# Rookie Knitting questsion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181 "2006-11-29T06:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/1 "2006-11-29T06:57:53Z")
To do with quantities of yarn needed. You helped me out with something similar last year. Anyway, with novice enthusiasm, I bought various yarns without putting much thought into it - as a result I never seem to have enough of what I want to do anything more than accessories. My question is this - up the needle size (accepting the different appearance which will result), follow the dimensions on the pattern rather than counting rows and can you do a project requiring 900yds with say 650yds ? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/2 "2006-11-29T08:09:41Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] My question is this - up the needle size (accepting the different appearance which will result), follow the dimensions on the pattern rather than counting rows and can you do a project requiring 900yds with say 650yds ? [/QUOTE] If the project is a scarf and you’re willing to make it one third shorter. Yeah, sure. Why not? Or, if you’re willing to turn the sweater into a vest, you’ll be fine. For anything else? I’m going to guess “no.” If it did work - (which I don’t think it would) you’d need to basically knit a sport weight yarn (typically knit on 3s or 4s) on size 10 and 11 (or higher needles). The difference in appearance would be huge and I think the lack of structure might end up costing more yarn as it hung and draped. You could try it (figure out the total # of square inches you want, do swatch of 2inchesx2inches) then unravel it, find out how much yarn you actually used to create the square and do the math. But I don’t think it will end up being a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/3 "2006-11-29T15:46:46Z")
Upping the needle size will decrease the amount of yarn needed to knit the same area of fabric. But not by nearly as much you need, no. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/4 "2006-11-29T16:49:20Z")
What are you making? Could you add some stripes in a different yarn? I do the same thing – fall in love with a yarn, but don’t have a project in mind for it, so I only let myself buy one skein. Then, I find a project that would be perfect for it, but I only have one skein and the color has been discontinued or the dye lot that’s in the stores now is really different from the one I bought. If it’s just the dye lot issue, you might be able to get around that by alternating rows – one row from skein 1, one row from skein 2, etc. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/5 "2006-11-29T16:52:02Z")
Get you a copy of _[Knitting Without Tears](http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Without-Tears-Easy-Follow/dp/0684135051/sr=8-1/qid=1164819029/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1749156-5482330?ie=UTF8&s=books)_. It will show you the breathtakingly easy way to make sweaters without a pattern, which gives you a lot more leeway for fudgin gray areas. Make a yoke sweater, and use random scraps of yarn for the yoke pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/6 "2006-11-29T17:21:11Z")
Thanks **amarinth** & **jacquilynne** , you confirmed what I thought I knew. **stargazer** if only it were that simple but I have a habit of falling for yarn which varies in colour along the length further complicating things :smack: Guess I’ll go for a hat, gloves and BIG scarf combo this time. & **lissener** … what else is Christmas for if not others buying you books 😛 thanks for the recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/7 "2006-11-29T17:48:25Z")
You can do what I did…donated excess yarn left over from projects to a local school (in my case, the art department of my kids’ school). ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rookie-knitting-questsion/382181/8 "2006-11-29T17:50:00Z")
Even with a varigated yarn, maybe you could throw in some stripes of a solid color found in the original goods. Or neutral stripes, such as black. But I wouldn’t recommend upping the needle size too much or you’ll get something mesh-y and messy and useless. Oh, you could use it in a pattern that calls for heavier yarn or two strands and carry it along with a solid. You’d want to knit up a swatch, of course, to see how that looks.