How Much Yarn Per Row?

A simple rule of thumb to estimate how much yarn you need per row:
Spread out your work to get the full width of the piece. With your remaining yarn, loosely extend it across the work 3 times. If you have enough yarn to do that, you have enough to knit the row. The only exception is if you have yarn gobbling features like bobbles or cables. If you are binding off, you'll need at least four lengths as this procedure takes that much more to do it properly.

Cables

Ever look at your cables and then look at those in the magazines and books and wonder how the designer got such a tidy looking cable? Well, the answer lies in a couple of techniques that keep the stitches in the cable and right next to the cable all the same size.
• First, just like ribbing, when changing from a knit to a purl, or visa versa, bring the yarn straight back or forward and give a little tug to get rid of the slack in the yarn.
• Second, keep the stitches in the cable from stretching out by working at the tips of the needles through the cable section on a row where the stitches are crossed. You’ll be amazed at how neat and tidy those cables will look.
• Third, manipulate the stitches if necessary to get rid of looseness. Loose stitches usually occur on the left side of the cable if the cable is a left or front cross and on the right side if the cable is a right or left cross.