How much yarn for a king size granny afghan?

[sparkle814]

Hello all, I've just had someone commission a monster project...he wants a king size granny afghan for him and his wife for the their bed. And it needs a "cotton" backing, so I'm not sure what that means...a bed sheet? A flannel sheet? A blanket? I have to get more details.

 

He said he's willing to pay big bucks, but I still don't know if I want to do it...a king blanket will take me a long long time and most non-crocheters don't seem to have the same conception of big bucks as I do lol! But I told him I'd figure out how much the materials would cost and get back to him. That's where you lovely folks come in. I was hoping you all could give me an estimate based on your own experience, of how much worsted weight yarn it would take to make regular granny squares (and sew or crochet them together) for a king sized bed. I'm terrible about buying yarn for projects..I usually buy a few skeins and then run out and buy more as I'm running out (dye lots? what dye lots?). But since I need to have an idea of the total cost up front, I can't do that this time haha!

 

Even if you have made a queen or full granny ghan and know how much yarn it took you, I can do the math to get an estimate for the king. And if anyone has any recommendations on yarn, I'd appreciate that as well. He asked for wool yarn. I asked if a wool blend would be okay too and he said sure. (They are trying to sort of replicate a blanket the woman's grandmother had made that they lost in a flood.) Is there a good quality wool or wool blend yarn that comes in pretty colors (they said probably pinks and purples)? Lion Brand comes to mind but I know that can get a little pricey. Anyone have a favorite worsted wool or wool blend?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give!

[sparkle814]

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm slightly allergic to wool...does anyone with the same problem know if a wool blend is less likely to make you itchy/sneezy?

[RoseRed]

I would assume somewhere between 7 and 9 pounds of yarn. It could be more because a granny stitch is a heavy stitch. I would have at least 9 pounds of yarn on hand before I started it.

 

I wouldn't touch it for less than $300 plus material. As much as I hate sewing squares together I probably wouldn't touch it. Even at $300 you're still not going to get what it's worth.

 

I would go with Caron Pounders. Yes - it's 100% acrylic. A lot of people call any yarn wool simply because they don't know that they make yarn out of other materials.

 

I would take this person yarn shopping with me. Let them see the different yarns and choose for themselves. This way they can also see the prices. If you're going to make this out of wool - it's going to be super expensive just in materials alone.

 

Cotton backing... You could use a bedsheet. That'd probably be your best bet for having a piece of fabric that you won't need to sew to make big enough. I woudn't use flannel. A granny ghan is super warm to begin with.

 

You definitely have need to have more details and a solid idea of what you're doing before you start. Worst case - what you picture and what they picture are 2 completely different things and they do not want it when it's finished.

 

Also, if I were allergic to wool I would tell them absolutely not. They need to use a different material. From what I've heard from other people concerning wool allergies is that it can be specific to the animal the wool is coming from. It can also be across the board. I wish I could be more specific on this.

[acraftylady]

I know some that does very intricate baby afghans with the fancy edgins and she gets $200 for one of those. I agree at least $300 or more and after you give the price he might back out. Don't short change your time because that is going to be a big undertaking and a lot of work. This is why I won't crochet for sale as most people have no clue the time and work involved in a big project like that. Mary

[vivera1]

"I Love This Yarn" at hobby lobby is reasonable and I just got some on sale for $3.00/7 oz skein.

[Granny Square]

Just pricing one of the big box stores (name brand yarn, no coupons or sales, just regular prices),

9 pounds of acrylic (~ 1 pound skeins)= about $80

9 pounds of 20% wool, 80% acrylic blend = about $172

9 pounds of 100% Wool = about $288

 

Plus, the cost of the backing material, not to mention your labor - a pricey blanket indeed.

[sparkle814]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I'm definitely going to price it out and check with them first about using wool, I told them it would be more expensive. The reason they want this blanket is partly for nostalgic reasons but also partly because they said the way it was made with wool yarn and the two layers it was the warmest blanket to ever exist, lol, so we'll see.

 

I'm thinking that because what I would charge a stranger to make a blanket like this is way more than I would feel comfortable asking a friend for, I might just have them pay for the materials and make it as a gift.

 

I like the idea of having them coming yarn shopping with me - that way they can pick out the colors and see first hand the difference in price between wool and acrylic. I'll start out with nine pounds and take it from there if I wind up needing more, thanks RoseRed.

[RoseRed]

You're welcome.

 

Good luck with it.