How much yarn will I need?

When commencing a knitting or crochet project, it is important to consider how much yarn you will need. It will interfere with your work if you suddenly run out of yarn.

It can seem difficult to work out how many yarn skeins you should use for your project. You can research the specific yarn lengths when buying the yarn.

Research the yarn length

The term 'yarn length' indicates how much you can get out of the specific yarn in question. The special thing about yarn lengths is that the units are not stated in cm or m (as one might expect). Yarn length is generally stated in 50g and 100g. Some yarns will have a yarn length of 0-49m per 50g of yarn, while other yarn skeins will have a length of 100-109m per the same 50g material.

No matter what types of yarn you need, you can find yarn lengths stated in the product descriptions.

You can assume that the thicker the yarn is, the shorter the yarn length will be.

When you are using a knitting pattern, it will always indicate how much yarn to use. You can then figure out how many yarn skeins you need to buy depending on the length and thickness of the yarn.

Be aware that the lengths of yarn will also be influenced by the type of material. This means that the yarn length of alpaca yarn will be different compared to mohair or acrylic yarn.

Why do you need to start by calculating the yarn length

The preparation you do for your knitting project largely determines whether you will succeed with your project or not. When you prepare by making a knitting sample, you become more aware of the yarn lengths, the knitting tension, as well as the right choice of needles.

This way, you can make sure that you follow your pattern correctly so that you end up with a great result and don't run out of yarn.

Yarn indexed after gauge

Up to 60%

Yarn indexed after meterage

Up to 60%