All About Graphgan Math

As crochet artists we all know depending on the person, hook, yarn, time of day, mood, etc. our gauge can change. Most designers ask you to find the correct gauge for their pattern before you start, so you can make sure whatever you are making will fit the sizes they designed for. If your gauge is off, what you are making is now too small or big (I have been there! My friend Tasha over at Stardust Gold Crochet is forever telling me to read the designer notes and do my gauge swatches when I test for her. . . (I hate doing gauge swatches, but they are a necessary evil)

When it comes to graphgans, the gauge is a little less important than a garment but important all the same. If you are trying to make a crib blanket and it turns out to be a California King bedspread. I would call that a problem. (Especially if you don't have a cali king bed.) but you can be off by a few inches and no one but you would really ever know or care. But we would like to be as close as we can be.

That is where having the right mathematical equations come in handy. I love math (well I love math now, I use to despise it.) being a crochet designer there is so much math involved. So if you want to be a good designer you have to be decent at math (and learn how to overcome the frustrations when math and crochet math do not see eye to eye).. So I'm now a math nerd so much so I was ecstatic that my youngest child's birthday is 4/8/16 because it was a geometric sequence. (see I told you math nerd, my husband is a math nerd too, like pre cal as a sophomore in high school nerd.)

Anyway my husband and I were talking one evening when I was trying to determine how large I should make a graph to meet the size the customer was asking for. He helped me come up with 3 different equations 1.) How big to make a graph to meet the size you want. 2.) How big will your project be based on the size of the graph you have. 3.) How much yarn do you need to finish the project. Then we took those equations and made an excel calculator.

I took a little more time and made several 4x4" gauge swatches for each hook size until I came up with my average gauge with each hook. So I know my average 4x4" sc gauge with a g hook is 16 sts x 18 rows. If I want a blanket to be 35x40"

I would adjust my graph pattern to have 140 sts x 180 rows to meet that size.

If you have Microsoft Office and would like to call this calculator yours.. You can pick it up in my Etsy shop for $1.00. Unfortunately if you do not have Office you will not be able to enable editing. All of the formulas are locked so no worries about accidentally deleting something you shouldn't.

But if you just want the formulas here they are

How to calculate yarn needs - For your Sc project

Take the hook, and the same brand of yarn, you will be using for your project. Chain 11, SC in the 2nd chain from the hook, and in each Ch across. For a total of 10 SC. Now cut the yarn as if you were finished. Pull out all the single crochet stitches, and measure the string of yarn.

(For this example, we are going to say the string is 27 inches) (DO NOT pull out or measure the chain stitches when working on SC. It will result in an inaccurate measurement, and purchasing more yarn than needed)

Take 27 and divide that by 10... this will tell us how many inches are in each stitch (in this case 2.7 inches) We will now take how many stitches (for this example, we are going to say 28,435 stitches) 28,435 and multiply that by 2.7. That gives us a total of 76,774.5 inches.

There are 36 inches in 1 yard. So now we are going to take the 76,774.5 and divide that by 36. That gives us a total of 2,132.625 yards. Most RedHeart Super Saver skeins have around 364 yards. (Check yarn label for exact yardage for your preferred brand) Last, we will take the 2,132.625 divided by 364, and that tells us we will approximately need

5.86 skeins of yarn. You will repeat the above process replacing 28,435 with the number of stitches for the next color.

How to calculate approximate size -

Since everyone’s gauge is different here is a formula to help you determine how big your finished project will be

Take the hook, and the same brand of yarn you will be using for your project, and make a gauge swatch. Measure the length and width and count how many rows and stitches.

(Gauge inches across) x (Graph stitches) = (X)

(Gauge inches up and down) x (Graph rows) = (Y)

(X) ÷ (Gauge stitches) = Project size across in inches

(Y) ÷ (Gauge rows) = Project size up and down in inches

Enjoy your next project!