How to calculate loops on a cardigan

Today, cardigans are in the wardrobe of every fashionista. Knitted, knitted, openwork, dense, light and warm, bright and strict: the variety is impressive!

Autumn is a great reason to update your wardrobe and knit a fashionable item. At this time, we are warming up, and cardigans are often appropriate in large knits, in calmer, rich colors, with or without patterns.

Calculating the number of loops on a cardigan

Patterns can be found in considerable quantities on the Internet. After copying the design of the model you like, it’s easy to adjust it to your size. But another problem arises - how to correctly calculate the number of loops when knitting a cardigan so as not to make a mistake in the final result?

Any needlewoman knows that before starting her creative project, she needs to calculate all the indicators. How to do this if we are planning to knit a cardigan? We want it to be our size and not have to redo the product.

IMPORTANT! If you make a mistake in the calculations, the thing dangles like a bag on the figure, or it barely fits on it. But what a pity it is to dissolve an already finished thing!

You can use proven methods for calculating loops to ensure that the cardigan fits perfectly.

A simple way to calculate loops

1. We knit a sample measuring 10 by 10 cm using the knitting method planned for the future cardigan. It is recommended to wash and dry it so that the loops straighten. It is not advisable to iron - we will lose volume, and it is not always possible to restore it.
2. We count the number of loops, for example, we got 24 loops. Divide 24:10=2 (2.4 loops for every 1 cm of width). We multiply these 3 loops by our cardigan width and get how many are needed (126 loops per 42 cm). You can, of course, limit yourself to this.

But knitted items sometimes do not behave according to instructions. Large knitting may be more prone to stretching, and small knitting may be more prone to shrinkage, and the composition of the yarn also makes its own adjustments.

A more reliable method of calculation

In this case, we will calculate 4 indicators, spend a little more on calculations, but the result will be closer to reality. So what do we think?

1. The indicator from the sampler is 10 by 10 cm, we have already calculated it - 24 loops.
2. We measure the number of loops in 1 cm - 2.2 loops, respectively 22 loops per 10 cm.
3. How much is 1 and 5 cm (at the same time we stretch it a little in length and width, as if it had already been worn), the result is 18 cm for both cases.
4. How many loops do we need for a 42 cm wide fabric? It is also possible through the manufacture of a sample. 96 loops: 42 cm = 23 loops in 10 cm.

We add up the previously obtained values ​​and divide by the number of indicators:

(24+22+18+23):4=21.75. Round up: 10 cm - 22 loops.

Using proportion, we calculate how much is needed for a canvas 42 cm wide.

10 – 22

42 – ?

(42*22):10=92

92 loops and 2 edge loops, which means we cast on 94 loops for a fabric 42 cm wide.

As you noticed, the value differs from that obtained in the calculations using the first method, but it takes into account the behavior of our yarn as part of the finished fabric.