Friday, July 25, 2014

Kitchen Hints

Peel your bananas the way the monkeys do it—from the bottom up—so you don’t get those little strings. Also, take the bunches apart when you get them home—they’ll last longer.
Sweet peppers with three bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with four bumps are firmer and better for cooking.
If measuring something sticky, like peanut butter, first rinse your measuring cup with hot water—the peanut butter will slide right out!
To easily chop dried fruits, place them in the fridge for ½ hour first, then cut them with a knife dipped in hot water.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

How much yarn do I need?

It’s a question every crocheter asks… how much yarn do I need? And what if I change the thickness of yarn?

Today, I’ll show you how to calculate how much yarn your project will need… no more guessing!

Discover your yarn + hook combo

The only way to know for sure is to calculate how much yarn each stitch (using your yarn and hook) takes. Using some yarn and hooks I had on hand, I did few examples:

As you see, the thicker the yarn (and the bigger the hook), the more yarn you’ll need.

Your calculations may be different depending on your exact yarn and gauge… but this should give you an idea!

How to calculate the total for the pattern

To find out the total amount of yarn you’ll use for your project, multiply the number of stitches in your pattern by the number of inches each stitch uses.

Let’s take Jay the Bird as an example. The pattern contains the stitch count at the end of each line.