAYS suggest that you keep project note in your Ravelry Notebook. You’ll inevitably need to remember something about the project at some point down the line, and all the details will be waiting for you there. It’s also helpful to see other people’s projects, so it’s nice to pay-it-forward, share and contribute to the community. Finally, you get to show off your work, people will say nice things to you and warm your heart.
Useful things to take note of:
- hook/needle size used
- tension/gauge of your project
- yarn/s used
- modifications made
- finished measurements
- advice you’d give other people about your experience, or anything you’d want to know if you did this project again
Establishing Timelines
Blankets are big-ish projects and I know myself – if I don’t finish this one by the end of the summer it won’t get done for a looooooong time. It’s good to set a goal like a best-before-date, and you’re most likely to be successful achieving a goal if you break down the work into daily quantifiable chunks. I’ve measured my gauge and I’m working at approximately 12 rows = 4″ (10cm), or 3 rows per inch. I also measured my started project and it is about 65″ wide (unblocked), and I’ll aim to make a square blanket so it’ll be about 65″ high. There are about 50 more days until September. I have worked 25 rows so far.
Here’s how you figure out the math:
- 65″ high x 3 rows per inch = 195 total rows required
- 195 rows total – 25 rows completed = 170 rows to complete
- 170 rows to complete / 50 days to complete = 3.4 rows per day to complete
If I work 4 rows per day I should have this part of this project completed in about 43 days – not bad. I’ll still need to weave in the ends and work a border around the edge, so the extra week will be a good buffer to finish this project by September.
I’m not super disciplined, so to keep myself accountable I’ll print off a calendar and mark my rows every day. I kind of enjoy this approach, if I fall behind I know I have to catch up the next day, or I’ll work ahead of time and carry that balance forward. Really, whatever works for you is good.
Not sure how long it takes for you to complete a row? No problem, just time yourself working a row using the Stopwatch function in the Clock App on your smartphone or tablet (I have an iPhone, but if you have another just Google how to find and use the stopwatch function, Google knows everything). I just timed myself and it took about 18.5 minutes to complete a row (probably not my best time, but it isn’t the Olympics).