Horizontal stripe crochet shawl - how many stitches?

[TinyBuddhettes]

I am going to crochet a shawl, each stripe will be a different colour. The stripes run horizontally, so I know the initial chain needs to be very long. How long though, if I want to wrap it around my shoulders and feel cozy?

Probably best to find a shawl the right size, measure it, and then do a little gauge swatch with your yarn to figure it out

Yes even use a towel/dressing gown belt/scarf to put round your shoulders for the length. Do a swatch in the chosen yarn and hook, check the drape is OK. Then multiply it out to work out how many stitches you need.

30 stitch swatch should be good. Give yourself enough practice (on the gauge swatch) that your technique tightens up a bit once you have your confidence in the chosen stitch pattern.

Okay thanks. I hate the bit where I have to put the extra work at the start but I realise it will work out better that way in the long run.

I know. But it's likely if you just went ahead and winged it, chaining hundreds, you would have to undo it at some point. It's worth the extra work 😁