How Long Does It Take?

Hello everyone,

This is a great group, and many names are familiar as I'm a crossover visitor from R.C.T.N. I have only recently taught myself the basic rudiments of knitting because I want warm socks that don't slide down the leg, and have real toes & heels. This doesn't seem to be an option for any store to supply, so here I sit, tangled in my wonderful alpaca with my bamboo dpns.

Since I'm actually making visable headway on my first sock (working on the heel flap), DH has announced he'd like a few pairs of socks, DDs want 1 sweater, 1 hoodie, 1 pair fingerless gloves, and two leg warmers. DGM would like a toque, scarf & mitten set, and I wouldn't mind making a few pair of socks for myself! Now, given that I only have a couple of hours in the evenings to knit, and also given that this one sock has taken me exactly one week to get this far, is there an 'average' ballpark time it takes to knit these things? Am I looking at Christmas presents for next year? lol

Maureen

Reply to
Maureen Miller
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Just my two cents, mind...

Sounds like it's time to teach DH and DD to knit.

Otherwise the answer is: it will take as l>Since I'm actually making visable headway on my first sock (working on

Reply to
Wooly

I second that! Send everybody off to knitting classes, and knit for YOU until you are a lot more experienced. I'm still working on a sweater for me which has taken over a year, and I have been knitting since childhood. (Mind you, I did have pneumonia in the middle of it, so that stopped work for a long time). All those requests sound like Christmas presents for 2010. Do NOT allow yourself to be pushed into this, you will regret it.

In the meantime, enjoy working on and then wearing your own socks.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn Mary

Maureen as my former learned knitting proffessors Wooly amd Olwyn Mary , wrote ,,, we can`t tell you how long any thing will take you to knit, but we all agree that it should also be fun ,,,, i don`t know your schedule and life style , but i knit in public transport , in waiting rooms , while speaking on the phone etc.... i am a slow knitter , but i manage to make stuff ,,, Enjoy your socks ,,,, and arrange the order of knitting according to your good feelings ,,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

HI Maureen.

Congratulations on learning how to knit. Of course everyone knits at a different pace. As you knit more, you will become more efficient and knit more quickly. Thicker yarn knits more quickly than thinner yarn. Socks take longer than simple scarves, and so on.

If you want to make gifts for your family, I say go for it. I'd start with scarves and work your way up. I was able to knit a simple scarf in an evening or two when I first learned to knit. A couple of summers ago, I was sick and couldn't do much more than knit, and made

4 or 5 pairs of socks for gifts. I haven't had time like that since, so no knitted Christmas gifts this year.

Best of Luck!

Hesira

Reply to
hesira

A good rule of thumb for any hobby:

Inch by inch, it's a cinch. Yard by yard, it's hard. You may think you learn more in leaps and bounds, but a little bit at a time and you'll be done in no time. When I rode the bus to work, it'd take me an hour each way instead of 30 minutes, but that was some great knitting time. I don't have that now, even though I drive 5 miles.

Reply to
Mystified One

Um... I do hope that's an alpaca blend. Alpaca is wonderful soft yarn, but it does tend to stretch out. You can get elastic thread to put in the tops that will help them stay up. If there's merino wool blended with it, that will help give the fabric some body.

Encouragement is good. Having people actually want something you make sure beats having them say "You could buy that at [storename] for less." But yes, at best I'd say those are next year's gifts - birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas, etc. - all year long.

It takes me about three days to knit a toque, depending on how much time I can spend to work on it. If I have all day, I can finish one in a day. When I was an obsessed college student with time to spare and a long Christmas vacation, I once made a sweater in one month.

First, finish the socks for yourself and test-wear them.

Then _after_they're_done_, go through the pattern and count how many stitches are in them, and how long it took, and figure how much those socks cost, at minimum wage for the time, plus three times the cost of the yarn. Inform the family, cheerfully. You want them to know. Handknit socks by Mom do have a dollar value as well, and that's time you might have spent doing something else, like making socks for yourself.

Then negotiations can begin for which gets done first. The simplest ones (scarf and leg warmers) will take a long time, so you may want to do the smaller projects first, for a quick success. I think the toque, the mittens, and then the scarf would be good. (Alpaca is good for all of those.) Then either the fingerless gloves or take a break and do the miles of leg warmers. Last of all come the big items, the sweater and the hoodie. Remember to knit a pair of socks for yourself between knitting major items for other people.

Also, tell them that they should buy the yarn so they'll get the exact colors and materials they want, and to be sure to buy enough, all of the same dye lot. Discuss pattern and fit - do they want skin tight, lightly skimming the body, loose, or huge and slouchy?

Then you can suggest that if they want the things sooner, they are intelligent people who can learn to knit and be cool and warm at the same time.

