Skein sizes

[milkyway]

I just finished a RR for my girlfriend in Vermont. I went up for a weekend in March, and she saw one I was working on. So I decided to make one for her.

The pattern calls for 1050 yards of bulky yarn. I used RHSS in Painted Desert. I bought 5 skeins of yarn (244 yds ea). I used almost 5 full skeins 1220 yards.

I e-mailed Red Heart, and they said the yarn is sold by weight, not yardage.

Am I wrong to be upset?

[srhncl]

I could be wrong but Red Heart is a worsted weight yarn and it would probably take less yardage for a bulky weight yarn.

[happy stitcher]

Oooooh....Painted Desert is really pretty! I hope you took a picture to share!

 

Unless you took the time to be absolutely sure of your gauge, no, I don't think you should be upset. A different gauge worked over a longer period (like that for an afghan) would change the outcome dramatically. You could easily use a lot more yarn than the pattern calls for if the gauge was off even a little.

 

ETA: and Sarah is correct - if you're working to a finished size, worsted is going to take more yarn than a bulky yarn.

[Real Deal]

You can never count on what the patterns call for. I always overbuy because realistically, sometimes skeins ARE shorter than others, or full of knots or fuzzed up areas you have to cut out. And you have no idea if people (in the stores) have cut some off to take home for comparison. People do strange things.

[milkyway]

I did a RR in Ocean and Pool for my nephew. I did 34 rows in Ocean and 2 in Pool, this is what I figured with the yardage.

I did 2 in Caron Paints, 1 Oceania and 2 Rose Garden. I needed just over 5 skeins of each color. I bought 7 Oceania and 15 Rose Garden to be on the safe side. Oceania I had about a skein and a half left. Rose Garden another story entirely. I had to buy 3 extra skeins. By the time I finished, I did the last row on one in solid Rose. I was so ticked it wasn't funny.

My gauge never changed in all the years I've crocheted

[quietheart]

I did a RR in Ocean and Pool for my nephew. I did 34 rows in Ocean and 2 in Pool, this is what I figured with the yardage.

I did 2 in Caron Paints, 1 Oceania and 2 Rose Garden. I needed just over 5 skeins of each color. I bought 7 Oceania and 15 Rose Garden to be on the safe side. Oceania I had about a skein and a half left. Rose Garden another story entirely. I had to buy 3 extra skeins. By the time I finished, I did the last row on one in solid Rose. I was so ticked it wasn't funny.

My gauge never changed in all the years I've crocheted

 

Then you are a miracle because mine changes from day to day sometimes lol but as they said, the pattern calls for yards of bulky not Worsted, so you are going to use more using worsted yarn. And RR is usually on the thinner side of worsted on top of that, so what you used sounds about right.

[RoseRed]

I don't think you should be upset. You substituted with a yarn of a totally different weight. Of course you're going to need more. By the time you get to the outside rounds of a large rr each round takes a LOT of yarn.

 

RH is sold by weight and the vari skeins are smaller than the solid.

[DawnofMarch]

You can never count on what the patterns call for. I always overbuy because realistically, sometimes skeins ARE shorter than others, or full of knots or fuzzed up areas you have to cut out. And you have no idea if people (in the stores) have cut some off to take home for comparison. People do strange things.

 

I do my best to pick apart knots. Most of the time they are not Impossible to get out... It just takes a lot of patience, and picking at with your fingers or with a needle or something. I also take a good look at the Skein, if it looks like someone has pulled out any part, I leave it there. Thank goodness it is so hard to find the inner end in a skein of Lion Brand... (If you can find that end, you can use it like a pull skein. However Lion Brand makes it very difficult sometimes.) Otherwise it would probably be very easy for someone to cut some off.