Free tool · knitting time
How long does it take to knit a sweater?
Count the stitches first. Our women's M Christmas sweater in DK is 52,164 stitches over 381 rounds; a classic Christmas stocking is 10,794; a Fair Isle beanie 6,216 to 10,520. Time yourself for one minute and this tool turns the pattern's real stitch count into hours, a finish date and how much a day gets it done by Christmas. Your own pace, not an average.
- Stitches52,164 (24,812 in colourwork) · 381 rounds · women's M, relaxed fit
- Your timeType your stitches a minute, or time yourself for 60 seconds.
Counted from the pattern itself: every round of the body, both sleeves and the neckband, from the cast-on to the bind-off. Weaving in ends, cutting, sewing and blocking are not in the time.
Real stitch counts
A Christmas sweater, size by size.
Our Christmas sweater in DK yarn at 22 stitches per 10 cm, relaxed fit, with the default bands, counted round by round. Thinner yarn means more stitches: the same sweater in fingering weight would have far more. The two time columns are only examples of a pace; time yourself in the tool above.
| Size | Stitches | In colourwork | Rounds | at 20 st/min | at 30 st/min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | |||||
| Women XS | 43,524 | 47% | 378 | 36 h | 24 h |
| Women S | 49,084 | 48% | 375 | 41 h | 27 h |
| Women M | 52,164 | 48% | 381 | 43 h | 29 h |
| Women L | 56,040 | 48% | 386 | 47 h | 31 h |
| Women XL | 60,704 | 48% | 370 | 51 h | 34 h |
| Women 2X | 63,608 | 48% | 373 | 53 h | 35 h |
| Women 3X | 69,588 | 48% | 363 | 58 h | 39 h |
| Women 4X | 75,232 | 48% | 369 | 63 h | 42 h |
| Women 5X | 78,788 | 48% | 361 | 66 h | 44 h |
| Men | |||||
| Men S | 56,732 | 48% | 441 | 47 h | 32 h |
| Men M | 66,964 | 48% | 450 | 56 h | 37 h |
| Men L | 72,956 | 48% | 460 | 61 h | 41 h |
| Men XL | 79,028 | 48% | 471 | 66 h | 44 h |
| Men 2X | 87,240 | 48% | 473 | 73 h | 48 h |
| Men 3X | 92,472 | 48% | 481 | 77 h | 51 h |
| Men 4X | 99,636 | 48% | 477 | 83 h | 55 h |
| Men 5X | 107,016 | 49% | 487 | 89 h | 59 h |
| Kids | |||||
| Child 2 | 18,540 | 46% | 235 | 15 h | 10 h |
| Child 4 | 22,628 | 46% | 251 | 19 h | 13 h |
| Child 6 | 25,280 | 46% | 261 | 21 h | 14 h |
| Child 8 | 29,188 | 47% | 292 | 24 h | 16 h |
| Child 10 | 34,244 | 47% | 317 | 29 h | 19 h |
| Youth 12 | 39,224 | 47% | 339 | 33 h | 22 h |
| Youth 14 | 41,492 | 47% | 354 | 35 h | 23 h |
| Youth 16 | 44,096 | 47% | 369 | 37 h | 24 h |
Stockings, hats and cowls.
The same count for our other Christmas knits: the stocking from Studio with its default bands, and two of our free patterns.
| Christmas stocking | Stitches | In colourwork | Rounds | at 20 st/min | at 30 st/min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small · 30 cm tall | 6,514 | 39% | 116 | 5.4 h | 3.6 h |
| Classic · 43 cm tall | 10,794 | 33% | 154 | 9.0 h | 6.0 h |
| Large · 53 cm tall | 15,810 | 32% | 187 | 13 h | 8.8 h |
| Ornament · 16 cm tall | 1,482 | 6% | 54 | 1.2 h | 0.8 h |
| Fair Isle beanie | Stitches | In colourwork | Rounds | at 20 st/min | at 30 st/min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child | 6,216 | 41% | 64 | 5.2 h | 3.5 h |
| Teen / Adult XS | 7,968 | 43% | 72 | 6.6 h | 4.4 h |
| Adult M | 9,216 | 42% | 75 | 7.7 h | 5.1 h |
| Adult L | 10,520 | 41% | 78 | 8.8 h | 5.8 h |
| Snowflake cowl | Stitches | In colourwork | Rounds | at 20 st/min | at 30 st/min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 14,608 | 55% | 83 | 12 h | 8.1 h |
| Roomy | 18,720 | 51% | 90 | 16 h | 10 h |
Questions
Before you cast on.
How many stitches are in a sweater?
It depends on the yarn and the size more than anything else. Our women's M Christmas sweater in DK is 52,164 stitches; the child 2 is 18,540 and the men's 2X 87,240. Roughly half of each is two-colour knitting.
How fast does a knitter knit?
Speeds vary a lot from knitter to knitter, and between plain knitting and colourwork, so we don't use an average. Time yourself: knit for one minute as you normally do and count the stitches. If you can, time a minute of colourwork too and put it in the second box.
Will it be ready for Christmas?
Set Ready by to the day you want it finished. The tool works out how many minutes a day, and how many rounds a day, get you there from today. Leave a few days for finishing: weaving in the ends, blocking and, for a cut sweater, reinforcing and cutting the armholes.
Is colourwork slower?
For most knitters, yes: you manage two yarns and catch the long floats. That's why the tool asks for a separate colourwork pace and counts the colourwork rounds separately. If you leave it empty, it uses your plain pace and says so.
What about my own design?
Design a stocking or a sweater in Purlgrid Studio: its time card counts your exact design, with your bands, your size and your name, at the pace you saved here.