=Tamar

Reply to
Richard Eney

You know, I decided when I got this alpaca for Christmas that I'd make a pair of socks out of it because it's so soft and warm. I'm a slow knitter to start with, partly because I'm new to this and holding four needles feels awkward, and partly because I want to sit back and enjoy the knitting and the relaxation that goes with it. I'm actually honoured that the family wants me to make all these things for them and I'm looking forward to the hugs when I get each project knitted. :)) I only wondered how long it would take an 'average' knitter who knows what they're doing because I know I'm still slow at it, and don't want to promise things like leg warmers and sweaters until next Christmas because it would be silly to present these things in the summer heat. lol I don't mind if it takes me 6 months for one pair of socks as long as I'm enjoying it and the things I give as gifts are 'season appropriate'. :)) It's sure good to be able to come here for advice though! :)

Maureen > >

Reply to
Maureen Miller

Uh oh. No, it's pure alpaca. I wanted it because I loved it at the local yarn & craft fair held just before Christmas. Actually I wanted alpacas, but that's a whole story by itself. :))

I'm glad. A year's worth of knitting is really something to look forward to! :)

I'm thinking more like two weeks for the toque, and 6 months for the sweater. I have only a couple of hours 4 nights of the week and that's it. But that's o.k. I enjoy the other things that keep me so busy, as much as I do the knitting.

That's my plan. Tonight I got the heel finished, and part of the gusset. Tomorrow night I'm hoping for the foot, or most of it, and I'll either finish this first sock tomorrow night, or the next night. Either way I'm happy.

DD 1 has already bought the chenielle in electric blue for her leg warmers and they're getting fitted, but not TOO fitted everything to wear when I make them because I'm mom and they're not allowed to wear skin tight anything! lol

Well lets see now....do I want to sit here and pull my hair out while teaching them to knit, or let them go to the mall which in turn will give me a couple of hours free time to knit things up myself? No choice to make there! lol

Maureen In Vancouver, B.C.

Reply to
Maureen Miller

Oh Maureen i never heard of an Average knitter !!!! i heard once or read once on one of those GIANTIC kniiting lists that people hold Competitions to measure how quick they knit ,,,,,, naah this isn`t for me at all i knit when i knit and finnish when i finnish, Mind you i also crochet weave write sew knit ,,, and cook and clean etc,,,, Am just today slowly working the edge of my last moebious ,,,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

you could get done a lot faster by

1) letting your family unit know they need to help with their own laundry (they can learn how to take care of those wonderful socks you are supposed to be making) 2) they can do the cooking and cleaning up after (gives you actual time to knit)

These two steps always work; either you will get the help to free up your time, or they will cut back on requests for knitted garments, their call. :-)

gw

Reply to
gw

Does not compute - "average knitter" + "knows what they're doing"? ;-) Even the experts can be totally confused... but it's all good knitting time, right?

Don't ever promise a deadline. Just knit, and when it's done, it's done. And what's wrong with presenting a gift when it's done? After all, people get gift certificates that don't have to be used right away.

This is definitely the place for advice.

=Tamar

Reply to
Richard Eney

This School has a 24 hours a day , 7 days a week OPEN CLASSES ,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

This School has a 24 hours a day , 7 days a week OPEN CLASSES ,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

I understand alpaca has a tendency to pill up and felt when worn as socks. I'd worry about how long those socks will last. You might want a reinforcing strand of nylon for the foot. I use Wolly nylon in my heels and toes, but it could be run through all foot sts if needed.

Well, there's no single answer to that. Everyone works at different speeds, and you need to take into account unexpected things, like a sudden lack of time to knit, or perhaps you've got a bad skein of yarn that has a lot of knots, which means you have to rip out rows so you don't have knots sticking out of the middle, etc. There's also the possibility that you misread the pattern, or more often for me, the pattern has errors in it that you have to rip out and correct.

Even if a project doesn't turn out for me, bad fit and the like, I learn something from making it, and if the fit is really bad, I can always give it to someone it does fit, or donate it to a charity so they can find someone it will fit.

Leah

Reply to
Leah

Naaaaa. DH has NEVER said no to any wool, needles, silk threads (I also do petit point) or anything else I ask for, and he's very supportive of my hobbies. I had back problems once and couldn't sit in a soft chair so I described a floor stand I wish I had that would accomodate our hard chairs. That night he built a floor stand for me complete with rotating scroll frame and shepherd casters for feet so I can roll it to or away from me and stitch at any height. And when I think of how many teens are wandering the streets on drugs every night while mine are here busy with their own hobbies, I thank God for it. So I think a few knitted items for them to wear isn't asking too much for this kind of pampering and peace of mind. :)) Lordy, I sound like an episode of The Waltons! lolol

Maureen > you could get done a lot faster by

Reply to
Maureen Miller

And will your DH and DDs take over the housework while you knit?

Higs, Katherine (Who adores hand-knit socks and makes them herself!)

Reply to
Katherine

I am very glad to read that your husband supports your hobbies, and that your kids are busy doing their hobbies ,,, But toy tell us you are quite new at kn itting, and take a long time over one sock ,,,, thus if you want to reward /gift all with some knitted item , why not starte with some easier things that will also give you some experience. [ shawls hats mittens] . I am knitting more than 60 years and i still wouldn`t promose somebody "to finnish X items for several other people in a year`s time.... Even though my works go with me and i add to them in oddest places ,,,, I am a slow knitter, I am not in a Marathon i do what i can do ,,, mirjam

Reply to
mirjam

Katherine

What, they don't do their share NOW? I swear women's lib made things worse for so many women, not only are they expected to work full time now, they are still expected to do all the work at home! Sheesh, I made it perfectly clear that I'm not the only one living here, and anyone else had better do their own share. I refuse to cook if they don't do dishes, because d*mned if I'm going to "wash them just this one time". It's different if someone is sick (because I don't cook when I'm sick), but otherwise, uh uh. Get off your lazy a** because there is no such thing as a free ride!

Leah

Reply to
Leah

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