Friday, August 20, 2004

The Formula

I've had a couple of questions about determining the size of the rectangles in one of these poncho deals (see the next earlier entry).

It's basic geometry. The stitched together part of the poncho forms a square which is actually 2 right triangles sharing a hypoteneuse (do not fade out on me here). The hypoteneuse is the length of the poncho from the neck to the bottom of the point at the center front (or back).

The formula for determining the length of the hypoteneuse is c square= a square + b square or c= the square root of a square plus b square. Got that?

In the case of a square, a and b are equal, so the formula becomes c= the square root of 2 a squared.

Example: If you want a finished length of 20", plug 20" into the formula as "c":

so 20X20= 2 a squared
or

400 = 2 a squared

or

200= a squared

or

the square root of 200 (a bit more than 14) = a

A being the width of your rectangle and in the ratio, A being the "4" part. Divide the 14 by 4 (to get about 3.5) then multiply that result by 9 (for the "9" part of the ratio) and each of your rectangles will be 14 X 32.

I plan to try this out on my Bond.

Stay tuned!

Then, there's the easy way: How big do you need it to be? Measure from your neckline to your wrist. That's the width of your rectangle. To figure the length, divide the width by 4. Multiply that result by 9.

Example: you want the neck to wrist measurement to be 12". Divide that by 4 (3"). Multiply that by 9 (27") Make 2 rectangles 12X27. Plug your stitch gauge (actually swatched if size is critical, or from the ball band if it isn't) and your row gauge. Knit away.

This one, I know works!




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// posted by Ann @ 8/20/2004 01:10:00 PM
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