Know Your Yarn

I finished a blanket yesterday.  It was wonderful.  And due to the recent spate of ordering online, I have just the right box to wrap it in.  The landlord is holding it and he said right away, that he wants his longer.  For perfection, that is, but he forgets just how much give and stretch there is in a blanket like this.  He hasn't ever had a knitted one, only crochet or purchased blankie, so I will forgive him.  He will be schooled after Christmas.

From his holding it aloft, I can tell that it is perfect for a family of 4.  What I couldn't tell, what I didn't realize till after I had cast this one on,

Yes, this is blanket number two for this season and is my third Sock Monkey Cabin Blanket. , but what I couldn't tell till after this was cast on, was that 180 stitches felt wider than the previous blankie.  It didn't look wider, it just felt wider.  So I counted.  The just completed blanket is only 172 stitches wide.  I think I knew this and forgot it along the way, which is why I should have written it down. Had I counted before, I might have made this blanket the same width, but a little wider is okay.  There are more people in the family.

The other thing I wanted to mention today, that I noticed right off the start with these blankets, is how different the various acrylic yarns are.  Most of what I am using is Red Heart Comfort, but when I originally bought the yarn at my local big box store, I grabbed the closest red.  I didn't even notice till I started knitting that it was a different brand of yarn, in a similar put up to the giant balls of Comfort.

My red yarn is Bernat Cozy Style.  It is a much softer to hand than the Comfort.  If Comfort was the beefy, sturdy sort of yarn it is, then Cozy Style would be mashed potatoes.  Still filling, still warm and good, but softer.  I don't mind it because the red stripe is such a small element, but it would be unfortunate if I was using the red throughout.  The difference would make for a very much less than pleasing product.  

So knitter, as ever, be it wool, be it alpaca, be it cotton or acrylics, knitter,  know your yarn.