It’s cozy to hang out on a couch with a pet. But sometimes our furry friends can get bossy, and smoosh you into the corner with their tail. So why not give cats their own couch? People have been “crocheting” cat couches like the one here, by looping yarn into little knots to make fabric.It took a crocheter about 6 hours and 350 yards of yarn to make this couch, but now that kitty is sitting pretty!
Wee ones: If a person’s couch has 3 cushions and a cat’s couch has 2 cushions, which couch has more cushions?
Little kids: Animals put their feet on the couch, but we don’t! If 2 cats are sitting on a couch with you, how many paws are on the couch cushions? Bonus: If it takes 6 hours to make a kitty couch, and twice as long to make a couch for a big dog, how long does the big dog couch take?
Big kids: Different sizes of yarn will make different-sized stitches. Thick yarn might only need 6 stitches to make 2 inches of fabric. How many stitches of that yarn would it take to make 1 foot, or 12 inches, of fabric? Bonus: 350 yards is a lot of yarn! If the playground at the park is on a rectangle 70 yards long and 40 yards wide, can that kitty couch yarn wrap all the way around the yard?
The sky’s the limit: Using the numbers in Big kids question, how many stitches are in those 350 yards of yarn?
Answers:
Wee ones: The person’s couch, because 3 is more than 2.
Little kids: 8 paws, because 4 + 4 = 8. Bonus: 12 hours, because 6 + 6 = 12, or 6 x 2 = 12.
Big kids: 36 stitches. If 6 stitches = 2 inches, then there are 3 stitches in 1 inch. 3 x 12 = 36. Alternatively, because 2 goes into 12 6 times, you need 6 sets of 6 stitches, and 6 x 6 = 36. Bonus: Yes! The distance around the 4 sides of the playground is 70 + 40 + 70 + 40 = 220 yards.
The sky’s the limit: 37,800 stitches. Since there are 3 feet in 1 yard, there are 36 x 3 = 108 stitches per yard. We can use partial products to simplify the multiplication from there: 350 x 108 = 350 x 100 + 350 x 8 = 35,000 + 300 x 8 + 50 x 8 = 35,000 + 2,400 + 400 = 37,800.
