As you may or may not recall, I recently purchased these two skeins of Hemp for Knitting. If you've never held this yarn in your hands, let me humbly suggest that you really must. It is not like any other yarn I've ever known. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It is very soft, but not squishy or springy. It has a structure and coolness similar to linen but it is soft and airy, like a really lovely cashmere. It has great stitch definition and washes well, not just maintaining its softness but actually getting softer after washing.My friend Melanie is pregnant with baby number two. When baby number one was born in October of 2005, I made this blanket.
Now that baby number two is on the way, I have been contemplating a sweater
but I am a sucker for sentimentality. Babies outgrow sweaters. Blankets seem to last so much longer. I think I have put aside the sweater plan (for now...maybe when the baby is a little older, because this sweater really is completely precious) and have decided on a blanket. I am fairly certain that Ann over at Mason-Dixon Knitting tipped the scales with this post about her son David and his handknit blanket.Melanie and her husband Bryan are very cool. (Melanie and I went to high school together and though I've never met Bryan, from what I know of him, he is cool. He has to be, to be married to her.) I want to make something special for them and their baby. Something they won't get from anyone else and something they aren't likely to find in a store.
I have been contemplating the Pinwheel Blanket for quite some time. (In fact, I considered it for baby number one but shied away.) Melanie and Bryan live in southern Arkansas. The baby is due in May. There will be little, if any, call for a warm woolen blanket during the first several months of this baby's life. That's why I think maybe the Hemp Yarn and the Pinwheel Blanket will be an excellent marriage. The shape is of course unique and the blanket would be a nice weight for a crib or stroller blanket. (This is my line of thinking...)
So! Now for your two cents: What do ya'll think? Would the Hemp for Knitting make a nice baby blanket? And if I do decide to go this route, how many skeins of the All Hemp 6 do you think I would need? These are the specs, per the info provided on Yarn Market.
Weight: 90g
Yardage: 150 yds.
Texture: Plied Yarn
Weight: DK
Gauge: 22(Stitches per 4.0 inches/10cm.)
Needle Sizes: 5 U.S. (3.75mm)
Care: Machine or Hand Wash & Dry Flat
The Pinwheel pattern doesn't give even an estimate on yarn yardage. And yes, I suppose I could do a swatch - and I probably will - but I have never had much luck with swatching to determine yarn requirements.
Today's Quote:
"It is the nature of babies to be in bliss." - Deepak Chopra
5 comments:
Decisions, decisions! I do love hemp, and from what I hear it gets softer with more use and washings, so it might be perfect! (Although that sweater does make me want to have another baby Right. Now.) :0)
Hi Kristy! I put my husband (fondly known as MathBoy) to work on the numbers for a pinwheel blanket that measures 46" across (probably larger than you want but it gives you something to work with). This is what he came up with:
a 46 inch diameter circle will cover approx. 1662 square inches...22 stitches per 4 inches translates into 5.5 stitches per inch, and on 3.75mm needles, that means that each stitch covers about 0.027 square inches...which means the whole blanket will have about 62000 stitches, and require about 10 skeins of 150 yard long yarn. This is only an estimate.
(always assuming that you get gauge of course)
um yeah, what robynr said!
really you have to decide how big you want to make it and the gauge you get to figure how much. (see math in comment above)
but my opinion is 10 should be plenty and since its done in the round, its easy to say "oops almost out gotta bind off!"
looks like fun!
And if you have lots left over you can make a darling baby sweater. Hemp for babies is very very cool.
I've been contemplating making a baby blanket with KnitPick Shine and have thought I would need 10 skeins but I'll probably get 12 just in case. :)
Have you swatched the hemp yet?
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