Grumble: pattern gives wrong yarn amount (I think)

[Wendy79]

I bought a great set of early 1980s patterns at a thrift store: two loose leaf binders, over a hundred patterns total for clothing, home dec, accessories, etc. (The 80s hairdos on the models are the best part!)

 

I found a pattern there for a really beautiful child's jacket, just right for my niece. I had enough yarn left over from my last pattern to make it, so I thought, why not use up that skein now?

 

Should have known better than to believe the pattern when it said a whole jacket for a 5-year-old would take FOUR OUNCES of ww yarn. But seriously, that's what it says, and I've never found that kind of mistake in a pattern. (If I'd stopped to think it through, I would have known it was impossible.) So far I've used 16 ounces, and I have to buy one more skein to make the last sleeve and do the joining. So much for "using up the leftovers"!

 

My question: is it possible that the mistake is mine? Is there some type of worsted weight yarn that is very light but very long? Were ounces different in the 1980s? I want to find out before I try any of the other patterns in the set.

 

The jacket IS beautiful, though!

[Empress Busy Bee]

I usually buy extra any way.

In your case where you had the yarn already, how long ago did you buy and did you check the label? A lot of the yarns have been down sizing the skeins.

That'd be my guess off hand. Or maybe your tension was too tight.

[funkyreporter]

My question: is it possible that the mistake is mine? Is there some type of worsted weight yarn that is very light but very long? Were ounces different in the 1980s? I want to find out before I try any of the other patterns in the set.

 

The jacket IS beautiful, though!

 

Oh, you silly! You forgot to account for inflation since the '80s. Yes, of course ounces were different over 20 years ago. A 1980 ounce is only worth about four grams now so you have to multiply times eight to get the proper yarn requirement!

Hope this helps!

[Wendy79]

I usually buy extra any way.

In your case where you had the yarn already, how long ago did you buy and did you check the label? A lot of the yarns have been down sizing the skeins.

That'd be my guess off hand. Or maybe your tension was too tight.

I usually buy extra too... but not four times as much! My gauge is accurate, and since I used up about the whole 8 oz skein, bought another one, used that up too, and now need to buy more, well... (I'm glad to hear that the downsizing isn't in my imagination, though!)

 

The matching hat calls for 2 ounces (that is, half of what the jacket supposedly takes), so I'm thinking it's just a typo.

[snugsmontreal]

i think it might have been a typo, maybe it was 24 oz or maybe 4 4oz. balls? dont kn ow many possibilities i suppose, hope it all works out eventually

[chichiturtle]

That is one of the down falls of buying vintage patterns. If a mistake is printed you often times have no way of getting a corrected version. Now you can just look on the internet but back then they would put the corrections in the next issue, if you don't have that issue you're out of luck.