Monday, June 4, 2007

Newbie Question

Hi all
I'm a fairly new spinner and have never knit a shawl before.
So, I have a question:
How much fibre will I need for a shawl?
I know it depends on size, shape and whether its 1ply 2 ply etc etc--but roughly.
Do I need 4 oz? 8 oz?

Thanks!!

5 comments:

Kirsty said...

Ann-marie,

You might find this link helpful:
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2007/04/triangle-shawls-galore.html

It includes links to patterns for all kinds of shawls using varied amounts of yarn. It should get you started anyway!

Guernseygal said...

If it is any help at all. I spun 4 oz of alpaca and 2oz of tussah silk and plied them together. I got 650m of lace weight which it enough for a decent sized shawl.
I'm knittign a larger version ( more repeat of pattern 1) Swallowtail shawl form IK wintwr 2006. The original only takes about 450yds. Hope that helps :-)

Ann-Marie MacKay said...

thanks for the info!!!!

Sherry W said...

Good heavens, I need a pound! Of course my yarn is like DK/sport...

Sherry W said...

Look at shawl patterns you like, get an idea of if your going to make a smallist shawl (aprox 500yds) a medium (800yds) or a larger (1200yd) shawl.

Then figure out the gauge of yarn you want to spin. Go online and look up commercial yarns with similar fiber content and and calculate the total weight you would need.

That should give you an idea of where to start. Add about %10 for waste and remember, more is better then less!