A Little Estimation, A Little Rounding

Yesterday I mentioned a lot of sloppy math.  I've decided to write it out for you here, since, while I am not afraid of math, I believe that there are too many fiber artists who are.  Really the overwhelming majority of math needed is not any more advanced than basic arithmetic and proportions.  I firmly believe that anyone can do it!

Let's go through my warp math step by step.  First I think about how  long I want my scarf to be.  I decided 6 feet, or 72 inches, since I'm pretty sure I won't want it longer than that.  Shorter can be arranged with scissors after the fact ;)

Then I cavalierly decide to estimate my take up at 10%.  Because I'm not married to the scarf coming out exactly 6 feet long, I'm willing to take the risk of not sampling and coming up with a more accurate number.

So to add the extra 10% to my desired 72 inches, I multiply 72 * 1.1 = 79.2
One could also figure the the 10% separately as 7.2, then add it back onto 72, if that process feels more logical.

I'm going to round the 79.2 to 80 to make the rest of the math go easier, and because a little extra never hurt anybody.

I want the option of fringe on the scarf, so I'll add 5 inches to either end, 5 + 5 + 80 = 90 inches.

There will be two scarves, so 90 * 2 = 180 inches.

The Jane is fairly short from front beam to back beam, and it gets a good shed even when the apron rod is near the shafts, so there won't be much loom waste.  Let's figure 20 inches for loom waste, giving me a total warp length of 200 inches.

Now I could stop there and measure 200 inches and start winding the warp, but it's easier for me to measure yards.  200 / 36 = ~5.5 (yes, I'm rounding...no I'm not worried about it.)

Then there's one more step before I can really get going.  I need to figure out how many ends to wind!

The Jane is 40cm wide, which is approximately 15.75 inches so I can't weave something wider than that.  I plan to use a sett of 18 ends per inch, so the maximum number of warp ends I can use is 15.75 * 18 = 283.5 (and there is no such thing as half a warp end, so functionally this is 283.)

I took some time with my draft, and for the pattern I want I need a multiple of 26 + 7.  That means that I could have (26 * 1) + 7 = 33 ends, or (26 * 2) + 7 = 59 ends, or (26 * 3) + 7 = 85 ends, and so on.

I want the maximum number of repeats that will fit on my loom, so I'm going to have (26 * 10) + 7 = 267 warp ends to wind.  I'll actually wind 271 ends because I'm planning on using a doubled strand on either side as a floating selvedge so I have something super sturdy to crochet over.

Because I have a whole pile of yarn, I'm not too worried about how many cones I'll be using, but if you're planning a project and ordering supplies, you might be.  Let's go ahead and figure out how many cones I'll need for my warp.

271 ends * 5.5 yards/end = 1490.5 yards

One cone of Euroflax Lace has approximately 630 yards, so 1490.5 / 630 = 2.4 (rounded).  I'll need 3 cones, and I'm hoping that I have enough leftover after warping to crochet with.

*PHEW*

All that work just so I can spend most of the day doing this :)