Clapotis Details

A few people have expressed interest in making a Clapotis out of a single (large) skein of sock yarn, so I thought I’d post some more details about my Clapotis as well as some tips based on my experience.

Here’s what I did:

1. I weighed my yarn before starting – it was 118 grams.
2. I chose US 5 (3.75 mm) needles, which was what my friend Peggy used and a size bigger than my last sockweight Clapotis (pictured here and detailed here). My gauge in the pattern before dropping any stitches was 25-26 stitches over 4 inches.
3. I started knitting according to the pattern. When I got to 6.5 increase repeats (99 stitches [edit: although I wrote down 99, the math doesn't work right - I think it must've been 95 stitches]) and had 96 g of yarn left, I stopped increasing (and worried that I should’ve stopped increasing earlier). I subtracted that 96 g from 118 g and kept this number (22) firmly in my head, as it was the amount I would need for the decrease section.
4. I moved on to the straight section, weighing the remaining yarn as frequently as I could. It fluctuated quite a bit, but I seemed to be using 5 to 7 g of yarn per repeat.
5. After 6.5 straight repeats, I knew I was halfway through the pattern if I kept the original number of straight repeats. I held it outstretched, trying to gauge how much additional length I’d have after dropping the stitches. I had no idea if it would end up long enough, but the knitting was so enjoyable that I knew I wouldn’t be too devestated if I had to frog and reknit it.
6. After 12 straight repeats, I had 30 g left – plenty for one additional straight increase followed by the decrease section. I still put in a lifeline – in case I ran out of yarn, I could easily go back to before the last straight repeat and start the decrease section there instead. And in case I had enough extra yarn for another repeat, I could also go back and add it in.
7. After the thirteenth straight repeat with 25 g left, I started to decrease.
8. I bound off with only 3 g of extra yarn – not enough for another repeat. I removed the lifeline and dropped all the stitches down.
9. It was a little on the short side, so before cutting the yarn end and weaving in the ends, I tried to estimate how much length blocking would give me by stretching it. It was hard to gauge, so I went ahead and blocked it by spritzing it with water and pinning it as long and wide as I could.
10. Once it was dry, I tried it on. At about 48 inches, it was long enough! It was also wide enough at 11 inches that it could function as a small stole around my shoulders. I cut the yarn end, wove in the ends, and did a full wet block.
11. I’ve been carrying it with me happily since. The weather cooperated long enough for me to wear it as a scarf on a couple evenings, but summer weather has hit Los Angeles so I think it’s switched its function to being a light stole instead.

My tips:

1. Invest in a scale if you can. They’re fabulous for projects like this where you need to plan in advance to maximize yarn use, as well as for splitting yarn skeins in half (like for a pair of socks).
2. Use a lifeline toward the end. I hate ripping back blindly and having to put loose stitches back on the needles, and needing to deal with dropped stitches seems extra fiddly.
3. Although one fewer increase repeat worked well for me, it was a bit of a gamble and your yarn mileage may vary. Also, if I were knitting for someone who isn’t short, I’d take out another increase repeat to avoid the risk of a scarf that’s too short.

If you decide to make one, I’d love to see it!

May 7, 2007 - 8:13pm | finished! | Comments