19 Mar 2012
How much will your knitting shrink?
Pieces knitted in stockinette stitch will shrink more in length than in width during felting. To calculate how much your piece will shrink, knit a good-sized swatch and use this table to “do the math.”
| 1. Measure the stitch gauge, length and width of the swatch, then felt it. | Width (example) 8 in. (20 cm) 2.5 st = 1 in. (2.5 cm)
| Length (example) 8 in. (20 cm) |
| 2. Measure the swatch after felting.Divide the measurement after felting by the measurement before felting. | 7 in. (17.5 cm)7 / 8 = .875 (17.5/20 = .875) | 6 in. (15 cm)6 / 8 = .75 (15/20 = .75) |
| 3. Divide the finished size by the result. This is the length and width your piece should bebefore felting. | 24 / .875 = 27.5 in. (61 / .875 = 70 cm) | 36 / .75 = 48 in. (92 / .75 = 123 cm) |
| 4. Multiply the width result by the gauge from your swatch. (For metric, divide by 2.54.) This is the number of stitches to cast on. | 27.5 x 2.5 = 68 st (70 x 2.5 / 2.54 = 68 st) |
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