What Should I Consider When Buying Yarn for Knitting Projects?

Buying yarn for knitting projects can be stressful if you do not plan it out well. While many knitters may keep a stock of yarn on hand for working with, sometimes special projects require a trip to the yarn shop. When buying yarn for knitting projects, there are a few things to keep in mind which will make the task much easier, and result in a final product of higher quality.

The first thing to consider when buying yarn for knitting projects is, of course, what the knitting project will be. If you are making a sweater or scarf, you may be working from a pattern which will specify the gauge you need to use, as well as how many skeins of yarn it should take. You may be free handing a project like a hat or blanket, in which case you may not be certain how much yarn you need to buy.

If you are buying yarn for knitting projects for which you have a pattern, consult the pattern to see what type of yarn is called for. In most cases, the pattern is specific about gauge, informing the knitter for example that 30 by 30 rows of worsted weight yarn on number seven needles will make a four inch (10 cm) square swatch of knitting. Furthermore, the pattern will tell you how many feet of yarn you will need to complete it. In this case, you buy exactly the number of skeins you need, knit to test the gauge, and set off on your knitting project.

In cases where you are not working from a pattern, or you plan to deviate from the pattern, buying yarn for knitting projects can get more complex. In these instances, you may want to go from experience, estimating that a similar project needs eight skeins of yarn, for example. Or you can purchase a skein of the yarn you would like to use and knit a test swatch to figure out what the gauge is, which will help determine how much yarn you need.

Another thing to consider when buying yarn for knitting projects is what type of yarn you want. Yarn comes in a wide variety of colors, textures, and configurations from plain worsted weight wool to complex and fun novelty yarns. Yarn for scarves, for example, could be more ornamental and silly. Yarn for blankets should probably be thicker and more practical. Special projects like baby blankets should be make with hypoallergenic yarn that is soft to the touch and will not pill or unravel, potentially posing a choking hazard. When you are buying yarn for knitting projects and have special needs, consult the staff at the knitting store, who are usually happy to help.

Some yarns cannot be worked on small needles, while others will look sparse on big needles. Consider what type of knitting project you are doing and what you want the end effect to look like when you are buying yarn for knitting projects. In addition, try to purchase all of your yarn at once and make sure that it is from the same dye lot, to avoid color variations which might mar your final product.