One Cool Wool, Two Cool Wool, Three Cool Wool, Four!

One of the most regular questions I get asked is ‘How many balls of Cool Wool do I need for a scarf’? Cool Wool is a chunky 100% Peruvian wool we have just started stocking. It comes in a wild range of fun colours and it is the perfect beginners yarn. Being chunky it knits on 10-12mm needles, which makes it quick, easy to visualise the stitches and easier to see and learn from mistakes. They also come in giant 200g balls!

For most knitters that first scarf project is always the most memorable. So with this little post I will give you a rough guide to how many balls of cool wool you will need to knit the scarf of your dreams.

One thing we will start with is needle size and tension. Each knitter will have their own unique tension. Often knitting tighter or looser. If you are a tight knitter its advised to go for a slightly larger needle, if you are a loose knitter go for a slightly smaller needle. That way you compensate for your own tension. Of course this is just a rough guide so a knitters tension will effect the final outcome and can vary the size of your finished piece, which is one thing to bear in mind. Though with an accessory like a scarf, fit is not an issue. But garments for example can go completely wrong with out paying attention to your tension. If you don’t know if you are a tight or loose knitter don’t worry that is something you will learn as you go. Knitting is a craft of learning through experience, so don’t worry if it goes a bit wrong, you can always unpick and try again.

One ball of Cool Wool gets you a snood/cowl. Cast on around 16 stitches and keep knitting until you have used up the entire ball (leaving enough to cast off). This long rectangle can be seamed together to create a cosy snood. With 16 stitches cast on you will get something that is about 20cm wide and 70cm long.

Two balls of Cool Wool you start entering scarf territory. Casting on the same number of stitches as the snood you will get something twice as long. Approximately 20cm wide and 140cm long. Of course if you want something longer and skinnier you could cast on 8 stitches and get something approximately half as wide and twice as long at 10cm by 280cm. This also works if you want a super wide scarf, cast on 32 stitches and get something 40cm wide and 70cm long. A wide snood maybe, but the wider you go the more balls you will need to make it longer.

Three balls of Cool Wool is a comfortable cosy scarf amount. Working from our numbers above with 16 stitches wide you will end up with a scarf about 20cm wide and 210cm long.

This is a rough guide but gives you an idea of the approximate size to balls of Cool Wool you will need. Using this number you can also estimate the number you might need for a throw or blanket as well. For example a blanket measuring 100cm x 140cm you would need 10 balls.

Use this diagram below to help visualise the size next to a body:


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