Knitting a throw

[daisie4]

Has anyone knitted throws? I have looking at buying some but they all seem to be acrylic - I'm happy to knit one but wondered how much wool I'd probably need and can I actually do one wide enough on my needles or would it have to be knitted in sections? Also are there any good places for free patterns on the internet? Thanks

[tribpot]

Have a look on Ravelry.

You might be able to do it on a very long circular needle (despite the name, they are not actually circular, but they are basically two straight needles held together with a cord of anything up to 150-odd cm). But it would weigh a ton and generally get to be a pain.

Traditionally you would do it in squares and then spend the next decade sewing them all together :) You could cut down somewhat by doing 4 long strips, each say 30 or 50 cm wide.

prettybird was measuring up for a throw she wanted to do and I think it was about 10 balls but if you look at a pattern on Rav it will give you the approx amount of yarn in metres/yards that you need.

The other possibility is a log cabin blanket - you can do this all in one giant piece or as smaller ones, have a google as well as a look on Rav.

[Justjibberish]

Ravelry - I have this one saved to make one day. [http://www.lionbrand.com/Lion Brand yarn]] also have a lot of downloadable patterns, although you may need to register and you need to search for Afghanis instead of throw.

[Justjibberish]

whoops - autocorrect fail. You need to search for Afghans on Lion Brand, not Afghanis

[daisie4]

Thanks so much for your quick replies, I'll have a look at ravelry - I'd never heard of it. I haven't knitted for years, but it just feels wrong to spend so much on acrylic when I'd much rather have wool. I hadn't thought of circular needles, thats a really good idea.

[tribpot]

Hopefully this search may avoid a diplomatic incident

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I am currently making the Arestano throw with the merino wool it is beautifully warm and I am really pleased with the look.

[daisie4]

Is that the comfort throw on the ravelry site? It looks really nice and the sort of thing I'm after - do you know how much wool you'll need?