Do you trust the numbers?

One of the standards we hold to at work, is to figure out the meterage of yarn you need for a project based on the meterage of the original yarns used.  We think it is a more accurate way to ensure our clients have enough yarn to complete the project when they are switching yarns about.

We take it on a ball band by ball band case.  You might think you know the amount of yarn on a ball, but you never know when a yarn company will make a great switcheroo.  Case in point.  Paton's sock yarn.  One old ball of Kroy versus one new ball of Kroy FX.    

Old label says 50 grams and 175 metres.

New Label says 50 grams and 152 metres

Yes these are mildly different yarns in the Kroy line up, but I checked with a ball of plain jane basic tan sock yarn against an older ball of plain jane in my stash of sock yarn.  The weight is the same.  Only the meterage has been changed.  And not to protect the innocent.  I'm wondering just how they keep the weight of the package the same.

A friend pointed this oddity out last week.  She found it out by running out of yarn, on a standard pair of socks, while working with a new ball of a long favoured yarn.  She went looking and here you have it.  

Anyway, I trust the numbers and pass this trust on to a client and  I trust it implicitly. For my own knitting, not so much.  I have a really hard time believing it when I think about making sweaters for myself.  There is a lot of ground to cover here, and a lot of stitches in a sweater.  The thought of doing it twice just because I ran out of yarn is almost unbearable.

When I personally buy yarn, I seem to buy enough to ensure that even my descendants, decades from now,  will have enough yarn from my stash, for sweaters.  I keep waiting to find out if I am wrong and yet...

Sometimes I am proved right.

The warm winter vest is complete and it turned out wonderfully for a first time, no pattern, knit from the top down project.  That isn't to say that I would not do a few things differently on the second go round but overall,  I am quite pleased.  The only problem is I ran out of yarn.  It is about 2 inches shorter than I would like - maybe 3 for complete comfort.  It is fine when I stand, but for sitting, the vest needed just a wee bit more.  I am out of yarn and the chance of the Mill having that same dye lot is zilch, so I'm going to have to call it good.

Next up Mr. Needles vest.  That is probably what I ought to work on next. That might be what I work on next.  Maybe.  I am pretty sure I won't run out of yarn for that one.  3 skeins each of about 3 different colour combinations?  One way or another, there is plenty of yarn for this vest.

Till I decide, I'm going to work on socks and finishing scarves.  There are two shawls calling my name too.  And then, before winter is done, there are some gloves with my name on it...

So much to knit, so little time.